Arkansas is loading up its 2026-27 non-conference schedule, and the latest addition brings another big-stage trip to New York. The Razorbacks will face Indiana on Nov. 17 at Madison Square Garden, giving John Calipari’s team another chance to play under the brightest lights in college basketball.
The matchup comes after Arkansas last saw Indiana in 2020, and it adds to a slate that already includes a Thanksgiving Day game with Michigan State, a road trip to North Carolina and a meeting with Arizona in Phoenix. Calipari made it clear he wants Razorback fans to show up in force for the Garden game.
"You know we like to play anybody, anywhere any time," Calipari said in a video posted to social media. "We played Michigan in the Garden two years back.
We brought 8,000 people. Here's the challenge: With us playing Indiana, one of the top programs in our country who travel, we gotta make sure we show the Garden we travel better than Indiana travels.
They're going to have a ton of people there.
I can’t wait to see Razorback fans take over Madison Square Garden in November! https://t.co/sI0UV9CgQM pic.twitter.com/pQAqYUk1F9
"Mark that date down. We need you at that game.
What we want to do every year is play in the Garden. It's a great trip.
It highlights us nationally and what we're doing. Still not done with the schedule, got a couple more [games] coming.
"Again, good games that we're trying to keep elevating what we're doing, [televise] what we're doing. Playing over Thanksgiving again.
I'll touch base again, but mark that date down, November 17 in New York City. We need to be there."
Arkansas was at Madison Square Garden as recently as 2024, when it beat Michigan in what became a major resume win for Calipari’s first Razorbacks team. This time, the Hoosiers will be led by Darian DeVries, who did not get Indiana to the NCAA Tournament in his first season in Bloomington.
The game should draw plenty of attention nationally, but it also serves a practical purpose for Arkansas. The Razorbacks will be bringing an extremely young and inexperienced roster into a stretch of Power Four tests before SEC play begins in January, and Indiana is another checkpoint before those games against Michigan State, North Carolina and Arizona.
There’s more on the schedule, too. Arkansas already has an exhibition game against Gonzaga set for Bud Walton Arena, and Calipari’s comments point to two more major non-conference games still to come.
The Razorbacks will also play Central Michigan, a MAC program led by Andy Bronkema and incoming freshman Tyre Acuff, who is the cousin of 2026 SEC Player of the Year, consensus All-American and former Arkansas point guard Darius Acuff.
For Arkansas, the schedule is shaping up to deliver both visibility and résumé value, with a lineup built to put the Razorbacks on a national stage and give them chances to stack wins before March Madness arrives.
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