Three Rivers men's basketball is expecting some of the most competitive November tournaments it has ever had, and the women's basketball schedule includes 27 games against Division I opponents.
The Raiders recently finalized their 2021-22 schedule in a return to normal after last season's schedules had to be redone before games eventually started in January.
The men will play 17 home games, including the First Midwest Bank Classic to open the season Nov. 5-6 and the People's Community Bank Thanksgiving Tournament three weeks later.
"I think we could have one of the best Thanksgiving tournaments we've ever have," coach Brian Bess said.
Mineral Area and John A. Logan, who earned the No. 1 and No. 4 seeds in the national tournament, will play in the tournament and Link Year Prep, which won at Moberly Area last season.
The Thanksgiving tournament includes Otero JC (Colo.), Southwest Tennessee, and Northeastern Oklahoma.
"I think it's probably the best schedules we've had," Bess said. "I think it's going to be quite a challenge."
Both the men's and women's teams will face each region opponent three times, as well.
After going undefeated in the regular season and reaching the national semifinals, the women will face non-region, Division I opponents Shawnee, Wabash Valley, Dyersburg State, Rend Lake, Lincoln Trail, Wallace State, Vincennes, and Olney Central.
The only Division II teams on the schedule are Lewis & Clark and St. Louis, and the only JV team is Williams Baptist.
"That's what I wanted to do this year, is get out and play more Division I (teams) and try to challenge us night in and night out throughout the season," Wiggs said. "No nights off. That's definitely what I wanted to do with this schedule."
Along with the men's pair of November tournaments, the women will host the Drury Inn Lady Raider Classic, bringing in six teams on consecutive weekends. The Raiders will face Wabash Valley and Olney Central on Nov. 6-7 and Vincennes and Rend Lake on Nov. 12-13.
The men also need to win the District 4 Playoff this season, hosted by the Region XVI winner, to earn an automatic bid to the NJCAA Tournament.
For the women, the region winner earns an automatic bid.
The Region XVI, regular-season winner, will also host the semifinals and finals this season, so the path to the national tournament might have to go through Poplar Bluff for the second year in a row.
"Hopefully, we can put ourselves in a position where we can host the Region XVI Tournament at home again," Wiggs said. "I think that was a huge advantage for us last year, getting to play all those home games."
Scott Borkgren - Daily American Republic