ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — The New Mexico Lobo men’s basketball team outlined their preliminary schedule for a highly-anticipated 2026-27 season. This is not the final schedule and dates could change.
The Lobos will kick off their season on the road Sunday, Oct. 11 at Oklahoma State in an exhibition game. The first home game is Monday, Nov. 2 against Utah Tech at The Pit, which is celebrating its 60th anniversary.
The Lobos will kick off Mountain West Conference play Saturday, Jan. 2, at UTEP in El Paso, Texas, and Tuesday, Jan. 5 at The Pit against Nevada. A few more non-conference games could be added.
Those games will test the Lobos’ strength in their second season with head coach Eric Olen. Last season, Olen led the “new look” Lobos to a third-place finish in the Mountain West Conference standings. Despite missing the NCAA tournament, they made a deep run in the NIT Tournament that inspired confidence for this season.
This season presents an interesting wrinkle for the Lobos: They no longer have Utah State and San Diego State to face in Mountain West conference play after finishing behind them in last season’s standings. While that sets the Lobos up as the favorite to win the regular season championship, it’ll make their NCAA tournament hopes interesting as the conference contracts and the tournament expands.
Although Utah State is gone, the Lobos will still get a chance to show themselves against the 2025-26 Mountain West regular season champions. They’ll face each other Sunday, Nov. 29, at The Pit.
Another big test will come Saturday, Jan. 23, when the Lobos will face Grand Canyon University at home. Like last season, the Lobos and GCU will get a home-and-home slate of games, with the Lobos facing them again Saturday, Feb. 6 in Phoenix.
The Lobos and GCU’s matchups got fiery at times last season, including one game where referees ejected GCU coach Bryce Drew.
Outside of conference play, the Lobos will continue the Rio Grande Rivalry against the New Mexico State Aggies on Saturday, Dec. 5, at The Pit.
Preliminary season tickets are now on sale. The Lobos have some special gifts for season ticket holders, including commemorative stickers, a letter from coach Eric Olen and a trading card pack of the team.
Full 2026-27 UNM Lobo Men’s Basketball Preliminary Schedule
*Mountain West Conference games denoted in bold and underlined
- Sunday, Oct. 11 at Oklahoma State
- Monday, Nov. 2 vs. Utah Tech
- Saturday, Nov. 7 vs. Northern Arizona
- Tuesday, Nov. 10 vs. Little Rock
- Saturday, Nov. 14 at Santa Clara – Santa Clara, California
- Saturday, Nov. 21 at Wichita State – Wichita, Kansas
- Wednesday, Nov. 25 vs. Mississippi Valley State
- Sunday, Nov. 29 vs. Utah State
- Saturday, Dec. 5 vs. New Mexico State
- Saturday, Dec. 12 vs. Saint Mary’s
- Saturday, Jan. 2 at UTEP in El Paso, Texas
- Tuesday, Jan. 5 vs. Nevada
- Saturday, Jan. 9 vs. UC Davis
- Tuesday, Jan. 12 at UNLV in Las Vegas, Nevada
- Saturday, Jan. 16 at Air Force – U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado
- Tuesday, Jan. 19 vs. San Jose State
- Saturday, Jan. 23 vs. Grand Canyon University
- Tuesday, Jan. 26 at Hawaii in Honolulu, Hawaii
- Saturday, Jan. 30 vs. Air Force
- Tuesday, Feb. 2 at San Jose State in San Jose, California
- Saturday, Feb. 6 at Grand Canyon University in Phoenix
- Saturday, Feb. 13 at UNLV
- Tuesday, Feb. 16 at Wyoming in Laramie, Wyoming
- Saturday, Feb. 20 vs. UTEP
- Wednesday, Feb. 24 vs. Hawaii
- Saturday, Feb. 27 at UC Davis in Davis, California
- Tuesday, March 2 at Wyoming
- Saturday, March 6 at Nevada in Reno, Nevada
- Wednesday, March 10, to Saturday, March 13: Mountain West Tournament in Las Vegas, Nevada
