SMU will face Minnesota in Frisco as Andy Enfield stacks a ruthless nonconference slate designed to prove last season’s NCAA Tournament run was no fluke.
DALLAS - SMU basketball isn’t easing into the 2026-27 season.
The Mustangs are loading the runway with heavyweight opponents, and Minnesota is the latest name added to a non-conference schedule built to generate attention ... and expose weaknesses before ACC play begins.
SMU and Minnesota will meet Dec. 12 in the Dallas Duel at Comerica Center in Frisco, Texas. It’s technically a neutral-site game, although the short trip north from Dallas should make the building feel anything but neutral for Andy Enfield’s program.
The schools also agreed to meet at a neutral location in Minnesota during the 2028-29 season.
“Facing a Big Ten opponent like Minnesota provides another high-profile neutral-site game for our players and fans,” Enfield said. “We are excited for the opportunity.”
This isn’t an isolated showcase tossed onto a soft schedule. It’s another dangerous stop in a December stretch that could reveal exactly how serious SMU is about becoming a consistent national player.
The Mustangs will face Utah State on Nov. 25 and LSU on Nov. 26 at the Acrisure Series Thanksgiving Event in Palm Desert, California.
They’ll travel to Chicago to play DePaul on Dec. 5 before meeting Minnesota one week later. SMU then draws UNLV in Phoenix on Dec. 19 and welcomes Oklahoma to Moody Coliseum on Dec. 22.
That’s not scheduling for cheap wins. That’s scheduling for résumés, television exposure and March preparation.
Enfield enters his third season at SMU after taking the Mustangs to their first NCAA Tournament since 2017.
SMU also collected two ranked victories, returned to the AP Top 25 and USA Today Coaches Poll for the first time in nine years and placed three players on All-ACC teams.
Now comes the difficult part: proving the breakthrough wasn’t temporary.
SMU’s transfer class was ranked No. 9 nationally and third in the ACC by On3, giving Enfield another reconstructed roster to mold before conference play.
The Mustangs’ 18-game ACC schedule includes home dates against Duke, Clemson and Pitt, road games at North Carolina, Virginia and Notre Dame, plus home-and-away series with Georgia Tech and Louisville.
Minnesota won’t carry the same conference stakes, but the matchup matters. It gives SMU another major-conference opponent, another spotlight game in its backyard and another opportunity to build an NCAA Tournament resume.
The Mustangs wanted expectations. Now they’ve scheduled enough firepower to find out whether they can survive them.
