SMU’s 2015 non-conference basketball schedule features nationally televised home games against Michigan and Gonzaga, plus road games at Stanford and crosstown rival TCU.
The schedule, released Friday, includes 12 games, seven of which are at home and two on the road. The Mustangs will also play in the Las Vegas Classic tournament in December.
SMU opens the season at home against Sam Houston State on Saturday, Nov. 14 at 7 p.m. Five days later, the Mustangs will travel to Stanford for a Thursday night game. Home games with Yale (Nov. 22) and Brown (Nov. 29) will follow. Next up is Dec. 2 at TCU, then four straight home games against New Hampshire (Dec. 5), Michigan (Dec. 8), Nicholls State (Dec. 16) and Hampton (Dec. 17).
SMU then plays Kent State in the first round of the Las Vegas Classic on Dec. 22. With a win, the Mustangs will play Dec. 23 vs. the winner of the Penn State-Colorado game. After Las Vegas, they start conference play, but Gonzaga will visit Moody Coliseum on Feb. 13 for the final non-conference game.
Six of the teams on SMU’s schedule finished the 2014-15 season with winning records, and four won at least 20 games. Michigan, which didn’t have a winning season last year, is widely expected to bounce back this season. Gonzaga loses three starters but returns three of the top five scorers from last season’s 35-3 team. Both those games will be televised on ESPN2.
SMU finished the 2014-15 season with a 27-7 record and won the American Athletic Conference regular season and conference tournament championships. The Mustangs also made their first NCAA tournament appearance since 1993.