College Basketball Opens Monday in Dallas–Fort Worth: SMU Hosts Southern, TCU Hosts Lindenwood
The Metroplex's college hoops season starts on the same Monday night in both cities — SMU, off its first NCAA Tournament in eight seasons, at home in Dallas, and TCU tipping at 7 in Fort Worth.
Football season is not over in Dallas–Fort Worth, but basketball season starts Monday anyway, in both halves of the Metroplex at once. SMU opens at home in Dallas against Southern, in head coach Andy Enfield's third season, carrying the expectation the program earned last spring: SMU snapped an eight-season NCAA Tournament drought last year, and a mere return trip is not the bar this time, the Associated Press reported in its season preview.
Southern arrives as more than a ceremonial first opponent. The Jaguars went 17-17 last season with an 11-7 record in the SWAC and reached the school's first SWAC championship game since 2016 under coach Kevin Johnson. Their November is a gauntlet by design: the SMU game opens a five-game, 11-day road trip that continues to TCU, Drake, Iowa State and Minnesota — which means Southern will play in both Metroplex arenas before its first home game.
In Fort Worth, TCU hosts Lindenwood on Monday at 7 p.m. CT at Schollmaier Arena, BVM Sports reported. The Horned Frogs are coming off an NCAA Tournament appearance of their own, and Lindenwood comes in off a 75-71 preseason exhibition loss at Southern Illinois, with its home opener waiting Thursday against Central Bible. Two arenas, two openers, one Monday night: the winter half of the Metroplex sports calendar starts here, and by Tuesday night both programs will have a first result to go with Election Day's.
