SMU basketball will face Utah State and LSU in Palm Desert, adding two major neutral-site tests to Andy Enfield’s loaded 2026-27 schedule.
SMU basketball isn’t easing into the 2026-27 season.
Andy Enfield’s Mustangs are heading west for Thanksgiving and getting two serious measuring-stick games in the process. SMU will face Utah State on Nov. 25 and LSU on Nov. 26 as part of the Acrisure Series Thanksgiving Event at Acrisure Arena in Palm Desert, California.
For an SMU program trying to prove last season’s NCAA Tournament breakthrough was only the beginning, this is exactly the kind of November stage Enfield should want.
The Mustangs will open the event against Utah State before turning around less than 24 hours later to battle LSU. That matchup continues a developing trend between the programs, with SMU and LSU meeting at a neutral site for the third consecutive season.
And the Acrisure setting already carries good memories for the Mustangs.
SMU won the Acrisure Holiday Invitational during the 2024-25 season, beating Washington State 77-60 in the championship game.
This time, however, the bigger picture extends well beyond one holiday event.
SMU’s non-conference schedule is starting to look like something built specifically for March.
The Mustangs will travel to Chicago to face DePaul on Dec. 5, meet UNLV in Phoenix on Dec. 19 and bring Oklahoma to Moody Coliseum on Dec. 22.
Then comes an ACC schedule loaded with marquee opportunities.
Georgia Tech and Louisville will each face SMU twice, while Duke, Clemson, Pitt, Syracuse, Stanford, Cal and Wake Forest are among the teams scheduled to visit Dallas. Road trips include North Carolina, Miami, NC State, Notre Dame and Virginia.
That’s a serious résumé-building path for a team coming off its first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2017.
SMU also reached the AP Top 25 and USA Today Coaches Poll last season for the first time in nine years while producing three All-ACC selections. The Mustangs finished among the nation’s top 30 in scoring, assists, field-goal percentage and 3-point shooting.
Now Enfield has reloaded.
SMU enters his third season with a transfer class ranked No. 9 nationally and third in the ACC by On3, giving the Mustangs enough new talent to raise expectations even higher.
The 2027 ACC Tournament won’t arrive until March, but SMU’s postseason resume will start getting built in November. Two games in Palm Desert. Two chances to make an early statement.
And absolutely no room for a holiday hangover.
