Calipari, Arkansas Working On Preseason Games Against Big 12 Teams

Arkansas basketball head coach John Calipari said Monday that the Razorbacks are working on scheduling preseason exhibitions with two Big 12 teams ahead of the 2024-2025 season.

The Head Hog said during a press conference that there will be a preseason exhibition in Dallas, Texas, against TCU, and the administration is working on a preseason matchup with the Kansas Jayhawks inside Bud Walton Arena as well.

Neither exhibitions have dates yet, and the Kansas game isn’t 100% set in stone either. If the exhibition against Kansas comes to fruition, it will be the second year in a row the Razorbacks have hosted a marquee preseason matchup at Bud Walton.

Last season, the Hoop Hogs defeated NCAA Tournament runner-up Purdue 81-77 during a charity exhibition on Oct. 28 under former head coach Eric Musselman.

Arkansas and Kansas haven’t met on the court since the 2023 NCAA Tournament, where the 8-seed Razorbacks overcame the odds by defeating the 1-seed Jayhawks 72-71 in the Round of 32.

Overall, the Razorbacks have a 6-8 record against the Jayhawks, which dates all the way back to 1946. Arkansas has won the last two contests, including a 65-64 victory during the Maui Invitational in 2005.

The connections between Arkansas and Kansas go deeper than matchups alone, however. Calipari was once an associate assistant for the Jayhawks from 1982-85 under then-head coach Larry Brown, and opposing head coach Bill Self was highly sought-after by Hogs fans following Nolan Richardson’s departure in 2002.

“I actually think; I’m happy for him,” Self said. “You know the shelf life on coaches at one place isn’t 21 years, isn’t 15 years. It’s, at most places, five, seven, eight years. And for him to be in a pressure cooker like that for 15 years; I’m actually happy for him. I hope he does well just not in our experience. And I’m sure Kentucky will hire a great guy, also.”

Calipari is no stranger to Kansas, as he battled the Jawhawks 11 times across his 15-year career in the Bluegrass State. Kentucky finished 5-6 against Kansas in that span, with Self coming out on top in the previous two matchups.

Arkansas doesn’t have much recent history against TCU, as the Hogs only played the Horned Frogs once in the last four years. That game was at home on Jan. 25, 2020, for the Big 12/SEC Challenge. The Razorbacks won it 78-67.

There is a somewhat familiar face to the Razorback faithful on the Horned Frogs’ roster in Trazarien White — who dropped 28 points on the Hogs while playing at UNC-Wilmington last season. He transferred to TCU after the end of the 2023-2024 campaign.

All-time, the Hogs and Frogs have matched up 143 times in the two schools’ history. Arkansas holds a 105-38 advantage over TCU, and is 55-15 at home, 46-21 on the road and 4-2 at neutral-site games. The two were regular opponents when both played in the old Southwest Conference.

Arkansas’ non-conference schedule is still not entirely clear yet, so stay tuned to HawgBeat for the latest developments in Razorbacks basketball.