August 14, 2025
Okay, here goes – the Eastern Michigan women’s basketball team just released its non-conference schedule for next season, and to be perfectly honest, the girls have a doozy. It has the appearance that they are attempting to demonstrate. It is nothing but a gauntlet of five states spanning four states before getting to the MAC play itself, which has been planned out by Coach Sahar Nusseibeh. The ten matches that will either make or break this team before January 1st of 2005.
- August 14, 2025
- The Away Game Marathon (AKA stress test)
- November Road Show: Four Games That’ll Test Your Soul
- Purdue Fort Wayne
- Lastly, Some Home Cooking
- The Grand Finale Before the Conference Play
- Reason why this schedule is actually important (It is not just made of randomness)
- What Folks Say
- The Larger Scenario (Why This Can Be Massive)
The Away Game Marathon (AKA stress test)
Debut: November 3rd
They are opening right up in the MAC-SBC Challenge against the University of Louisiana Monroe, which is audacious as hell to open the season. There is nothing quite like beginning your campaign hundreds of miles away, is there?
November Road Show: Four Games That’ll Test Your Soul
In the time between November 7th and 19th, these girls have literally been on buses:
• Canisius University (in which Nusseibeh coached – your bet’s on this one)
Purdue Fort Wayne
Michigan State (this is THE one, folks, the Michigan powerhouse Big Ten team that can either propel them or take them the hell down quickly)
Up in Minnesota is the University of St. Thomas
That period is essentially a schedule version of let’s see what we are made of. Basketball boot camp and geography class.
Lastly, Some Home Cooking
The 26th of November cannot come soon enough – EMU will now have a chance to actually sleep in their own beds when they entertain Robert Morris at the George Gervin GameAbove Center. However, do not start to get comfy yet since they are back on the road on November 30th in Detroit against either Detroit Mercy or Defiance College.
Some relief comes along in December when Defiance College visit on the 5th and Duquesne University visit on the 9th.
The Grand Finale Before the Conference Play
And this is where it gets spicy – on December 14th, they will be headed to Assembly Hall in Bloomington, where they will meet Indiana University. It is not just any gym; it is in the territory of the basketball cathedral. What a yardstick.
Team finishes non-conference play in February with another MAC-SBC Challenge game at home against some SBC team that they have not yet named.
Reason why this schedule is actually important (It is not just made of randomness)
Come on, EMU ladies basketball has existed since 1977, and although they have never been in the big dance, twice (2004 and 2012) they have heart. This schedule is a grade-A declaration of see you later, we are not here to mess around, and Nusseibeh is in year two following what was admittedly a rough first season.
This is not a cupcake line-up to make stats bloat. Two Big Ten adversaries? Testing what you think is mentally tough? It is a coach saying that we must prove ourselves against real competition, in case we are going to be good.
What Folks Say
Social media hype is factual:
EMU Women’s hoops is getting ready to fire up the furnace this season with Big Ten matchups, and road games here, looking at that upset, you did surprise me!
Things are hyped up, and frankly, fans should be. This is a time frame that leaves them with many to look forward to.
The Larger Scenario (Why This Can Be Massive)
EMU has gone through it all over the years, including changing names, from the Hurons to the Eagles, and has had their chances to go to the MAC. Look at those NCAA tournament runs in 2004 and 2012; it is clear that they can when everything clicks.
This is a challenge thrown by Nusseibeh. She would like this team to be battle-tested, and they have not even started playing with MAC. Smart? Maybe. Risky? Absolutely.My Hot Take: This Could Be the Season That Changes Everything
Hard truth – you do not want teams that are scared to go on the road and open against decent competition. However, EMU has to cease being conservative to be taken seriously in MAC.
This agenda is Nusseibeh essentially telling us that we no longer will have it nice with mediocre. The combination of Christmas on the road, Home games with good teams, and that monstrosity of a game against Indiana at Assembly Hall? That character-building crap.
The potential to take a few of these early games and gain some confidence could be the fire starter to an actual run at the MAC. Make those road games statement wins, and all of a sudden, you have the whole world watching.
As I see it, though, this is some daring scheduling that indicates that EMU is no longer ready to simply appear on the scene; they want to be taken seriously. Whether they can earn it is yet to be seen, but at least they are swinging the big bat. Desire to find similar decompositions of other teams’ schedules? Blast me off – I could go deep into Detroit Mercy, Washington State, or any other school you’re interested in with the same energy and insider perspective.
