The complete 2026-27 schedule for Houston Cougars basketball is now official. After some of the prominent non-conference games and the Big 12 schedule matrix were revealed, the whole slate was announced last week.
This is quite the action-packed schedule for Houston , who have to do a lot of traveling in the non-conference portion before having some pretty stellar matchups in the Fertitta Center for the Big 12 portion.
Mar 21, 2026; Oklahoma City, OK, USA; Houston Cougars head coach Kelvin Sampson shouts from the sidelines during the first half against the Texas A&M Aggies in a second round game of the men's 2026 NCAA Tournament at Paycom Center. Mandatory Credit: Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
Houston has two exhibition games this year, with the first against Montana Tech on Oct. 15 at home. That's the program where Kelvin Sampson started his head coaching career. It's followed by a game against defending national champion Michigan in Grand Rapids , Mich. on Oct. 25.
The Cougars open the season on Nov. 2 at home against LaSalle and then travel out to Lake Tahoe, Nev. to face California on Nov. 8.
UH will then face Jacksonville State at home on Nov. 11. The Player's Era tournament in Las Vegas is right after that, as Houston will play three games from Nov. 17-19, beginning with Rutgers. An enticing rematch of the 2025 National Championship could take place against Florida before facing one of Auburn, West Virginia, Kansas, or UNLV on the last day.
The Cougars then have four straight home games, with one featuring Queens, who made the NCAA Tournament last year.
Houston travels to Madison Square Garden in New York in a big Jimmy V Classic showdown against Alabama on Dec. 8. The Cougars return and face LSU on Dec. 13 in Houston Hoopfest at Toyota Center. They go against Florida State for the second straight year, this time in Jacksonville, Fla. on Dec. 20. The final non-conference game is against Texas A&M- Corpus Christi on Dec. 29 at home.
Mar 14, 2026; Kansas City, MO, USA; Arizona Wildcats forward Koa Peat (10) drives to the hoop past Houston Cougars forward Chase McCarty (24) during the first half during the men's Big 12 Conference Tournament Championship at T-Mobile Center. Mandatory Credit: William Purnell-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
Houston has an 18-game Big 12 schedule that features three home-and-away series this year. The Cougars face state rivals Texas Tech twice, first on Jan. 19 at home and then on Feb. 15 in Lubbock. Texas.
Houston also faces Arizona twice in two high-powered games, first on the road in Tucson, Ariz., on Feb. 6 and then in the final game of the season on March 6 at home. Houston also has two games against Colorado, with the road game on Jan. 16 and the home game on Feb. 24.
The Cougars open up the conference schedule against TCU on Jan 2. at home. Houston also faces Kansas State on the road for the first Big 12 road game on Jan. 5 and Iowa State at home this year for the second home Big 12 game on Jan. 13. Houston faced K-State at home last year and the Cyclones on the road, so it's a switch of venues this year.
Houston has two Big Monday games, one of which is the Texas Tech road game. The other is facing Kansas at home on Feb. 1. The Cougars didn't face the Jayhawks at home last year, only at Allen Fieldhouse. It's a quick turnaround for Houston, as it'll play BYU around 48 hours prior on Jan. 30.
The Cougars also head out to Waco, Texas and play Baylor on Jan. 10. The rest of the home schedule features Utah and Oklahoma State. The rest of the road games are Arizona State, UCF, West Virginia and Cincinnati.
This article was originally published on www.si.com/college/houston as Breaking Down Houston Basketball's 2026-27 Season Schedule .
