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Arkansas Razorbacks coach John Calipari addresses the media in a press conference during NCAA Tournament West Regional Practice at Chase Center. Kyle Terada-Imagn Images

We know who Razorbacks playing and where in new SEC schedule release

Originally posted on Arkansas Razorbacks on SI
By Andy Hodges | Last updated Jun 18, 2025 2:30 PM ET

We now know the teams and locations, but not the dates of who Arkansas will play this sesaon.

The SEC dropped the opponents for each league team Wednesday and any handicapping will have to wait until we know the dates.

As Razorback fans saw last season, when the games are played against which teams can have an effect. After a struggle to the start, things picked up in February towards a Sweet 16 finish.

Calipari’s second season at Arkansas comes after a turbulent debut — one that saw the Razorbacks rebound from a rocky start to make a push into March.

“Everyone put us in a coffin after 0-5,” Calipari said. “They just forgot the nails.”

That stubborn refusal to concede, now immortalized as a team mantra, lingers as the Razorbacks prepare for a gauntlet of SEC foes and marquee nonconference showdowns.

The 2025-26 SEC schedule hands Arkansas home-and-away series with Auburn, LSU, and Missouri — a trio of matchups steeped in history and recent drama.

LSU remains the Razorbacks’ most familiar foe, with 72 meetings since Arkansas joined the SEC in 1991. Arkansas holds a narrow 40-32 edge in those games, and the Tigers have become, if not a nemesis, then certainly a measuring stick for the program.s

Missouri presents a rivalry that’s grown more intense since the Tigers became conference mates in 2012. Arkansas has claimed eight of the last 10 meetings, and this year’s home-and-home will mark the 14th consecutive year the programs have met twice.

Auburn, the third team on the double-dip list, has a history of trading upsets and statement wins with Arkansas.

The last time the two played a home-and-home, the series split with each team toppling a ranked opponent on their own floor.

“If history is an indicator, the home schedule sets up well for Arkansas,” the university’s athletics department pointed out this week.

Most that's because the Hogs are 23-6 all-time against Auburn in Fayetteville with one court-storming a couple of years ago. The Tigers' recent surge under Bruce Pearl makes that stat more comfort than guarantee.

Bud Walton Arena will host single games against Kentucky, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Texas A&M, and Vanderbilt.

The Kentucky game carries echoes of Calipari’s past, and it’s hard to ignore the undercurrent of tension that accompanies his first time coaching against his former program in Fayetteville.

“We needed to win a game. It didn’t matter who it was against,” Calipari said after a critical late-season win last year.

Opponents set ✅ pic.twitter.com/qElwmAJ5bl
— Arkansas Razorbacks Men’s Basketball (@RazorbackMBB) June 18, 2025

This one will matter to him, to fans, and to the broader college basketball world. Whenever it's played it will be a wild atmosphere around Bud Walton Arena.

The road schedule isn’t any easier.

The Razorbacks will travel to face Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Ole Miss, Mississippi State, and Oklahoma, making their first trip to Norman for the first time since 2011.

The Sooners have historically given Arkansas trouble on their home floor with the Hogs just 3-8 all-time in Norman, a reminder that no road game in this league is ever a gimme.

Roster-wise, Arkansas is drawing national attention for its influx of talent.

The 2025 recruiting class, headlined by five-star guards Darius Acuff Jr. and Maleek Thomas, has been ranked top five in the country by most outlets.

“There is a very realistic world where John Calipari’s 2025 class winds up the highest-ranked in the country,” noted one recent recruiting analyst on YouTube.

Transfers and returning veterans like Nick Pringle and Malique Ewin give the Razorbacks a blend of experience and blue-chip upside that’s rare even in the SEC’s current arms race.

The new-look roster is coming together after a season marred by injuries and depth issues.

“I’m going to say it again, it’s not only being injured, you can’t have three or four of your seven play poorly and you expect to win,” Calipari admitted in March.

Arkansas’ early-season struggles in 2025 were widely attributed to a short bench and inconsistent guard play.

With the transfer portal delivering new players and a full year of Calipari’s system under their belts for returning players, the Razorbacks are expected to play with more tempo and defensive versatility.

The SEC, meanwhile, is as tough as ever. lately it's become the most competitive in the country.

The league is discussing a move to a 20-game conference schedule, a shift that would mirror the Big Ten and further intensify each regular season outcome.

For now, Arkansas will navigate the traditional 18-game slate, but coaches and athletic departments are already bracing for more grueling winters ahead.

“There’s no easy night in this league,” one anonymous SEC assistant said. “The days of hoping for a breather in conference play are gone.”

National pundits have been quick to highlight Arkansas as a potential dark horse. ESPN’s “Way Too Early” rankings slotted the Razorbacks into the Top 10 for 2025-26, fueled by optimism around the recruiting class and Calipari’s postseason pedigree.

Fans are probably starting to get a little wary of preseason hype ... with good reason. Last year’s Sweet 16 run was celebrated, but a 22-14 record and early SEC stumbles left a sense of unfinished business.

Calipari himself seems to welcome the pressure.

“Man, I’ve done this a long time. And this may be the most rewarding season for me because there are a bunch of good kids that struggled early,” he told reporters after a second-round win in March.

The coach who built his brand on blueblood swagger at Kentucky is now, in Fayetteville, embracing the underdog role or at least the appearance of one.

Looking ahead, the schedule’s quirks may help Arkansas.

The Hogs get Texas A&M, their most common historical opponent. At home Arkansas is 10-1 against the Aggies in Fayetteville over the past 14 years.

On the flip side, the team has played just five times in Norman, Okla, since 1998, making that late-season trip a potential trap game.

Calipari’s just hoping this year the Hogs be the ones hammering the nails, not waiting for someone else to close the coffin.