Razorbacks add team from NCAA Tournament last year to schedule

The Razorbacks are putting together what might be one of the nation’s most difficult non-league schedules facing teams like Duke, Texas Tech, Houston, Louisville, Baylor and Michigan State.

Mount St. Mary’s finished the 2024-25 season at 23-13, including a 12-8 mark in the MAAC, and earned the league’s automatic NCAA Tournament berth as a No. 6 seed in its conference tournament.

The Mountaineers advanced past American University, 83-72, in the First Four before falling to top-seeded Duke 93-49 in the round of 64.

The Hogs’ non-conference schedule begins with a neutral-site meeting against Duke on Nov. 27 at the United Center in Chicago.

The Razorbacks will face Texas Tech and Houston at neutral venues in Dallas and Brooklyn, respectively, and will host Louisville in the SEC/ACC Challenge at Bud Walton Arena.

Dates for home-and-home series against Baylor and Michigan State have not been finalized.

Calipari, who was hired by Arkansas in April after 15 seasons at Kentucky, has sought to elevate the Razorbacks’ early-season competition and prepare the program for the rigors of SEC play.

“You want your guys to see different styles, different sizes, and to have to adjust,” Calipari said of his scheduling philosophy. “These games tell you a lot about where you are as a team.”

Calipari held his first practice with the media in attendance on Wednesday. It was a summer look at a team that just might be good enough to justify the high expectations of fans.

"I said how many are coming and (sports information director Mike Cawood) said ’25,’" he said later in one of his rambling answers. "I go, ‘We don’t have 25 media members, what are we talking about?’ They’re like 'yeah we do, they’re all here.'"

Now we get the word Friday morning they've added another game to the schedule.

"Maybe when we come back in September, maybe we’ll do something again this way and let you guys come in and see where they are at that point," Calipari said. "The conditioning part of the summer is done. I kind of beat ‘em up a little bit. Now it’s more basketball and what we’re doing."

It's scheduling games against teams with postseason experience he wants and just might think he has the players this year to handle it.

Mount St. Mary’s, meanwhile, will look to build on its recent postseason experience where they got the final 32 teams before getting freight-trained by Duke, 93-49.

Arkansas’ full non-conference schedule, including game times and broadcast details, will be announced later this summer. The Razorbacks’ SEC opponents include home-and-away series with Auburn, LSU and Missouri, along with single meetings against Kentucky, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Texas A&M and Vanderbilt.

Calipari said his goal is to have Arkansas prepared for both the conference grind and the postseason.

“You don’t have to be perfect in November or December, but you better know who you are,” Calipari said.

The Dec. 16 game against Mount St. Mary’s will mark the first meeting between the programs.

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