After months of rumors and speculation about the final look of the 2010-11 men’s basketball schedule, Oakland University released what will undoubtedly be a marathon of difficult matchups for the defending Summit League Champions.

Among the highlights of this season’s slate of games are five meetings with Big Ten opponents as well as matchups with

perennial contender Tennessee and last year’s Final Four participant West Virginia.

“We have six non-league games against teams that have been ranked in the preseason top 20,” head coach Greg Kampe said. “Three of those teams are among the top five. So I think the only thing missing from this schedule is a date with the Miami Heat. I tried to get the Heat but they wouldn’t come to the O’Rena.”

Last season featured a similarly daunting stretch of non-conference games, but the Grizzlies were unable to pull off any upsets.

“For those (top ranked) schools, we’re a good RPI win for them because they expect to beat us,” Kampe said. “We have to go in and get a win against one of these top six or seven teams this year.”

The marquee home game comes Dec. 11 when Oakland faces Michigan State in a game played at The Palace of Auburn Hills.

OU will also face the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor this season for the first time in a couple years.

The Grizzlies will also participate in two tournaments as part of their non-conference schedule. OU will host a portion of the Lou Henson Award Tournament at the O’Rena Dec. 21 and 22. The team will also be a part of the Chicago Invitational Challenge in November.

“It’s almost like every year we try and outdo the season before,” Kampe said. “At some point during the season, I’ll probably scratch my head and wonder, ‘Why did we do this?’ I know our team is really excited. We’ll play five Big Ten teams and we’re smack dab in the middle of Big Ten country. We’ll be on the Big Ten Network like it’s our home station. We’ll get a lot of media attention in the areas that Oakland recruits in, so I don’t think you could ask for a better schedule than this.”

Despite a schedule loaded with top

opponents, the Grizzlies will have the benefit of less strenuous travel, with most of their games being played in the Midwest.

Oakland will begin its defense of the Summit League title with its first conference game Dec. 2.

To see the complete schedule of games, visit ougrizzlies.com