LSU Basketball Adds Major Matchup to Non-Conference Schedule

LSU men's basketball will not cruise into its SEC schedule like it did in previous years under Matt McMahon.

Will Wade is going all in on getting his abnormal roster geared up for big games at the beginning of the season. His team comes with age and is going to be thrown into the fire to have plenty of experience by the time SEC play comes around.

LSU was announced yesterday to be playing Gonzaga at the 12,000 seat Spokane Arena on Nov. 14. This comes just after it was announced that the Tigers would be taking part in the Acrisure Series during the Thanksgiving holiday among other power conference and NCAA tournament teams.

The Tigers will also see former point guard Dedan Thomas Jr. with his new team, Houston, when the Tigers take on the Cougars at the Toyota Center in 2026, with no official date still set.

Will this schedule help LSU?

Will Wade claps during a game in 2022 | Kim Klement-Imagn Images

LSU's unconventional roster—which currently includes four international players and RJ Luis Jr. who has signed NBA contracts but never played—is getting challenged immediately. This is something that LSU has been missing in previous years.

The last two seasons for the Tigers have seen them only take a couple of losses in the first two months of the season.

Much of the reason for that is because of the soft scheduling where they Tigers have only faced three or four power conference opponents, who still aren't at the top of their respective leagues.

But this team won't have to struggle through three weeks of SEC play to really start understanding difficult competition. Wade is also challenging himself by pitting himself against some of the best coaches in the game: Houston's Kelvin Sampson and Gonzaga's Mark Few.

Houston was the national runner-up in 2024 and Gonzaga hasn't missed the NCAA tournament since 1998. The Cougars made it to the Sweet 16 last year while Gonzaga only made it to the Round of 32. But LSU hasn't even been in the tournament since Wade was the coach back in 2022.

These two matchups away from home and in big arenas in the opposing team's city will give LSU some early season reality checks.

The Acrisure Series will also give the Tigers the opportunity to see more power conference teams outside of the SEC, as the series will include schools such as USC, South Carolina, Arizona State, Utah State, Grand Canyon, Saint Louis, Stanford and Colorado.

A matchup against Arizona State would offer LSU the chance to see former forward Marcus Vaughns and former associate head coach David Patrick, who now holds the same position with the Sun Devils.

These matchups offer plenty of learning opportunities which will be key for this team to come together and for the international players to understand the best way to succeed in the American college game.

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