The Metro Conference announced its 2026-27 men’s basketball conference schedule on Thursday in a press release. Each team will play 20 conference games and the top 10 teams will qualify for the Metro Conference Tournament in Atlantic City.
As Mid-Major Madness reported earlier, the season’s opening game will be between Saint Peter’s and Manhattan on Wednesday, Dec. 2 in Riverdale. Additionally, a championship game rematch is on the docket for opening weekend, with reigning regular-season champs Merrimack
traveling to take on reigning tournament champions Siena on Friday, Dec. 4. That will also serve as Nevada Smith’s first Metro Conference game as Siena’s head coach.
Each team plays against eight other programs home and away, and then faces two teams only at home and two teams only on the road. Here’s the full breakdown of the matchups that we’ll only see once.
HOME ONLY
- Canisius: Iona, Quinnipiac
- Fairfield: Manhattan, Saint Peter’s
- Iona: Rider, Mount St. Mary’s
- Manhattan: Canisius, Niagara
- Marist: Manhattan, Fairfield
- Merrimack: Iona, Sacred Heart
- Mount St. Mary’s: Merrimack, Saint Peter’s
- Niagara: Siena, Fairfield
- Quinnipiac: Mount St. Mary’s, Marist
- Rider: Sacred Heart, Merrimack
- Sacred Heart: Niagara, Quinnipiac
- Saint Peter’s: Marist, Siena
- Siena: Canisius, Rider
ROAD ONLY
- Canisius: Manhattan, Siena
- Fairfield: Niagara, Marist
- Iona: Canisius, Merrimack
- Manhattan: Fairfield, Marist
- Marist: Quinnipiac, Saint Peter’s
- Merrimack: Rider, Mount St. Mary’s
- Mount St. Mary’s: Iona, Quinnipiac
- Niagara: Sacred Heart, Manhattan
- Quinnipiac: Sacred Heart, Canisius
- Rider: Siena, Iona
- Sacred Heart: Rider, Merrimack
- Saint Peter’s: Fairfield, Mount St. Mary’s
- Siena: Saint Peter’s, Niagara
Opening Nights
Following the Saint Peter’s/Manhattan matchup on Dec. 2, the rest of the Metro slate will open on Friday, Dec. 4. Here are the matchups for opening night:
- Rider at Canisius
- Manhattan at Fairfield
- Quinnipiac at Iona
- Sacred Heart at Marist
- Merrimack at Siena
- Mount St. Mary’s at Niagara
After the opening weekend of games (Dec. 2, 4, 6), the teams will play nonconference games for the next three weeks. The conference schedule resumes on Tuesday, Dec. 29. There will be a full six-game slate on New Year’s Day, Friday, Jan. 1. That slate is headlined by Saint Peter’s traveling to Quinnipiac and Iona visiting Siena.
Saturdays
The Metro Conference had three Saturday game days in 2025-26, but will only have two in 2026-27. Those game days will be the Saturday before MLK Day and the Saturday directly before the Super Bowl.
Many around the league were disappointed with the officiating on Super Bowl Saturday last year. It’s harder for the conference to book high-level referees on Saturday when competing with a massive power conference and mid-major slate. On Fridays and Sundays, with much fewer games, it’s an easier draw for better officials.
MLK Day
For the second consecutive season, the Metro will play on MLK Day. The MLK Day matchups are
- Canisius at Fairfield
- Manhattan at Siena
- Marist at Rider
- Niagara at Merrimack
- Mount St. Mary’s at Saint Peter’s
- Quinnipiac at Sacred Heart
Rivalries
Here are the dates for a few major Metro Conference rivalries:
- Siena-Marist: Sunday, Jan. 31 (Poughkeepsie) and Sunday, Feb. 28 (Albany)
- Manhattan-Iona: Friday, Feb. 5 (New Rochelle) and Friday, Feb. 19 (Riverdale)
- Niagara-Canisius: Sunday, Jan. 24 (Lewiston) and Thursday, Feb. 11 (Buffalo)
- Saint Peter’s-Rider: Sunday, Jan. 3 (Jersey City) and Sunday, Jan. 24 (Lawrenceville)
- Fairfield-Quinnipiac: Sunday, Jan. 24 (Hamden) and Saturday, Feb. 13 (Fairfield)
- Fairfield-Sacred Heart: Friday, Feb. 5 (Pitt Center) and Sunday, Feb. 28 (Mahoney Arena)
End of the Regular Season
The final day of the Metro Conference regular season is Sunday, Feb. 28.
Metro Conference Tournament
The Metro Conference Tournament will be held in Atlantic City for the eighth consecutive year. It’s part of a new contract announced last February that will keep the championships inside Jim Whelan Boardwalk Hall through 2031.
The tournament will once again only take the top 10 teams, and it will begin on Thursday, March 4 with the 8/9 and 7/10 games. The men’s championship game will be played on Tuesday, March 9.
Additional Notes
This is Fairfield’s final year in the Metro before leaving for the CAA. The conference lost all but one All-Conference selection— and the one, Quinnipiac’s Asim Jones, only announced his return a few weeks ago in the wake of the Colorado ruling– but two All-Rookie selections return in Fairfield’s Declan Wucherpfennig and Quinnipiac’s Keith McKnight. Siena’s Nevada Smith is the only new coach in the conference, replacing Gerry McNamara, who left for Syracuse.
