The Oklahoma Sooners' nonconference schedule for the 2026-27 men's college basketball season is almost complete, and so far, it doesn't have any dates worth circling for fans, especially at home.
Rocco Miller of Bracketeer.org and The Field of 68 recently revealed the Sooners' lackluster nonconference slate that still has three dates to fill. But even if OU head coach Porter Moser goes out and finds three big-time programs for the Sooners to take on, the schedule overall will still have OU fans staying home and likely continue the Sooners' streak of having the worst attendance in the SEC. And at this point, it's hard to blame fans for not filling Lloyd Noble Center between disappointing seasons and underwhelming visitors.
Oklahoma's nonconference schedule is almost complete and it's obviously lacking
According to Miller, the Sooners' season will tip off on Tuesday, Nov. 2, against East Texas A&M, which went 11-21 last season out of the Southland Conference. Cupcake opponents are pretty standard early in seasons, but for the Sooners, that's just the beginning of anticlimactic matchups.
The rest of OU's nonconference opponents set to visit Lloyd Noble Center include Mississippi Valley State, Fairleigh Dickinson, Campbell, Alabama State, Jackson State and UL Monroe. All are mid-major programs that had losing records last season. Fairleigh Dickinson is the only program of that group that will not have a brand new head coach next season after just firing their old one.
Read more: NCAA Tournament expansion is great news for Porter Moser only
The biggest names on the Sooners' slate include Arizona State, Oklahoma State, Pittsburgh and Purdue. None of them, though, come to Norman. OU will at least play Arizona State down the highway in Tulsa and Oklahoma State in Oklahoma City, but that still doesn't get fans to Lloyd Noble Center while rewarding season ticket holders and bumping that abysmal home attendance mark.
The Sooners will take on both Pittsburgh and Purdue, by far the strongest noncon opponent for OU, at the Fort Myers Tip-Off in Florida. Again, though, that does absolutely nothing for home attendance numbers. It also doesn't at least bolster the Sooners' NCAA Tournament resume with road matchups since all four games will be considered at neutral sites. In fact, as of now, the Sooners won't even play a true road game until SEC play starts two months into the season.
Oklahoma men's basketball nonconference schedule (so far)
Nov. 2: vs East Texas A&M
Nov. 6: vs Mississippi Valley State
Nov. 13: vs Fairleigh Dickinson
Nov. 18: vs Campbell
Nov. 24: vs Pittsburgh (Fort Myers Tip-Off)
Nov. 26: vs Purdue (Fort Myers Tip-Off)
Dec. 5: vs Arizona State (BOK Center in Tulsa)
Dec. 7: vs Alabama State
Dec. 12: vs Oklahoma State (Paycom Center in Oklahoma City)
Dec. 17: vs Jackson State
Dec. 28: vs UL Monroe
Moser will again likely beg for fans to pack Lloyd Noble Center. However, between missing the NCAA Tournament four of five years and scheduling an anemic nonconference slate, he's given fans no reason to show up other than the old argument of loyal support, but at some point, there has to be a payoff from the time and money spent.
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