CBS Sports Release

NEW YORK -- The defending NCAA Division II National Champion Mules basketball team will appear on national television this season as announced by CBS Sports. The Mules' Dec. 20 home game against Northeastern State will be nationally televised on CBS Sports Network as the NCAA Division II National Game of the Week. The contest will tip off at 10 a.m. Central time.

The Mules and RiverHawks will square off in the first game of five game schedule for Division II men's basketball. This will be the second nationally-televised game for Mules basketball at the UCM Multipurpose Building, with the first coming against Northwest Missouri during the 2008-09 season.

The Mules are coming off a 30-5 campaign that saw them claim the NCAA Division II National Championship and their third straight MIAA regular season title. Head coach Doug Karleskint begins his first season leading the Mules. UCM opens the season on Nov. 8 with an exhibition game against Duke at famed Cameron Indoor Stadium in Durham, North Carolina.