The 2025-26 schedule for Southern Miss men’s basketball is official with the program announcing its non-conference slate on Thursday.
Southern Miss released its Sun Belt schedule last week with games set to be played against every conference opponent: Louisiana, Arkansas State, Texas State, Louisiana Monroe, Troy, Georgia State, Coastal Carolina, Appalachian State, James Madison, Marshall, South Alabama, and Old Dominion.
As part of the non-conference portion of the season, the Golden Eagles put together “one of the toughest non-conference schedules in Southern Miss history,” according to head coach Jay Ladner. And for good reason, too.
“I truly believe that playing a tough schedule in the non-conference portion of the season prepares your team for conference play,” Ladner said. “Some teams prefer a softer schedule, but that’s not the Southern Miss way.”
The team’s seventh season with Ladner at the helm tips off in the inaugural MAC-SBC Challenge on the road against Buffalo on Nov. 3. Three days later, on Nov. 6, the Golden Eagles will host Tougaloo in the home opener at Reed Green Coliseum.
Southern Miss will then head to South Carolina of the SEC on Nov. 9 and Grambling State of the SWAC on Nov. 13 before hosting crosstown foe William Carey on Nov. 18. The Golden Eagles and Grambling will play a second game in Hattiesburg on Dec. 8.
The team will partake in the Pensacola Invitational on Nov. 22-23 with opponents yet to be decided. A second round of the MAC-SBC Challenge will be played on Feb. 7 with that opponent yet to be decided, as well.
Other nonconference games worth pointing out are at Miami on Dec. 6, against Ole Miss in a neutral-site game in Biloxi on Dec. 13, and at LSU on Dec. 29.
The full 2025-26 Southern Miss men’s basketball schedule can be found here. Season tickets are available for purchase beginning Aug. 18.
For those who can’t wait for the team’s official tip-off, Southern Miss has scheduled two preseason exhibitions: against New Orleans in Hattiesburg on Oct. 20 and at Jackson State on Oct. 27.
