The Southeastern Conference’s men’s basketball schedule for 2025–2026 has been made public. The Texas Longhorns will play the Mississippi State Bulldogs on January 3 to begin their 18-game league season in the Moody Center.
During their 18-game SEC schedule, they will face every conference team at least once. Their second-round opponents are Georgia, Texas A&M, and Oklahoma.
In the 2024–25 regular season, the Longhorns defeated two of these teams, but all three advanced farther than them in the NCAA tournament.
Despite losing to the Xavier Musketeers in the NCAA tournament’s First Four round, Texas hopes to make a stronger postseason run this year. This season, the Longhorns will be led by former Xavier head coach Sean Miller, who might strengthen their chances for a run to March Madness.
However, their SEC performance will largely determine whether they advance that far or receive a high seed. With its teams winning 88% of their games and finishing 185-23 in their nonconference regular season play, the conference as a whole achieved unprecedented success last year.
Last season, seven of the 16 SEC clubs advanced to the Sweet 16 and 14 of them qualified for the NCAA tournament.
On February 25, the Longhorns will host the Florida Gators, the 2025 national champions. One of their last tests of the season before the SEC tournament, this might be a good indicator of how well they do against the most formidable opponents in the conference.
In ESPN’s Men’s NCAA basketball early rankings, the Gators are ranked No. 2, among SEC teams Tennessee, Alabama, Auburn, Arkansas, and Kentucky.
Although Texas still has a long way to go if it hopes to finish in the top 25, fresh coaching may be able to help the squad advance. Expectations will probably increase now that they are not new to the conference, even though they have only been there for a year.
It will be intriguing to watch what the Longhorns bring to the court this season, as the basketball season is less than three months away and conference play is five months away.
