The 2024-25 non-conference schedule is beginning to take shape for Arkansas men’s basketball in the first season of the John Calipari era in Fayetteville.
The Hall of Fame head Hog arrived to a bare cupboard in April and has been in overdrive since to fill a roster and schedule for his opening act on the Hill.
Since that time, eight of a maximum 13 non-conference games have been revealed with a pair of high-profile exhibitions in the works as well.
Calipari spoke on the latest with the process during a post-summer session press conference with media on Monday.
“The schedule was really hard because there was no schedule,” Calipari said. “Right now, we’d like to get another home game. We get Michigan in New York City. We’re playing in Kansas City, not far. We chose there for a game with Illinois where our fans can get to.
“We’ve got an exhibition with TCU in Dallas in the works. We’re in the works with Kansas on an exhibition here in Bud Walton. We play at Miami. We’re trying to get another home game or maybe another game in Dallas or neutral site. Obviously, we play in Little Rock.
“This was hard, and we’re still not done because most people had their stuff done when we took over. And then I did not ask about schedule until after I had five players so I knew I could field a team.”
Although they are not finalized at the moment, Arkansas’ two exhibitions are expected to take place in late October or very early November.
The Razorbacks will host Maryland-Eastern Shore and Little Rock as part of a multi-team event that will also include both schools traveling to Illinois. The games are expected to take place in the early portions of the November schedule, but no official dates have been finalized.
Arkansas is 1-0 all-time against Maryland-Eastern Shore with the lone meeting resulting in a 60-point blowout of the Hawks in 2001.
It will also be the second matchup in program history between the Razorbacks and Little Rock, led by former Hog great Darrell Walker. Arkansas defeated the Trojans, 93-78 in Bud Walton in 2021.
At the moment, the next known game for the Razorbacks is a Thanksgiving Day neutral site tilt against Illinois in Kansas City. Arkansas has only come out on top once in six opportunities against the Illini, but the 73-63 NCAA Tournament win in Des Moines in 2023 will certainly churn fond memories for the fanbase.
It will also be somewhat of a family affair as new Razorback center Zvonimir Ivisic will square off against his brother, Tomislav, who is set to begin his freshman campaign in Champaign.
Interestingly, many expected Arkansas and Illinois to meet at the T Mobile Center in Kansas City in 2021 at the Hall of Fame Classic, but the Illini slipped up in the opening round against Cincinnati, who the Razorbacks defeated the following night to win the event.
Arkansas will travel to Miami on Dec. 3 for the SEC/ACC Challenge, marking the pre-SEC play true road game for the Hogs since a trip to Indiana in 2019.
Arkansas is 0-1 all-time against Miami with the lone meeting resulting in a 75-71 in the 2000 NCAA Tournament Round of 64 in Nashville.
In last season’s SEC/ACC Challenge, Arkansas put together its most impressive performance of the year with an 80-75 win over Duke at Bud Walton Arena. Meanwhile, Calipari’s Kentucky squad cruised to a 95-73 win over Miami at Rupp Arena.
Arkansas is set for another marquee matchup on Dec. 11 when it travels to Madison Square Garden in New York City to face Michigan in the Jimmy V Classic.
Arkansas is 3-4 all-time against Michigan, with the last meeting resulting in an 80-67 loss for the Razorbacks in Ann Arbor in the 2012-13 season. The teams have met once before at Madison Square Garden, with Michigan coming away with a 77-62 victory in the 1997 NIT semifinals.
The Wolverines have retooled the roster since hiring former Florida Atlantic head coach Dusty May, who will be on the bench opposite his former star guard Johnell Davis, who transferred to Arkansas this spring. May’s roster also includes forward Vlad Goldin, who followed him from FAU this offseason.
Arkansas will make its annual trip to Simmons Bank Arena in N. Little Rock on Dec. 14 for an instate matchup with Central Arkansas. The Razorbacks have one all eight meetings between the programs, but this will be the first “neutral site” matchup.
The post-final exam contest will be a Dec. 21 matchup with North Carolina A&T in Fayetteville. Arkansas is 3-0 against the Bulldogs, including a 94-79 Round of 64 victory during the 1994 National Championship run.
Calipari will welcome recent nemesis, Oakland, to Fayetteville on Dec. 30. Arkansas is 2-0 against the Grizzlies, but they sent shockwaves through the college basketball world last March with a massive upset over 3-seed Kentucky in Calipari’s last game at the helm.
Earlier in the summer, Calipari hinted at the possibility of another neutral site matchup in Dallas as well as scheduling a home-and-home series, but nothing has materialized publicly at this time.