Arkansas coach John Calipari said he may have made the Razorbacks’ nonconference schedule too demanding, joking at the SEC Basketball Tipoff event in Birmingham that he must have been “on crack” when he put it together. He also described the slate as “ridiculous.”
Calipari framed the difficult games as part of his responsibility to teach his players how to win under pressure. In remarks about the team, he listed Virginia, Michigan State, Arizona and Indiana among the opponents that make the schedule demanding.
The season does not begin with Virginia, despite Calipari’s joking description. Arkansas is scheduled to open against Arkansas-Pine Bluff on Nov. 3, then face Virginia in Washington, D.C. The supplied report says the Razorbacks will also meet Michigan State and Indiana at neutral sites and play Arizona in Phoenix.
Arkansas is set to visit North Carolina on Dec. 1 in Chapel Hill. That matchup is the team’s only true road game before Southeastern Conference play begins in January, according to the report. The other listed contests are not described as road games at opponents’ home arenas.
The preseason SEC media poll placed Arkansas third in the conference. Florida was picked first and Texas second, while Kentucky, Calipari’s former program, was picked seventh.
Calipari is entering his third season as Arkansas’ head coach. The report says the Razorbacks reached the NCAA Tournament’s Sweet 16 in each of his first two seasons. Arkansas will also need to replace Darius Acuff Jr., who was selected seventh overall by the Sacramento Kings in the 2026 NBA Draft, according to the source.
The schedule’s challenge, as Calipari presented it, comes from facing several prominent programs before the conference season. His comments combined a joking acknowledgment of the slate’s difficulty with an explanation that high-level games can help prepare the roster for tough competition.
