John Calipari announces Arkansas basketball preseason exhibitions against Kansas, TCU

FAYETTEVILLE — Arkansas basketball fans are still waiting on the official schedule release, but first-year head coach John Calipari provided exciting news Tuesday morning on a pair of preseason scrimmages.

On the website ‘X’, Calipari announced the Razorbacks would face Kansas inside Bud Walton Arena on Oct. 25. One week later on Nov. 1, Arkansas will travel to Fort Worth, Texas to face TCU. Both exhibitions will raise money for charities yet to be announced.

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While the SEC schedule has already been announced, Arkansas is yet to release its non-conference slate with just two offseason months remaining. A few matchups have already been confirmed.

Arkansas will face Illinois on Thanksgiving Day in Kansas City, and the Hogs will travel to play Miami on Dec. 3 in the ACC-SEC Challenge. It has also been reported that Arkansas will head to Madison Square Garden for a date with Michigan later in December for the Jimmy V Classic, and the University of Arkansas Little Rock announced a Nov. 22 matchup with Arkansas in its schedule release last week.

Arkansas will open league play on the road against Tennessee on Jan. 4. The first home SEC game will be either Jan. 7 or 8 against Ole Miss. The league will announce the official schedule for midweek games at a later date, along with tipoff times and TV designations.

After the trip to Knoxville, Arkansas will alternate between two home games, followed by two road games for the next 16 games until playing Mississippi State in the regular-season finale on Mar. 8. The schedule includes a “bye” with no midweek game the last week of January.

Arkansas will renew its rivalry with Texas on either Feb. 4 or 5. The first matchup will be in Austin, with the Longhorns coming to Fayetteville on Feb. 25 or 26.

The highlight of the entire schedule is the Razorbacks matchup with Kentucky on Saturday, Feb. 1. That will mark John Calipari’s first trip back to the Bluegrass State since leaving the Wildcats this offseason to become the new head coach at Arkansas. Calipari coached Kentucky for 15 seasons, winning one national championship and guiding the Wildcats to four Final Fours.

This article originally appeared on Fort Smith Times Record: John Calipari announces Arkansas basketball preseason exhibitions