The SEC has been the premier conference for college athletics in recent memory, and that much has continued to be true as the 2026-27 men's basketball season began to unfold.
Last year, the Texas Longhorns struggled in conference play, going just 9-9 against SEC opponents, losing in the first round of the SEC Tournament, and falling well short of expectations (or the team's standard).
While head coach Sean Miller has built an undeniably talented roster and that lack of success is supposed to be turned on its head this season, the Horns' SEC schedule will be anything but a laughing matter with numerous ranked opponents on deck for Texas.
When the first regular-season AP Top 25 Poll was released, it only solidified that much, but it also solidified the importance of the Horns racking up easy (or seemingly easy) wins before their conference schedule tips off in January.
Out of Texas's 13 non-conference games, only two of those will be against ranked opponents (as of now), meaning that the No. 7 Longhorns should easily secure an 11-2 record before heading into SEC play, if not better.
Full men's college basketball AP Top 25 Poll after Week 1
- Florida Gators -- Jan. 2 and Feb. 6 (SEC)
- Duke Blue Devils
- Illinois Fighting Illini
- UConn Huskies
- Michigan State Spartans
- Virginia Cavaliers
- Texas Longhorns
- Houston Cougars
- UCLA Bruins
- Louisville Cardinals -- Dec. 1
- Tennessee Volunteers -- Feb. 27 (SEC)
- Arizona Wildcats
- St. John's Red Storm
- Gonzaga Bulldogs
- Kansas Jayhawks
- Texas Tech Red Raiders
- Miami Hurricanes -- Dec. 12
- Alabama Crimson Tide -- Feb. 9 (SEC)
- Arkansas Razorbacks -- Jan. 23 (SEC)
- Michigan Wolverines
- USC Trojans
- Vanderbilt Commodores -- Feb. 13 (SEC)
- BYU Cougars
- Kentucky Wildcats -- Jan. 30 (SEC)
- Nebraska Cornhuskers
Over the next two months, the Horns will face just two ranked opponents: the No. 10 Louisville Cardinals and the No. 17 Miami Hurricanes. Defeating either or both of those teams would be monumental Quad 1 wins.
Losing any of those other 11 games would be highly detrimental to Texas's resume. Luckily, two of those wins have already been checked off the list.
Not to mention that the Baylor Bears and the East Texas A&M Lions, two of Texas's only Power Conference opponents outside of SEC play, received votes in the first poll of the regular season, as did the Texas A&M Aggies, whom the Horns will face twice in SEC play.
Then, the Longhorns will have to play seven ranked matchups in conference play, including playing the No. 1 Florida Gators both on the road and at home.
Simply put, life will not be easy for Miller and his squad once conference play begins, so they have to make the most of their relatively easy non-conference schedule to bolster their resume before tipping off their SEC schedule after the new year.
On Monday, Nov. 9, the Horns are scheduled to face the Grambling State Tigers in their third regular-season game of the year. With a win, Texas would improve to 3-0 just before facing Baylor over the weekend.
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