Arkansas Razorbacks forward Trevon Brazile (7) drives to the basket as Louisville Cardinals guard J’Vonne Hadley (1) defends during the first half at Bud Walton Arena. Nelson Chenault-Imagn Images

No. 25 Arkansas gets statement win over No. 6 Louisville

By Samuel Stubbs | Last updated Dec 3, 2025 11:36 PM ET

There would've been no reason for John Calipari and Arkansas to panic had they lost Wednesday's game against No. 6 Louisville inside Bud Walton Arena, but the Razorbacks' 89-80 victory certainly lifted the mood across the state of Arkansas.

Arkansas led the Cardinals by 18 at halftime before Louisville came storming back, cutting Arkansas' lead to as little as five in the closing minutes.

But Calipari's squad did something it hadn't done in close losses to No. 7 Michigan State and No. 4 Duke, with the Hogs making enough plays down the stretch to secure what is arguably Calipari's biggest regular-season win in Fayetteville.

The Head Hog pointed out one play in particular that he believed was the nail in the coffin — a block from Trevon Brazile with 7:33 to play.

Not in our house pic.twitter.com/gst9fAedyU
— Arkansas Razorbacks Men’s Basketball (@RazorbackMBB) December 4, 2025

"You could say there's a skill there," Calipari said in his postgame news conference. "No, it isn't. It's a will to win. He just went up and said, 'This kid isn't making this basket.'"

The over Louisville was a group effort from Hogs

Arkansas got production from a plethora of players on Wednesday, showing that while Calipari doesn't use a deep rotation, the Razorbacks have plenty of players who can play at a high level.

Five Razorbacks reached double figures, with Brazile scoring 21 points on 8-of-11 shooting. Freshman guard Darius Acuff Jr. scored 17 points and dished out 10 assists in 36 minutes of work.

Fellow freshman guard Meleek Thomas also dropped 17 points, Billy Richmond III scored 10 and Florida State transfer Malique Ewin put together his most complete performance in a Razorback uniform, scoring 12 points and grabbing nine rebounds in only 18 minutes.

Wednesday's win should give Arkansas a boost of momentum for the rest of a non-conference schedule that includes tilts with No. 19 Texas Tech and No. 8 Houston.

Samuel Stubbs

Hailing from the same neck of the woods as NASCAR Hall of Famer Mark Martin, Samuel has been covering NASCAR for Yardbarker since February 2024. He has been a member of the National Motorsports Press Association (NMPA) since October of 2024. When he’s not writing about racing, Samuel covers Arkansas Razorback basketball for Yardbarker

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