Men's Basketball Releases 2025-26 Non-Conference Schedule
8/14/2025 9:58:00 AM | Men's Basketball
HATTIESBURG, Miss. -- A week after releasing the 2025-26 Sun Belt schedule, the Southern Miss men's basketball team has finalized its non-conference slate of games.
The Golden Eagles will get a taste of action with a pair of exhibition games against New Orleans (Oct. 20) and Jackson State (Oct. 27). The game against New Orleans will be held at Reed Green Coliseum, while the latter exhibition will be played on the road in Jackson.
Seventh-year head coach Jay Ladner will open the season against Buffalo (Nov. 3) in the first MAC-SBC Challenge contest. Three days later, the Golden Eagles will host Tougaloo (Nov. 6) in the home opener at Reed Green Coliseum. They then embark on a stretch that includes one home game in a seven-game span. Southern Miss starts that portion of its schedule at South Carolina (Nov. 9) and Grambling State (Nov. 13) before returning to Hattiesburg to play William Carey (Nov. 18).
This year's schedule may be one of the toughest non-conference schedules in Southern Miss history, Ladner said. I truly believe that playing a tough schedule in the non-conference portion of the season prepares your team for conference play. Some schools prefer a softer schedule, but that's not the Southern Miss way.
The new-look Golden Eagles head back out on the road to play in the Pensacola Invitational opener (Nov. 22) in Pensacola, Fla. The bracket-style MTE will feature a game the following day against a to-be-named opponent. Both games will be played at the Pensacola Bay Center, which will host the Sun Belt Tournament for the sixth-straight season. Southern Miss ends the four-game road trip at Radford (Dec. 3) and Miami (Dec. 6).
The Golden Eagles get back to Reed Green Coliseum as they host Grambling (Dec. 8) to complete the home-and-home. Then it's the annual reunion on the coast for Golden Eagle fans as Southern Miss and Ole Miss (Dec. 13) battle at the Mississippi Coast Coliseum for the third consecutive season. The Golden Eagles then get into Sun Belt play as it opens at The Greenhouse against Louisiana (Dec. 18) and Arkansas State (Dec. 20).
Southern Miss comes out of the holiday break and travels to LSU (Dec. 29) to wrap up the 2025 portion of its schedule. The month of February starts with a trip to Marshall (Feb. 4) before hosting the second round of the MAC-SBC Challenge (Feb. 7).
Season tickets for the 2025-26 Southern Miss men's basketball season will be available for purchase on Monday, Aug. 18. For more information, visit SouthernMiss.com/Tickets.
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| FULL 2025-26 SCHEDULE | |||
Day | Date | Opponent | Location |
| Monday | Oct. 20 | New Orleans (EXH) | HATTIESBURG |
| Monday | Oct. 27 | Jackson State | Jackson, Miss. |
| Monday | Nov. 3 | Buffalo (MAC-SBC Challenge) | Buffalo, N.Y. |
| THURSDAY | NOV. 6 | TOUGALOO | HATTIESBURG |
| Sunday | Nov. 9 | South Carolina | Columbia, S.C. |
| Thursday | Nov. 13 | Grambling State | Grambling, La. |
| TUESDAY | NOV. 18 | WILLIAM CAREY | HATTIESBURG |
| Saturday | Nov. 22 | TBD (Pensacola Invitational) | Pensacola, Fla. |
| Sunday | Nov. 23 | TBD (Pensacola Invitational) | Pensacola, Fla. |
| Wednesday | Dec. 3 | Radford | Radford, Va. |
| Saturday | Dec. 6 | Miami | Miami, Fla. |
| MONDAY | DEC. 8 | GRAMBLING STATE | HATTIESBURG |
| Saturday | Dec. 13 | Ole Miss | Biloxi, Miss. |
| Monday | Dec. 29 | LSU | Baton Rouge, La. |
| SATURDAY | FEB. 7 | MAC-SBC CHALLENGE | HATTIESBURG |