Houston’s 2026-27 basketball schedule is finally out, and it’s packed from the jump.
The Cougars are set for a demanding non-conference stretch that sends them on the road multiple times before the Big 12 slate brings a heavy dose of marquee games to the Fertitta Center. There are also two exhibition games on the front end, starting with Montana Tech on Oct. 15 at home.
That one carries a little extra meaning, since it’s the program where Kelvin Sampson began his head coaching career. Houston then heads to Grand Rapids for a matchup with defending national champion Michigan on Oct.
The season opener comes Nov. 2 against LaSalle, followed by a trip to Lake Tahoe, Nev., to face California on Nov. 8.
Houston returns home to play Jacksonville State on Nov. 11 before heading to Las Vegas for the Player’s Era tournament from Nov. 17-19.
The Cougars open that event against Rutgers, and a rematch of the 2025 National Championship could be waiting against Florida. Their final game there will come against one of Auburn, West Virginia, Kansas, or UNLV.
After that, Houston gets four straight home games, including one against Queens, which made the NCAA Tournament last year.
The Cougars’ non-conference schedule keeps its national feel all the way through December. They travel to Madison Square Garden for the Jimmy V Classic against Alabama on Dec. 8, then return home to face LSU in Houston Hoopfest on Dec.
- A trip to Jacksonville, Fla. brings another meeting with Florida State on Dec. 20, and the final non-conference game is at home against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi on Dec.
Big 12 play brings no shortage of heavyweight matchups. Houston has an 18-game conference schedule and three home-and-away series, with Texas Tech, Arizona and Colorado all appearing twice.
The Cougars open league play against TCU at home on Jan. 2, then go to Waco to play Baylor on Jan. 10.
The Texas Tech series starts with a home game on Jan. 19 before the return trip to Lubbock on Feb. 15.
Arizona comes to the center of the schedule as well, with Houston visiting Tucson on Feb. 6 and hosting the Wildcats in the regular-season finale on March 6. Colorado is on the slate twice too, with the road game set for Jan. 16 and the home game on Feb.
Houston also gets Kansas State on the road and Iowa State at home after not playing either team last year. The Cougars have two Big Monday games, including the road trip to Texas Tech.
The other comes at home against Kansas on Feb. 1, and that one arrives quickly after Houston plays BYU around 48 hours earlier on Jan. 30.
The rest of the home conference schedule includes Utah and Oklahoma State, while the remaining road games are Arizona State, UCF, West Virginia and Cincinnati.
In Other News...
Houston Just Became Part Of A Bigger Big 12 TV Debate
Texas Techs 28-26 win over Houston did more than shake up the Big 12 race. It also gave FOX a strong number to point to, with the game drawing 3.028 million viewers and peaking at 4.074 million on FOX College Football Friday. For a conference that has been willing to put league games in that window, Houston just wound up attached to a broadcast result that will matter far beyond one close finish.
FOX said the audience topped its average Friday night college football viewership from last season by 31%, and the networks current season average is already up as well. With several more Big 12 games set for Friday night on FOX, that kind of interest could end up carrying some weight when future scheduling decisions are made. [Read more 🡒]
Willie Fritz Returns To Georgia Southern With Houston Needing A Response
Willie Fritz heads back to familiar turf Saturday when Houston visits Georgia Southern, a reunion that comes with a little more edge because the Cougars need a response. Houston is ranked No. 25 and coming off a recent loss, so this trip is about more than nostalgia for Fritz, who knows the Eagles program well and now has a Top 25 team trying to steady itself in the early season.
Georgia Southern enters trying to bounce back from consecutive road defeats, and the setting adds another layer to a first-time meeting between the schools. It will also be the first time a Power Four program has played at Paulson Stadium, which gives the matchup a bit of history even before kickoff and leaves Houston with a chance to show whether its ranking still matches the standard Fritz expects. [Read more 🡒]
Houstons Surging Offense Now Faces The Question That Could Define 2026
Even in a 28-26 loss to Texas Tech, Houstons offense kept showing why it has become the most reliable part of the program. The Cougars are averaging 527.3 yards per game, a number that reflects real balance and explosiveness, with Conner Weigman driving much of the production as the passing game and ground game have both found traction. In a Big 12 race where every week seems to test a different weakness, Houston has at least given itself a real identity on one side of the ball.
The next stretch is where the conversation gets more interesting. Georgia Southern, UCF, Kansas State, Oklahoma State and Utah are all sitting ahead, and while the offense has been good enough to keep Houston competitive, the pass defense remains the piece that could decide how far this group can go. If the Cougars are going to turn strong yardage numbers into something more lasting, the answers on the other side of the ball will have to arrive soon. [Read more 🡒]