SMU announces home opener in Dallas against Oklahoma on Dec. 22, with return game set for Norman

SMU and Oklahoma have agreed to begin a home-and-home men’s basketball series next season, with the opener scheduled for December 22, 2026 at Moody Coliseum in Dallas. The second game will be played in Norman at the Lloyd Noble Center on December 21, 2027.

The announcement comes after reporting that the series would start in Dallas during the December window, with the return game in Norman in the 2027-28 season. College Hoops Today had described both dates as “TBD” before this official confirmation.

Both programs will use the matchup as a high-visibility nonconference anchor. Oklahoma competes in the SEC, while SMU plays in the ACC, creating an immediate cross-conference clash with two programs that routinely try to build national résumés through early-season scheduling.

For SMU, the Oklahoma game is already embedded in a marquee December stretch. SMU’s official release lists a road game at DePaul on December 5 and a matchup versus UNLV on December 19 in the Hall of Fame Series Phoenix, placing the Sooners as the follow-up event at Moody Coliseum on December 22. That sequence matters because it tests SMU’s rotation against a mix of styles before ACC league play begins.

The Mustangs are also entering this stretch as a program in its third season under head coach Andy Enfield, according to SMU. SMU said it is operating with a highly regarded transfer group ranked No. 9 nationally and third in the ACC by On3, and it is coming off a season in which it made its first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2017 and recorded a pair of top-25 wins for the first time in six seasons. A home game against a national brand like Oklahoma is the type of matchup that can both validate that offseason momentum and help set expectations for conference play.

Oklahoma’s side of the series will serve a similar purpose, even though the specifics of its full nonconference schedule for 2026-27 have not been included in the SMU announcement. The Sooners’ SEC affiliation is already evident in how the program’s slate has been presented this cycle, and an ACC opponent like SMU adds another layer of scouting and style contrast during the early month before conference matchups tighten.

From a fan perspective, the format creates two meaningful trips across North Texas and Oklahoma. A December home game in Dallas gives SMU a chance to showcase its program to one of the largest media markets in the region, while the return in Norman on December 21, 2027 sets a clear “must-circulate” date for Sooners supporters looking for a major opponent in late-season nonconference play. The key remaining items for both campuses will be game times and television assignments as those get finalized.