KENNESAW - The new Kennesaw State men's and women's basketball schedules were released late last week and both seasons may come down to one question.

How will they fare on the road against Atlantic Sun Conference opponents in January?

Both teams will play nine January games. Only three games each will be at the KSU Convocation Center. That doesn't make it easy, particularly for the men, who struggled in road games last year.

"It hurts. This schedule is not in our favor," Kennesaw State men's coach Tony Ingle said. "We didn't win our first road game until February last year. Our home record speaks for itself and our road record speaks for itself. I wish we can have more home games in January, but someone has to do it."

But the February portion of the Atlantic Sun schedules does bode well for both Kennesaw State teams. They play five of their last nine games on their home floor, giving both teams home court advantage to either pull ahead or catch up.

The Owls are regrouping after finishing 5-10 overall last year and 7-9 in the conference, good enough for seventh. They lost scorers Shuan Stegall and Ronell Wooten and have just one returning starter in point guard Kelvin McConnell - a former Whitefield Academy standout who earned the starting nod as a walk-on freshman.

The Lady Owls (16-12 overall) were more successful in the Atlantic Sun, tying Jacksonville for third with an 11-5 mark. And expectations will be higher for the women since they return their entire starting lineup led by Atlantic Sun Conference Player of the Year Britteny Henderson.

With that said, the non-conference portion of their schedules will be challenging for both teams. One of the bigger tests for the men will be playing reining Southeastern Conference champion Georgia in Athens on Dec. 31 before their Atlantic Sun schedule resumes in January. The Lady Owls, meanwhile, will prepare for the Atlantic Sun by making road trips to ACC powers Georgia Tech (Nov. 19), North Carolina (Nov. 25) and Clemson (Dec. 29).

"We probably have the most demanding schedule since we got to Division I," Kennesaw State women's coach Colby Tilley said. "Our players want to play teams like that early. Every kid grows up wanting to play the best and it will prepare us for our conference schedule."

The Owls will open their season at home against North Greenville on Nov. 6 and plan on staying there for a while. The Owls will welcome Northern Illinois, Western Illinois and Maine in tournament play Nov. 14-15, Ingle said, before playing host to in-state rival Clark Atlanta on Nov. 18.

Other home games for the men includes their Dec. 1 Atlantic Sun opener against USC Upstate and East Tennessee State on Dec. 23. The Owls will also make non-conference road trips to James Madison (Nov. 21) and Colgate (Nov. 26), Florida A&M (Dec. 13) and Savannah State (Dec. 16).

"These are good teams that we can compete with," Ingle said. "That's the thing right now. It's viable that our guys have success to get our confidence up. We have to get a winning attitude and the only way we can do that is to earn it."

The Kennesaw State women open on the road at Richmond on Nov. 14 and head to Troy two days later. The Lady Owls will host two Southern Conference opponents early in the season. They will battle College of Charleston in their home opener Nov. 22 and Georgia Southern on Dec. 15.

The Lady Owls, like the men, will start their Atlantic Sun schedule earlier than last season. They open at home against defending conference champion East Tennessee State on Dec. 1 and will host USC Upstate on Dec. 13.

"It will learning curve for them and they are going to be thrown into the fire quick," Tilley said. "It's a demanding schedule, but it's a schedule we want to play at Kennesaw State."

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