Anxious fans around the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and beyond have gone insane waiting for the Panthers to announce the men’s basketball schedule for this upcoming season.
Finally, good things come to those who wait.

Last week, head coach Rob Jeter released the schedule for men’s basketball itinerary for the 2006-2007 season.

The big addition to this year’s schedule, of course, is that UWM will be a host and participant in the John Thompson Foundation Classic. The Classic will be held at the U.S. Cellular Arena, the Panthers’ home court.

The three other teams that will be in town for the invitational are Pac-10 stalwart Washington State, Conference USA member UAB and Radford University of the Big South Conference.

UWM finishes up the John Thompson Classic by heading to Ann Arbor, Mich., to take on the Wolverines of the Big Ten.

A very important game in the non-conference schedule is the opening game of the new McLeod Center in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, against 2006 NCAA Tournament participant Northern Iowa of the tough Missouri Valley Conference.

Other big games on the schedule are another game against Wisconsin, in Madison on Dec. 13, and return games against Missouri State, which beat UWM in the BracketBusters game last year, and Tennessee Tech, which beat the Panthers in Tennessee last fall.

A guaranteed away game is the ESPN BracketBusters, which will pair teams off against similar strength squads.

The Panthers will officially begin the season with Midnight Madness on Oct. 14, which is a pep rally with games and contests at the U.S. Cellular Arena.

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