This slate is headlined by games against high-major opponents Mississippi State and Iowa, as well as two games against 2026 NCAA tournament teams Texas A&M and Virginia at the Battle 4 Atlantis during Thanksgiving. A crosstown rivalry game against Cincinnati is scheduled for early December.
The Musketeers open play on Oct. 7 with an exhibition against Dayton at the CareSource Invitational, which features the Cincinnati, Xavier, Dayton and Ohio State men's basketball teams at the Lindner Family Center. They will then return to Cintas Center to play in-state opponent Kent State on Oct. 23 in a second exhibition.
Regular season play kicks off on Nov. 2 with a home game against Mount St. Mary's, which won the MAAC and made it to the NCAA Tournament in 2025. Next are contests at Cintas Center against Eastern Michigan and Detroit Mercy on Nov. 2 and 10, respectively, before Xavier heads to West Virginia to play Mississippi State on Nov. 13 at the Greenbrier Tip-Off.
Xavier returns home on Nov. 17 to face Cleveland State, before taking on Iowa on Nov. 20. The Hawkeyes made it to the Elite Eight during the 2025-26 season, and will be the only 2026 NCAA Tournament team the Musketeers play in their non-conference schedule outside of Battle 4 Atlantis. In 2025, Xavier fell to Iowa 81-62 on the road.
The Battle 4 Atlantis, Xavier's second road trip of the season, will take place from Nov. 25 to 27 on Paradise Island in The Bahamas. After the Thanksgiving holiday, the Musketeers play Texas Southern on Dec. 2, before going to Fifth Third Arena on Dec. 5 to play Cincinnati in the Skyline Chili Crosstown Shootout — their only true road game of the non-conference play.
Xavier wraps up non-conference play with two more home games: Dec. 9 against Purdue Fort Wayne, and Dec. 12 against Florida International.
The Musketeers, in their second year under head coach Richard Pitino, are coming off a 15-18 2025-26 season that includes a 6-14 record in Big East play. They return just four players from that team, including forward Filip Borovicanin, who recently re-comitted to the team following the ruling of a lawsuit that granted him and several other basketball players an additional year of eligibility.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Xavier releases non-conference schedule: Here's who Muskies will play