The 2024-25 college basketball season will mark a new era for John Calipari, as the former Kentucky coach will be roaming the sidelines at a different location in the SEC. After spending the last 15 seasons with the Wildcats, Calipari left his post in Lexington to replace Eric Musselman as the coach at Arkansas in one of the biggest moves of the offseason.
No. 16 Arkansas opens the season on Nov. 6 at Bud Walton Arena against Lipscomb before facing No. 8 Baylor at American Airlines Center in Dallas five days later. The Razorbacks also have intriguing matchups against Illinois, Miami and Michigan on their nonconference schedule.
Calipari has landed serval high-profile commitments this offseason to reshape the Arkansas roster, including former Florida Atlantic star Johnell Davis and Tennessee forward Jonas Aidoo. Davis, the No. 1 player in the CBS Sports Transfer Rankings, was the 2023-24 AAC co-Player of the Year. Aidoo is one the best 2024 transfers in college basketball and was one of the best defensive players in the country at his position.
The Razorbacks also added three members of Kentucky’s 2024 recruiting class: Karter Knox, Billy Richmond and Boogie Fland. All three players were previously committed to Kentucky and followed their future coach to Fayetteville.
Here are the top five Arkansas nonconference games to watch this season.
1. vs. Baylor
When: Nov. 9, 2024 | Where: American Airlines Center (Dallas)
The best nonconference game on Arkansas’ schedule is a game in Dallas against Baylor. The Bears loaded up in the transfer portal by landing former Duke star guard Jeremy Roach and Miami big man Norchad Omier to pair with returning guard Langston Love.
Baylor also has three top-100 recruits from the 2024 recruiting cycle coming to campus: V.J. Edgecombe, Rob Wright, and Jason Asemota. Edgecombe projects as a potential top-5 pick in the 2025 NBA Draft.
2. vs. Illinois
When: Nov. 28, 2024 | Where: T-Mobile Center (Kansas City)
How about a showdown on Thanksgiving as an earlly appetizer before turkey dinner?
Illinois lost Terrence Shannon Jr. (NBA Draft) and Coleman Hawkins (transfer to Kansas State) from a team that reached the Elite Eight for the first time since 2005 but reloaded by adding blue-chip prospects Will Riley, Morez Johnson, Kasparas Jakucionis and Tomislav Ivišić, the brother of Arkansas big man Zvonimir Ivišić. Brad Underwood also landed former Arizona guard Kylan Boswell and Notre Dame forward Carey Booth via the transfer portal to compete in a new-look Big Ten.
3. vs. Michigan
When: Dec. 10, 2024 | Where: Madison Square Garden (New York)
Arkansas’ matchup with Michigan at Madison Square Garden should be a good one. New Michigan coach Dusty May is in a great position to turn the Wolverines back into a Big Ten contender because of what he did in the transfer portal. Michigan added Ohio State’s Roddy Gayle Jr., Yale’s Danny Wolf, Auburn’s Tre Donaldson, Alabama’s Sam Walters, and his former player at FAU, Vladislav Goldin, and added four-star guard Justin Pippen, the son of NBA legend Scottie Pippen, via high school recruiting.
This game will be must-watch TV.
4. at Miami (ACC/SEC Challenge)
When: Dec. 3, 2024 | Where: Watsco Center (Coral Gables, Florida)
Arkansas will travel to Coral Gables during the first week of December to face Miami in the ACC/SEC Challenge. The Hurricanes lost their star big man (Omier) to Baylor but added one of the top incoming recruits in the 2024 recruiting cycle: Jalil Bethea.
Bethea is projected to start in the backcourt next to Nijel Pack, and those two should offer coach Jim Larrañaga a dynamic 1-2 punch. Don’t be surprised if this ends up being one of the top games from the multi-day event.
When: Dec. 30, 2024 Where: Bud Walton Arena (Fayetteville, Arkansas)
Before the calendar turns to 2025, Calipari will face an opponent he is very familiar with. Calipari’s final game at Kentucky was a loss to this same Oakland squad in the NCAA Tournament. Although the new head man at Arkansas is at a different school in the SEC, this will be must-watch TV because of that storyline alone.
Oakland lost its best player (Trey Townsend) to the transfer portal, but coach Greg Kampe will have his team ready to compete.
Arkansas’ 2024-25 schedule
| Date | Opponent | Site |
|---|---|---|
| Wed., Nov. 6 | Lipscomb | Fayetteville, Ark. |
| Sat., Nov. 9 | vs. Baylor | Dallas |
| Wed., Nov. 13 | Troy | Fayetteville, Ark. |
| Mon., Nov. 18 | Pacific | Fayetteville, Ark. |
| Fri., Nov. 22 | Little Rock | Fayetteville, Ark. |
| Mon., Nov. 25 | Maryland-Eastern Shore | Fayetteville, Ark. |
| Thu., Nov. 28 | vs. Illinois | Kansas City, Mo. |
| Tue., Dec. 3 | at Miami | Coral Gables, Fla. |
| Sat., Dec. 7 | UTSA | Fayetteville, Ark. |
| Tue., Dec. 10 | vs. Michigan | New York (Jimmy V Classic) |
| Sat., Dec. 14 | vs. Central Arkansas | North Little Rock, Ark. |
| Sat., Dec. 21 | North Carolina A&T | Fayetteville, Ark. |
| Mon., Dec. 30 | Oakland | Fayetteville, Ark. |
| Sat., Jan. 4 | at Tennessee | Knoxville, Tenn. |
| Wed., Jan. 8 | Ole Miss | Fayetteville, Ark. |
| Sat., Jan. 11 | Florida | Fayetteville, Ark. |
| Tue., Jan. 14 | at LSU | at Baton Rouge, La. |
| Sat., Jan. 18 | at Missouri | at Columbia, Mo. |
| Sat., Jan. 25 | Oklahoma | Fayetteville, Ark. |
| Sat., Feb. 1 | at Kentucky | at Lexington, Ky. |
| Wed., Feb. 5 | at Texas | at Austin, Texas |
| Sat., Feb. 8 | Alabama | Fayetteville, Ark. |
| Wed., Feb. 12 | LSU | Fayetteville, Ark. |
| Sat., Feb. 15 | at Texas A&M | at College Station, Texas |
| Wed., Feb. 19 | at Auburn | at Auburn, Ala. |
| Sat., Feb. 22 | Missouri | Fayetteville, Ark. |
| Wed., Feb. 26 | Texas | Fayetteville, Ark. |
| Sat., Mar. 1 | at South Carolina | at Columbia, S.C. |
| Tue., Mar. 4 | at Vanderbilt | at Nashville |
| Sat., Mar. 8 | Mississippi State | Fayetteville, Ark. |
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