Kansas in November, a Caribbean Tournament Before Thanksgiving: MTSU Basketball’s Non-Conference Road Map Is Set
The football team is still in the thick of its season, but the Murphy Center now has a calendar for winter. Middle Tennessee has finalized the non-conference half of its 2026-27 men's basketball schedule, and it asks a lot of a team in its first seven weeks: a trip to one of the sport's cathedrals, a four-day tournament in the Caribbean, and a neutral-site meeting with an SEC program.
It also gives Murfreesboro fans six chances to see the Blue Raiders at home before Christmas.
The opener, and then Allen Fieldhouse
The season tips off Monday, Nov. 2, when MTSU hosts Fisk University for Education Day, the kind of game built around bringing students into the arena. For a lot of local kids, a game like that is the first college game they ever see.
Four days later the tone changes completely. On Nov. 6, the Blue Raiders play at Kansas in Lawrence, facing a program that made the 2026 NCAA Tournament in a building where visiting teams rarely leave happy. Games like that are how a mid-major program measures itself in November, and they tend to be remembered in March whatever the score.
Home stretch, road stretch
MTSU comes back to Murfreesboro for Evansville on Nov. 10 and Southeast Missouri State on Nov. 13. The SEMO game has a little history to it: the two schools were Ohio Valley Conference rivals for decades before the Blue Raiders left the league.
A road game at Georgia Southern follows on Nov. 17, and then the team boards a plane for the U.S. Virgin Islands. The Paradise Jam runs Nov. 20-23, and Middle Tennessee opens against Temple. The remaining three opponents in the bracket will be set as the event plays out, so the Blue Raiders will play four games in four days the week before Thanksgiving.
December rivals
After the trip, the schedule turns regional. MTSU is home against Toccoa Falls on Nov. 28 and in-state rival Tennessee Tech on Dec. 1, then drives up I-24 to face Belmont in Nashville on Dec. 5, always one of the better-attended road trips for Blue Raider fans.
On Dec. 15, Middle Tennessee meets Auburn at Propst Arena in Huntsville, Ala., as part of the Rocket City Classic. Two nights later it renews an old Conference USA rivalry at UAB in Birmingham. The non-conference slate closes at home against UT Southern on Dec. 20, a last tune-up before league play.
The full non-conference schedule
- Nov. 2 vs. Fisk, Murphy Center (Education Day)
- Nov. 6 at Kansas, Lawrence, Kan.
- Nov. 10 vs. Evansville, Murphy Center
- Nov. 13 vs. Southeast Missouri State, Murphy Center
- Nov. 17 at Georgia Southern, Statesboro, Ga.
- Nov. 20 vs. Temple, Paradise Jam, U.S. Virgin Islands
- Nov. 21-23, three more Paradise Jam games, opponents TBD
- Nov. 28 vs. Toccoa Falls, Murphy Center
- Dec. 1 vs. Tennessee Tech, Murphy Center
- Dec. 5 at Belmont, Nashville
- Dec. 15 vs. Auburn, Rocket City Classic, Huntsville, Ala.
- Dec. 17 at UAB, Birmingham, Ala.
- Dec. 20 vs. UT Southern, Murphy Center
The Conference USA portion of the schedule was released earlier this summer. Until tip-off, there is still plenty of Blue Raider football left on the calendar. Our guide to MTSU single-game football tickets has the remaining home dates at Floyd Stadium.
