There's no denying the Oklahoma Sooners need more big-time matchups in their nonconference slate for the 2026-27 men's college basketball season, but when you see the SEC gauntlet that Porter Moser has to deal with, you understand why he softens the load where he can.
The SEC on Thursday announced conference opponents and locations for all 16 members for next season. The Sooners got home-and-home matchups with Georgia, Missouri and Texas for the Red River Rivalry. Those are the only teams Oklahoma will face twice while playing everyone else once. With every SEC squad included on OU's schedule, that means the Sooners are guaranteed to take on 10 teams that made the NCAA Tournament last season.
The Sooners will host Kentucky, LSU, Mississippi State, South Carolina, Tennessee and Vanderbilt at Lloyd Noble Center. They have to endure road trips to Alabama, Arkansas, Auburn, Florida, Ole Miss and Texas A&M.
SEC play will tip off on Jan. 2, but beyond that, dates for each conference matchup will be announced later on to complete the Sooners' calendar.
Oklahoma's 2026-27 SEC slate
Home/Away: Georgia, Missouri, Texas
Home: Kentucky, LSU, Mississippi State, South Carolina, Tennessee, Vanderbilt
Away: Alabama, Arkansas, Auburn, Florida, Ole Miss, Texas A&M
Porter Moser must have Sooners ready before tough SEC slate begins
Of the nine SEC teams visiting Norman next year, six went dancing last season, including Georgia, Missouri, Texas, Kentucky, Tennessee and Vanderbilt. That finally gives the LNC some marquee games to fill seats, but fans still don't really have much of a reason to show up until the start of the new year, which has been a major reason why OU has had the worst attendance in the SEC the last two seasons. That and disappointing results under Moser, who's miraculously entering Year 6.
Before those conference dates were forced upon the Sooners, zero upcoming visitors had made the NCAA Tournament last season. In fact, Purdue, which the Sooners will play at the Fort Myers Tip-Off, and SMU were the only nonconference opponents Oklahoma scheduled that participated in March Madness last season. Neither will travel to Norman, though, with Syracuse, thanks to the ACC/SEC Challenge, being the only Power Four opponent that will play the Sooners at LNC before SEC play starts.
The scales are extremely unbalanced there. The SEC is a dogfight having produced the most NCAA Tournament teams the past two seasons, which also happened to be the first two years in the conference for Oklahoma. That influences Moser to create such a lackluster nonconference slate before entering the incinerator.
Stuffing the record with easy wins could boost the Sooners' chances of slipping into the NCAA Tournament, but obviously it hasn't with Moser getting Oklahoma to March Madness just once in five seasons. It's actually done more harm than good as the Sooners have continually went into SEC play unprepared. Even between two different conferences, the Sooners have never had a winning conference record under Moser despite annually scorching through their non-con foes.
We just witnessed a resilient OU baseball team make an unbelievable run to a national title after being beat down by a loaded SEC schedule itself. Outfielder Trey Gambill had a viral quote about the SEC, saying, "You're going to get punched in the face, you're going to bleed from the mouth. The question is, do you like the taste of blood?"
Moser's basketball teams, though, have run from the fight up to this point, so when they're thrown into the ring against their will, they're not ready to fight back.
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