Andy Enfield’s revamped roster heads to California for a high-stakes Thanksgiving tournament, anchoring a grueling nonconference slate designed to propel the Mustangs toward back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances.
SMU's path back to the NCAA Tournament will include a Thanksgiving trip to Southern California.
The Mustangs announced Thursday that they'll face Utah State and LSU on consecutive days as part of the Acrisure Series Thanksgiving Event at Acrisure Arena in Palm Desert, California.
SMU will open the event against Utah State at 1 p.m. CT on Nov. 25 before turning around the following afternoon for a 3:30 p.m. CT matchup with LSU on Thanksgiving Day.
And neither game will be the Mustangs' only notable nonconference test.
The two-game trip adds to a growing nonconference slate that will also send SMU to Chicago for a Dec. 5 matchup with DePaul before another neutral-site test against UNLV in Phoenix on Dec. 19.
Three days later, Oklahoma will visit Moody Coliseum.
That's quite the collection of early opportunities for an SMU program coming off its first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2017.
The Mustangs' return to March Madness highlighted a second season under head coach Andy Enfield that also included two victories over ranked opponents and the program's first appearances in the AP Top 25 and USA Today Coaches Poll in nine years.
Now Enfield will attempt to build on that success with a roster reinforced by one of college basketball's top transfer classes.
On3 ranks SMU's incoming transfer group No. 9 nationally and third in the ACC, and the Mustangs won't have to wait until conference play to see how their revamped roster stacks up.
Utah State will be SMU's first opponent in Palm Desert.
Then comes a familiar one.
The Thanksgiving meeting with LSU will mark the third consecutive season that SMU has faced the Tigers at a neutral site, giving the Mustangs another opportunity against an SEC program before the calendar flips to December.
SMU also has some recent history at Acrisure Arena.
The Mustangs won the Acrisure Holiday Invitational during the 2024-25 season, defeating Washington State 77-60 in the championship game.
But the California trip will represent only part of what's shaping up to be a challenging third season for Enfield.
Once ACC play begins, SMU will face Georgia Tech and Louisville both at home and on the road while welcoming Cal, Clemson, Duke, Pitt, Stanford, Syracuse and Wake Forest to Moody Coliseum.
The Mustangs' road-only draw includes trips to Boston College, Miami, North Carolina, NC State, Notre Dame, Virginia and Virginia Tech.
SMU's remaining nonconference schedule has yet to be announced, meaning Thursday's reveal isn't necessarily the final notable addition.
What we already know, though, is enough to circle several dates.
After finally returning to the NCAA Tournament last season, the Mustangs won't have to wait until ACC play to begin proving they belong back there.
