University of Houston Athletics
Men’s Basketball Reveals 2026-27 Schedule
9/16/2026 5:51:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Cougars to play 17 games inside Fertitta Center starting with October 15 exhibition vs. Montana Tech
HOUSTON – The University of Houston Men's Basketball program will play 17 home games during its 2026-27 schedule, starting with an October 15 exhibition game against Montana Tech inside Fertitta Center, Head Coach Kelvin Sampson announced Thursday.The slate features 16 20-game winners, four conference champions, 11 schools which finished among their conference's Top-Three leaders and 12 schools which competed in the NCAA Tournament, including defending national champion Michigan.
Game times and broadcasting networks will be announced soon.
NON-CONFERENCE SCHEDULE
Following the home exhibition against Montana Tech, the Cougars travel north to face defending national champion Michigan during The Battleground 2k26 inside Van Andel Arena in Grand Rapids, Mich., on October 25.
From there, Houston opens the regular season when it meets La Salle inside Fertitta Center on November 2. It will be only the second meeting against the Explorers and the first since the 1975-76 season.
The Cougars then take on California during the Caesars Lake Tahoe Classic inside Tahoe Blue Event Center in Lake Tahoe, Nev., on November 8.
After facing Jacksonville State inside Fertitta Center on November 11, the Cougars will compete in the Players Era 8 Championship for the third straight season inside Michelob ULTRA Arena inside Las Vegas.
Houston opens that event against Rutgers on November 17 before meeting Florida or Notre Dame on November 18. The Cougars close their stay when they face Auburn/West Virginia/Kansas/UNLV on November 19.
The Cougars close the month of November with two home games in a three-day stretch against Oakland (November 27) and against Queens (November 29) inside Fertitta Center.
Houston continues its homestand when it faces Central Arkansas for the first time in school history on December 2 and then takes on Texas State on December 5 inside Fertitta Center
From there, the Cougars will compete in three straight neutral-site events. That stretch begins with Alabama during the Jimmy V Classic inside Madison Square Garden in New York on December 8 and continues with the Houston Hoopfest against LSU inside Toyota Center on December 13.
That latter event will be part of a doubleheader with Houston Women's Basketball, which also faces LSU.
The Cougars then face Florida State during the Jacksonville Hoops Showdown inside VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Fla., on December 20 before closing the non-conference slate against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi inside Fertitta Center on December 29.
BIG 12 SCHEDULE
The Cougars will play 18 Big 12 games during the regular season before entering the postseason.
Houston opens its conference slate against TCU on Jan. 2 inside Fertitta Center before back-to back road contests at Kansas State (Jan. 5) and at Baylor (Jan. 10). Following a Jan. 13 showdown against Iowa State inside Fertitta Center, the Cougars meet Colorado in Boulder (Jan. 16) before playing host to Texas Tech inside Fertitta Center (Jan. 19).
The Cougars meet Arizona State in Tempe, Ariz. (Jan. 23) and close the month against BYU (Jan. 30) inside Fertitta Center.
Houston faces Kansas in a Big Monday showdown inside Fertitta Center on Feb. 1 before taking on Arizona (Feb. 6) and UCF (Feb. 10) in road tilts. After meeting Utah inside Fertitta Center on Feb. 13, the Cougars compete in their second Big Monday encounter when they face Texas Tech in Lubbock, Texas, on Feb. 15.
The Cougars host back-to-back home games against Oklahoma State (Feb. 21) and Colorado (Feb. 24) before closing the month of February at West Virginia in Morgantown, W.Va. (Feb. 27).
Following a March 2 road meeting at Cincinnati, the Cougars close their regular season against Arizona inside Fertitta Center on March 6.
From there, the Cougars enter the postseason with the Phillips Big 12 Tournament set for March 9-13 inside T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, Mo.
ABOUT the COUGARS
Forward Joseph Tugler highlights four lettermen returning from the 2025-26 team, which went 30-7 and tied the NCAA Division I record with its fifth straight 30-win season.
After averaging 8.5 points, 5.3 rebounds and a team-high 1.8 blocks per game, Tugler earned Big 12 Conference All-Tournament Team honors and was named All-Big 12 Honorable Mention. The Monroe, La., native also was named a finalist for the Naismith National Defensive Player of the Award for presented by MOLECULE and to the Big 12 All-Defensive Team, each for the second straight season.
Junior guard Mercy Miller, sophomore forward Chase McCarty and sophomore guard Kordel Jefferson also return for the Cougars. Miller scored a career-high 15 points in a home win over New Orleans and was named to the College Sports Communicators Academic All-District Team while McCarty scored a career-best 20 points with six 3-pointers in a Big 12 road win at Oklahoma State to cap the regular season.
Jefferson was sidelined by a knee injury early in the season but returns after successful surgery and rehabilitation.
That veteran group will be joined by an eight-man newcomer class with freshman guard Ikenna Aloze, freshman center Arafan Diané, freshman center Djafar Silimana, junior forward Braden East, graduate guard Corey Hadnot II, graduate forward Delrecco Gillespie, senior guard Dedan Thomas Jr., freshman guard Tyus Thomas and graduate guard Chendall Weaver.
BUY TICKETS
Fans can find and purchase available tickets to Houston's neutral-site games this season by clicking here.
Non-season ticket holders interested in purchasing season tickets are invited to place their names on the Season Ticket Wait List by clicking here.
SUPPORT YOUR COOGS
Fans can make a direct impact on the success of Houston Men's Basketball by providing NIL opportunities and by joining the 50-50 Club, which provides financial support directly to Houston Men's Basketball for needs beyond its operating budget.
Fans who join the 50-50 Club will receive embroidered Jordan Brand team apparel, invitations to exclusive events, regular updates about the program and much more.
STAY CONNECTED
Fans can receive updates by following @UHCougarMBK on X and catch up with the latest news and notes on the team by clicking LIKE on the team's Facebook page at UHCougarMBK or by visiting the team's Instagram page at UHCougarMBK.
– UHCougars.com –
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