Houston Basketball Finalizing Game Against Prominent SEC Team
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The Houston Cougars' non-conference schedule for the 2026-27 basketball season is starting to take shape.
While Houston's participation in the revamped Players Era Tournament in Las Vegas in November has been confirmed and will likely be the highlight of the non-conference portion, other parts of the schedule have been confirmed.
Houston will open up the 2026-27 season as a whole at home in Fertitta Center on Nov. 2 against La Salle. The Cougars will also play host to Queens University, an NCAA Tournament team from last season on Nov. 8.
The latest edition to Houston's non-conference schedule is likely about to be finalized.
A Big SEC Opponent Awaits
Houston is finalizing an agreement with LSU to play next season at Toyota Center in downtown Houston, according to Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports. There is no timetable or official date set at the moment.
Coach Kelvin Sampson and his squad will be set to face new LSU basketball coach Will Wade and what's been a revamped Tigers program. Wade is now a polarizing figure in college basketball due to his recruitment of older players who are former professionals already from around the world and from the NBA.
Wade is using tactics not seen in the sport, while Sampson offers a true developmental program that has always made Houston stand out. LSU will be looking like a completely different team in 2026-27 and have some strong transfer talents all over the roster.
This won't be an easy game for Houston now, given the state of LSU's roster, even though the school isn't a basketball powerhouse. It's likely Tigers fans will pack Toyota Center, and it will be an interesting environment to play in. Houston just beat LSU in football at the Texas Bowl, and Cougars' fans will relish the opportunity to beat the SEC brand in basketball as well.
Houston's had its fair share of experience against SEC opponents, most notably playing and blowing by Texas A&M in the second round of this past season's NCAA Tournament as well as beating Arkansas in a showcase game last year.
The Cougars are quite familiar with Toyota Center, but the fans and players left from last season will have a bad taste in their mouths from playing there last time. Houston shockingly lost right at home to Illinois in the Sweet 16, which ended their March Madness run.
Houston has played a non-conference game at Toyota Center for the past three seasons, and the game against LSU will make it four. Besides the Sweet 16 last season, Houston faced Florida State and completely dominated.
Prior to that, Houston lost to Auburn in 2024 in a battle of what ended up being Final Four teams that season. UH also played Texas A&M in 2023 at Toyota Center and beat the Aggies in a close game.
Houston is 3-2 overall at Toyota Center, the home of the NBA's Houston Rockets.
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Maanav Gupta is a staff writer for Houston Cougars on SI. He graduated from the University of Houston in the summer of 2025 with his bachelor’s in journalism and a minor in Spanish. Gupta spent three years at the student newspaper, The Daily Cougar, and also covered the 2025 Final Four and National Championship as Houston beat writer for College Basketball Review. He also has his own YouTube channel, Maanav’s Sports Talk, where he has interviewed professional athletes and broadcasters like Jim Nantz, Jose Altuve, J.J. Watt, Rich Eisen, and Alperen Sengun. Gupta was also a contributor to the Houston athletic program as a student. You can find Gupta on X, Instagram and TikTok @MGSportsTalk.