FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Arkansas will play two in-state opponents in the opening weeks of the 2026-27 college basketball season.
According to a report from HawgBeat on Tuesday, Arkansas will play Central Arkansas inside Bud Walton Arena on Nov. 13. The Razorbacks will also play Arkansas-Pine Bluff in BWA in November, according to UAPB head coach Solomon Bozeman, who broke that news during an appearance on 103.7 The Buzz.
While certainly not a marquee matchup compared to those that Arkansas has scheduled against Indiana, Michigan State, North Carolina, Virginia and Arizona during its non-conference late, UCA is no slouch. The Bears won a share of the ASUN regular season title and went 22-12 last year under head coach John Shulman.
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The matchup between Arkansas and UCA will mark the fifth time in seven years that the two programs will have met. Under Eric Musselman, the Razorbacks blew out UCA in both 2020 and 2021. The two teams have met in each of the last two seasons, including a 2024 matchup in North Little Rock inside Simmons Bank Arena. Arkansas beat UCA 93-56 in Fayetteville on Nov. 11, 2025, behind a 21-point performance from Darius Acuff Jr.
Arkansas is 10-0 against UCA all-time and shouldn’t have much trouble pushing that record to 11-0, though the Bears certainly shouldn’t be overlooked. With a massive game against Indiana in Madison Square Garden on the docket just four days later, Arkansas can’t afford to look ahead.
The report of the matchup between Arkansas and UCA makes it the 11th non-conference game for Arkansas to either be confirmed or reporter. In addition to its high-profile games against Virginia, Indiana, Michigan State, North Carolina and Arizona, Arkansas will also play UAPB, Robert Morris (Nov. 10), Oral Roberts (Dec. 5), Central Michigan (Dec. 22), and Texas-Rio Grande Valley (Dec. 29) in non-conference play.
Arkansas played 13 non-conference games a season ago, which means the Razorbacks’ 2026-27 non-conference slate is nearly completely set. Arkansas will begin SEC play on Jan. 2 inside Bud Walton Arena against Missouri.
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The Razorbacks also have exhibitions scheduled against Gonzaga and Memphis (Oct. 29) inside Bud Walton Arena, and while Calipari mentioned a potential exhibition road trip to Kansas, that game has not been confirmed.
The Razorbacks on Tuesday wrapped a four-game foreign tour in the Bahamas, where it won four exhibition games in five days.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com/college/arkansas as Razorbacks Add Second Game Vs In-State Opponent To Non-Con Calendar.
