From @DanielFair
arkansas.rivals.com
The SEC released the home-and-away schedules for its basketball teams on Monday, and the Arkansas Razorbacks were given a trip to Rupp Arena to play Kentucky in the 2024-25 season.
It was almost a guarantee, given new head coach John Calipari's history with the Wildcats. He spent the last 15 seasons in Lexington before coming to Arkansas in April.
Calipari was in Little Rock on Tuesday for the One Razorback Road Show and he talked a bit about the Hogs having to make a trip to Lexington next season.
"Was there any doubt that we were going to go to Rupp Arena?" Calipari said to reporters. "Which, you know, in one way, I’ll look forward to it. In another way, I’m not going to look forward to it. The league is top to bottom as good as it gets. It was that way last year."
Perhaps most interesting is the lack of a home game at Bud Walton Arena against Kentucky for Arkansas. The two have played home-and-home games for the last two seasons; the Razorbacks are 1-3 in that time, their lone win being at Rupp Arena in the 2022-2023 season.
Arkansas and Kentucky have played annually since the Razorbacks joined the SEC in 1991. All-time, the Hogs are 14-36 against the Wildcats, but since 2020 are an even 3-3.
Against John Calipari-coached Wildcat teams, Arkansas is 7-14. One of those losses came in the SEC Championship Game in 2017, a game the Hogs lost 82-65 in Nashville.
Along with Kentucky, Arkansas will face Auburn, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas A&M and Vanderbilt in road-only contests for the 2024-2025 season. The home slate includes Alabama, Florida, Georgia, LSU, Ole Miss, Mississippi State, Missouri, Oklahoma and Texas.
Arkansas hasn't yet announced any non-conference opponents, but Calipari said there's one team in particular both he and Arkansas have a history with that might end up on the schedule — Memphis.
"We’ve been called by CBS, ESPN, different events," Calipari said. "They want us in. I’ve got to get through that. As we get through that, then you’ll want to look and see if we want to do any home-and-homes. But we’ll see. I have fond memories of Memphis and my time there, so we’ll see how it all plays out."
Arkansas' most recent game against Memphis came in the Battle 4 Atlantis in the 2023-2024 season, a contest the Razorbacks lost 84-79.
Memphis head coach Penny Hardaway said during his radio show recently that he’d like to make that more than a one-time thing.
“I think that we can finally get Cal to play us over at Arkansas,” Hardaway said on The Penny Hardaway Show on April 28. “Because the Arkansas fans want the game.”
Stay tuned to HawgBeat for the latest developments on Arkansas basketball recruiting and more as the full 2024-2025 schedule comes together.
HawgBeat - John Calipari unsurprised by Arkansas drawing road trip to Rupp Arena
John Calipari is unfazed about the Razorbacks' trip to Lexington this season.
arkansas.rivals.com
The SEC released the home-and-away schedules for its basketball teams on Monday, and the Arkansas Razorbacks were given a trip to Rupp Arena to play Kentucky in the 2024-25 season.
It was almost a guarantee, given new head coach John Calipari's history with the Wildcats. He spent the last 15 seasons in Lexington before coming to Arkansas in April.
Calipari was in Little Rock on Tuesday for the One Razorback Road Show and he talked a bit about the Hogs having to make a trip to Lexington next season.
"Was there any doubt that we were going to go to Rupp Arena?" Calipari said to reporters. "Which, you know, in one way, I’ll look forward to it. In another way, I’m not going to look forward to it. The league is top to bottom as good as it gets. It was that way last year."
Perhaps most interesting is the lack of a home game at Bud Walton Arena against Kentucky for Arkansas. The two have played home-and-home games for the last two seasons; the Razorbacks are 1-3 in that time, their lone win being at Rupp Arena in the 2022-2023 season.
Arkansas and Kentucky have played annually since the Razorbacks joined the SEC in 1991. All-time, the Hogs are 14-36 against the Wildcats, but since 2020 are an even 3-3.
Against John Calipari-coached Wildcat teams, Arkansas is 7-14. One of those losses came in the SEC Championship Game in 2017, a game the Hogs lost 82-65 in Nashville.
Along with Kentucky, Arkansas will face Auburn, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas A&M and Vanderbilt in road-only contests for the 2024-2025 season. The home slate includes Alabama, Florida, Georgia, LSU, Ole Miss, Mississippi State, Missouri, Oklahoma and Texas.
Arkansas hasn't yet announced any non-conference opponents, but Calipari said there's one team in particular both he and Arkansas have a history with that might end up on the schedule — Memphis.
"We’ve been called by CBS, ESPN, different events," Calipari said. "They want us in. I’ve got to get through that. As we get through that, then you’ll want to look and see if we want to do any home-and-homes. But we’ll see. I have fond memories of Memphis and my time there, so we’ll see how it all plays out."
Arkansas' most recent game against Memphis came in the Battle 4 Atlantis in the 2023-2024 season, a contest the Razorbacks lost 84-79.
Memphis head coach Penny Hardaway said during his radio show recently that he’d like to make that more than a one-time thing.
“I think that we can finally get Cal to play us over at Arkansas,” Hardaway said on The Penny Hardaway Show on April 28. “Because the Arkansas fans want the game.”
Stay tuned to HawgBeat for the latest developments on Arkansas basketball recruiting and more as the full 2024-2025 schedule comes together.
