26-27 Schedule

[Bogus Smith]

13 minutes ago, theeagleman5 said:

If that shot had gone in ORU would have played #1 Baylor next.....Coach Mills vs. his old team would have been interesting but probably not a close game....then again who would have thought we could compete with OSU, Florida and Arkansas?? BTW....the Rocky statue is the #1 tourist attraction in Philly.....more than the Liberty Bell and Independence Hall....lol  TheEagleman just may have to drive down to the Art Museum tonight and run up those steps.....great Oscar Winning Movie!   

The game between Paul Mills and Scott Drew would have been a made-for-TV spectacle. ORU would have been an Elite 8 team (again) and the whole country would have wanted to see the Golden Eagles pull off another miraculous win.  However, as it was, Baylor had its way with Arkansas and ORU would have been at the end of their road as well.

Speaking of Paul Mills, he signed a contract extension last week for another three years going into June 30, 2031.  He is scheduled to be paid $1.4 million + incentives for 2027.  I would think that there are some escalators for after 2027.

[Keenan Henderson]

As the forum may know, Arkansas is my second team.  I enjoy watching this matchup of my two favorite schools.  Coach Cal is doing a good job at Arkansas and his goal as he nears retirement is too help as many high ranked freshman get to the NBA and help there families get out of poverty.  He has 9 freshmen this year with talent, size, and length.  The Hogs may be up and down but will be dangerous come March, as the freshmen will have some experience by then.

Now if ORU just find another 7'4 transfer from Arkansas then life would be good!

[Bogus Smith]

ORU announces its 2026-27 non-conference schedule....

https://oruathletics.com/news/2026/8/6/mens-basketball-orumbb-announces-2026-27-non-conference-schedule.aspx

2026-27 MBB Non-conference Schedule:
- Nov. 2: at Central Arkansas
- Nov. 7: Northwestern Oklahoma State
- Nov. 11: at Tulsa
- Nov. 14: Oklahoma City
- Nov. 17: at SMU
- Nov. 21: Texas A&M Corpus Christi 
- Nov. 24: at UT Arlington
- Nov. 27: Missouri State
- Dec. 1: at Creighton
- Dec. 5: at Arkansas
- Dec. 12: Louisiana
- Dec. 16: at Oklahoma State
- Dec. 19: Central Arkansas
- Dec. 22: Central Baptist
- Dec. 29: at TCU
- Jan. 2: Oklahoma Panhandle State

[theeagleman5]

Not a horrible schedule.....could be worse....four D-1 home games in Nov/Dec....all winnable I guess.....hard to have any kind of expectations with this team with as little as we know.....but TheEagleman will try to remain optimistic...glad to see we are playing a home and home with Central Arkansas.....need to see more of that with similar teams within driving distance.....GO BLUE!! 

PS.....i hope Old Titan is renewing his season tickets along with Grip, OKCEagle and the rest of the usual suspects....all those guys are priceless. I know Bogus, Terry and wives will be there.....

[TrueBlue82]

ORU releases its schedule on August 6, which is the earliest release date in recent history.  Sixteen non-conference games (eight home/eight away) and fourteen Summit league games for a combined 30-game schedule (15 home/15 away). Home slate includes four non-conference games against D-1 opponents and four non-D1.

Home D1 opponents:

Texas A&M - CC (Southland)

Missouri State (Conference USA)

Louisiana (Sun Belt)

Central Arkansas (Sun Belt)

Five of the eight road opponents are power conference "buy" games (SMU, Creighton, Arkansas, Oklahoma State, TCU), with three road trips to mid-majors (Central Arkansas, Tulsa, Texas-Arlington).

Overall, I like the home/away balance of this schedule and the quality of opponents coming to the Mabee Center.  This schedule may require the fewest travel miles of ANY ORU schedule in the D1 era.  This is great for Tulsa fans, who will have a large number of potential regional road trips to choose from.  It's not great for those of us in the Western or Eastern USA, who always hope for at least one travel game close to our home.

Tulsa-based fans and students also benefit from having a home game on a Friday or Saturday for six of the first seven weekends of the season, leading up to Christmas.  That's an excellent way to build momentum with a local fan base.

I don't like the four non-D1 games, but concede that this has become pretty standard for most mid-majors.  I'm also disappointed that there is no "multi-team event" this season with an opportunity for at least one neutral site game.  Finally, I don't understand why ORU built a 30 game schedule and didn't maximize the schedule to the full 32 games allowed by the NCAA.

But, all-in-all, I would have to give ORU Athletics a B+ for pulling together a very decent schedule that should be appealing to local fans and ORU students, and not overwhelm a team with many newcomers. And, kudos for releasing it so early in August in a very challenging scheduling environment.

[Bogus Smith]

 

[Keenan Henderson]

It looks like a good schedule and the first four games are winnable or at least ORU could start 3-1.  As has been noted in the past, I do not think the Eagles have won an opening road game to the start the season since 1981 versus Princeton.  Like there chances at UCA on opening night.  It is the best chance to win a road game of the non conference season.

