Texas Tech, Boston College headline LSU basketball non-conference slate

By Hunt Palmer

BATON ROUGE – The LSU men’s basketball team on Friday announced its 13-game non-conference schedule, which will feature eight games in the Pete Maravich Assembly Center, in the November-December part of the 2025-26 season.

LSU will open the season at home on Wednesday, Nov. 5, against Tarleton State of the Western Athletic Conference.

The Tigers will open with five straight home games, including a Nov. 21 contest against Omaha, which won 22 games a year ago. That contest will be the night before LSU’s final home football contest against Western Kentucky, scheduled for the evening on Nov. 22.

LSU will play five consecutive games away from the Maravich Center starting with a return trip to the Emerald Coast Classic in Niceville, Florida, at the Northwest Florida State College’s Raider Arena. LSU won the 2021 title over Wake Forest, 76-61.

LSU will face Drake in the first game of the tournament on Nov. 28, which is set for 8:30 p.m. CT on the CBS Sports Network. Drake won 31 games a year ago, winning the Missouri Valley Conference. LSU will face either Georgia Tech or DePaul in the final round on Nov. 29.

The Tigers will next take part in the annual ACC/SEC challenge with a trip to Chesnut Hill, Massachusetts, for a game at Boston College on Dec. 3. LSU defeated Florida State in last year’s challenge, won by the SEC, 14-2.

Following that will be two more neutral-site contests, as LSU travels to Fort Worth on Sunday, Jan. 7, to meet Texas Tech in the Coast to Coast Challenge and then will be part of the LSU men’s and women’s doubleheader of games on Saturday, Dec. 13, in the New Orleans Smoothie King Center as the Tigers will face SMU in the Compete 4 Cause Classic.

LSU will return home for the final three games of the non-conference schedule beginning Dec. 19 against Southeastern, before facing Prairie View on Dec. 22 and Southern Miss on Dec. 29.

The 2026 SEC schedule, which was partially announced a few weeks ago, begins for LSU on Saturday, Jan. 3, with a road game against Texas A&M with the first home game the following Tuesday or Wednesday (Jan. 6/7) against South Carolina.

Game times and television schedules will be announced at a later date.

LSU 2025-26 Basketball Season Non-Conference Schedule

HOME GAMES IN ALL CAPS

Nov. 5 – TARLETON STATE

Nov. 10 – NEW ORLEANS

Nov. 13 – FLORIDA INTERNATIONAL

Nov. 18 – ALCORN STATE

Nov. 21 – OMAHA

Emerald Coast Classic – Niceville, Florida

Nov. 28 – Drake – 8:30 p.m. CT (CBSSN)

Nov. 29 – Georgia Tech/DePaul

ACC/SEC Challenge