Lipscomb fans itching for upcoming season with release of men’s basketball non-conference schedule
Lipscomb men’s basketball head coach, Kevin Carroll, announced the team’s out-of-conference slate for the upcoming 2026-2027 season on Wednesday, Aug. 26.
The schedule features 18 out-of-conference games this year, compared to just 13 a season ago. This is credited to the formation of the United Athletic Conference (UAC), which took five Atlantic Sun (ASUN) teams from last season, leaving Lipscomb with just seven conference opponents, with the addition of West Florida, shortening the Bisons’ conference slate from 18 to 14.
Students, faculty, coaches and players are eagerly awaiting the season opener on Nov. 7 against SIU Edwardsville. The game circled on everyone’s calendar, however, is the following home game on Nov. 10, as Lipscomb hosts Belmont for the 153rd edition of the Battle of the Boulevard.
“That is a great atmosphere,” said Noah DeJong, a leader for the Lippy Lunatics, Lipscomb’s official student fan section. “It is my last home game for Battle of the Boulevard. Allen Arena always gets rocking, especially for a rivalry game like that. I’m very excited. It’s gonna be electric.”
This rivalry never fails to bring a matchup to remember, like Belmont’s 12-point comeback in the final 3:35 in 2024, Belmont’s one-point win at home in 2023 or Lipscomb’s last-second layup to secure a two-point win at home over the Bruins in 2022.
“My prediction [is] Kevin’s gonna get his first win against Belmont this year,” said Assistant Dean of Student Engagement Landon Parrish, who is a Lipscomb lifer and has followed Lipscomb basketball for over two decades.
This year’s schedule features four Power Four teams, three of whom appeared in the NCAA Tournament last season and one of whom won the NIT championship. Iowa and Purdue will clash with the Bisons first, two teams that each reached the Elite Eight last year.
Thanksgiving week brings quite the challenge for Carroll’s 2nd-year team. The reigning NIT Champions, Auburn, are the last team Lipscomb sees before the turkey is served, followed by the Ohio State Buckeyes just five days later on Nov. 29.
A Lipscomb squad that won 19 games in the 2025-2026 campaign brings back four players, three of whom started over half of the season. The Bisons hope they are set up to be able to pull off at least one upset in their four-game gauntlet.
The Lipscomb Bisons will begin the 2026-2027 season on the road at Southeast Missouri on November 2nd, as the journey begins for their second conference championship in three years.
Featured image courtesy of Lipscomb Athletics