[tmh8286]

On 8/3/2026 at 4:25 PM, Bogus Smith said:

We had almost just beaten his Razorbacks in the Sweet Sixteen and he didn't want a rematch (Rocky syndrome)

 

In retrospect, Musselman had nothing to fear . . .

[theeagleman5]

TheEagleman also doesn't like the FOUR non D-1 games.....two would be plenty but guessing it was hard to find opposition willing to come to Mabee Center.....but the rest of the schedule is reasonable and gives ORU at least a chance to be competitive plus there are a good number of money games which will help our roundball budget.....this is one of the better schedules of the past decade.....

[Bogus Smith]

10 hours ago, tmh8286 said:

In retrospect, Musselman had nothing to fear . . .

I don't think Musselman was concerned about losing to us in Walton arena as much as paying us $100K to help with our recruiting budget.  He didn't want to contribute to what he assumed was the regional competition.

[theeagleman5]

ORU competes with Arkansas for recruits???  HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!! 

[Keenan Henderson]

Speaking of recruiting, 3 games in the Dallas area should help in that area.  I miss ORU finding some hidden gems in the state of Texas. Of course, some of our board members who are in the area will also enjoy those Dallas games.  

If the Eagles can survive the early December schedule: at Creighton, at Arkansas and at OSU, then they have 5 of 6 at home heading into early January.  Last year they were 7-8 at home, so if ORU is going to turn things around it will start with winning some home games.  Need to win at least 10 or 11 at home to have a chance of moving things in the right direction.

[TrueBlue82]

As I mentioned in a previous post, this will almost surely be the least traveled ORU MBB team in the D1 era.  After looking at it more closely, here's an amazing statistic - the farthest west that ORU will travel to play in the regular season is Fort Worth, Texas and the easternmost travel will be to the season opener in Conway, Arkansas.  That is a ridiculously narrow geographic window, which comprises about 270 miles wide east-west. 

And, to make this even more surreal, with Denver now out of the conference, ALL of the Summit League games are within that same geographic window!  The USA is approximately 2,800 miles wide, and ORU will play all of its games in a zone of less than 10% of that width.

For comparison, last season ORU's travel schedule went from Ogden, Utah to Fort Myers, Florida.

If nothing else, this will certainly reduce travel costs this season.

 

[Keenan Henderson]

I wonder if the Eagles will schedule any exhibition games this season?  Seeing some Power 5 teams with three on their schedule.  Would not expect that many but one or two home games would help.

[tmh8286]

4 hours ago, TrueBlue82 said:

As I mentioned in a previous post, this will almost surely be the least traveled ORU MBB team in the D1 era.  After looking at it more closely, here's an amazing statistic - the farthest west that ORU will travel to play in the regular season is Fort Worth, Texas and the easternmost travel will be to the season opener in Conway, Arkansas.  That is a ridiculously narrow geographic window, which comprises about 270 miles wide east-west. 

And, to make this even more surreal, with Denver now out of the conference, ALL of the Summit League games are within that same geographic window!  The USA is approximately 2,800 miles wide, and ORU will play all of its games in a zone of less than 10% of that width.

For comparison, last season ORU's travel schedule went from Ogden, Utah to Fort Myers, Florida.

If nothing else, this will certainly reduce travel costs this season.

 

Very interesting observation, TB82! Unfortunately, no games within driving distance for you and Mrs. Blue this year. However, a homestand might be doable. I know a B and B that's always available to you guys!!

[Keenan Henderson]

For me, there are 7 games on the non-conference slate that are very important: UCA road and home, at Tulsa, at UTA, and home with Missouri State, Louisana, and TAMUCC. Which is basically all the mid major teams.  The Eagles need to go at least 4-3 or 3-4 during that stretch.  The other nine are against Power 5 teams and non D1 matchups.   If they go 4-3 then ORU should be 8-8 in nonconference.   Not easy but doable.  

[TrueBlue82]

15 minutes ago, Keenan Henderson said:

For me, their are 7 games on the non-conference slate that are very important: UCA road and home, at Tulsa, at UTA, and home with Missouri State, Louisana, and TAMUCC. Which is basically all the mid major teams.  The Eagles need to go at least 4-3 or 3-4 during that stretch.  The other nine are against Power 5 teams and non D1 matchups.   If they go 4-3 then ORU should be 8-8 in nonconference.   Not easy but doable.  

I agree that those seven games are key. Fortunately, four of those seven games are at home (and one across town), so a 4-3 record should not be out of the question. The outcomes of the P5 (all on the road) and non-D1 games (all at home) should be clear well before the games are played, so a 4-5 record is the logical pick. (but don't tell that to Rogers State) 

[Keenan Henderson]

With 5 payday road games on the schedule, that should bring a nice check for the ORU athletic department.  What do you think they are making on these matchups?  Say around 400,000 in all.  Only had 3 on the schedule last year, so should be a nice bump in $$$$!

When was the last time ORU beat a Power 5 team on the road?  Trivia for the summer break.  Without looking at the Internet, I would say 8th ranked Xavier, when they lost three starters to a brawl the game before with Cinny.  Maybe around 2012, if memory serves me right.