John Calipari spent Monday laying out Arkansas’ non-conference picture, and the biggest takeaway was simple: the Razorbacks have plenty of headline games, just not many of them in Fayetteville.
Arkansas is set for a loaded stretch of road and neutral-site matchups, including Indiana at Madison Square Garden on Nov. 17, Michigan State in Detroit on Thanksgiving, North Carolina in Chapel Hill on Dec. 1 and Arizona in Phoenix on Dec.
- Beyond an exhibition against Gonzaga, though, the Hogs still have not locked in a marquee home opponent for Bud Walton Arena.
“We got another one that's going to be announced,” Calipari told reporters Monday when asked about Arkansas' non-conference slate. “Here's the thing about scheduling: you're trying to get games at home, games on the road, and the home games matched with the road games.
Then you're trying to get some neutral games. Our Thanksgiving game has been the highest-rated game the last two years, and this year will be the same playing Michigan State in Detroit.
“Here's the crazy thing, and people got to bear with me: we did everything we could to get another home game, legitimate - no one would play us. Listen to me: we called 300 people at those top 50 schools. We were calling the president, 'Can you play us here?'
“What happens is next year, we have Arizona at home. We have Michigan State at home, and we have an ACC game at home, and you know who I hope that is.
So that would be the best home schedule. This year, maybe the best neutral schedule.”
Calipari also said Arkansas is working on an exhibition at Kansas in Allen Fieldhouse and another exhibition against Memphis in Fayetteville. He added that the additional non-conference game still to be announced would come in early November and be played “in a nice arena, nice city.”
The Razorbacks do have two more non-conference home dates already on the books, with Central Michigan coming to Bud Walton Arena on Dec. 22 and Texas Rio-Grande Valley visiting on Dec. 29.
On the SEC side, Arkansas now knows its path after the league schedule was released Monday. The Razorbacks will open conference play against Missouri in Bud Walton Arena on Jan. 2.
“I didn't really look,” Calipari said. “I mean, we're all playing each other.
The league's good again. For us to be picked fifth, sixth, seventh, eighth, whatever, that means the league is good.”
Arkansas will next shift to its foreign tour in The Bahamas, beginning July 31 against the Bahamas National Team. All of the Razorbacks’ Baha Mar summer league games will be streamed on FloSports.
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