BATON ROUGE, LA. — Southern University men's basketball will face a demanding test from the opening tip of the 2026-27 season as the Jaguars announced their upcoming schedule, featuring a challenging non-conference slate featuring matchups against programs from the ACC, Big East, Big Ten, Missouri Valley, Mountain West, SEC and West Coast. Along with three regular-season home contests at the F. G. Clark Activity Center.
The Jaguars will open the season with one of the more challenging stretches on the schedule, playing five consecutive road games against NCAA Division I opponents. Southern begins the campaign Monday, Nov. 2 at Southern Methodist University before traveling to Texas Christian University on Friday, Nov. 6.
The road swing continues Sunday, Nov. 8 at Drake University, followed by a Tuesday, Nov. 10 match up at Iowa State University and a Thursday, Nov. 12 contest at the University of Minnesota.
"We're excited about the challenges our schedule presents this season," said Southern head coach Kevin Johnson. "Our non-conference schedule will give us an opportunity to compete against some very good basketball programs, and we believe those experiences will help prepare us for the intensity and rigors of SWAC play. We want to challenge our team early, learn from each game and continue to grow as we get ready for conference competition. We're looking forward to the opportunity and can't wait to get the season started."
Southern will return home for its first home contest of the season on Tuesday, Nov. 17, hosting Louisiana Christian University at 11:00 a.m for field trip day game 1. The Jaguars will close out November with another pair of road challenges, traveling to the University of Nebraska on Nov. 25 before facing Vanderbilt University on Nov. 27.
The Jaguars will continue non-conference play in December, hosting Champion Christian College on Tuesday, Dec. 1 at 11:00 a.m. for field trip day game 2, before embarking on another challenging stretch on the road. Southern will travel to Fresno State University on Dec. 5 and later make a trip west for contests at the University of Oregon on Dec. 16, the University of the Pacific on Dec. 18 and the University of California on Dec. 20.
SU closes out its non-conference schedule at home Monday, Dec. 28 against Southern University-New Orleans at 2:00 p.m.
The Jaguars open Southwestern Athletic Conference play on the road Saturday, Jan. 2 at Texas Southern before traveling to Prairie View on Monday, Jan. 4.
Southern will make its home conference debut Saturday, Jan. 9 against Florida A&M. The Jags will remain at home to host Bethune-Cookman on Monday, Jan. 11, followed by Grambling State on Saturday, Jan. 16.
After a pair of road contests at Arkansas-Pine Bluff and Mississippi Valley State, SU returns home to host Alcorn State on Saturday, Jan. 30. The Jaguars will then welcome Jackson State to Baton Rouge on Monday, Feb. 1.
The second half of the conference schedule features road contests at Alabama A&M and Alabama State before Southern returns home for consecutive contests against Prairie View on Feb. 13 and Texas Southern on Feb. 15.
SU will close out the regular season with four road games and two home contests, including a pair of home games against Alabama State on Tuesday, March 2 and Alabama A&M on Thursday, March 4.
The 2027 Southwestern Athletic Conference Men's Basketball Tournament is scheduled for March 8-13 at the Gateway Center in Atlanta, Georgia.
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