Potential opponents for Arkansas in next year’s SEC/ACC Challenge
There’s still a long way to go for Arkansas to fill out its non-conference schedule for next season, but one game the Hogs know they’ll have is the SEC/ACC Challenge.
Introduced in 2023, the SEC/ACC Challenge, as the name suggests, pits SEC teams against ACC teams over a two-day stretch in December. Arkansas is 3-0 in such games, as it defeated Duke in 2023, Miami in 2024 and Louisville in 2025.
The SEC/ACC Challenge usually alternates home and road games each year. Arkansas was at home against Duke, hit the road against Miami and was home against Louisville. That means the Razorbacks will more than likely be on the road, although the schedule has to be released. It will likely come out officially in June — that’s when previous years’ games have been announced.
That said, there’s a short list of teams Arkansas will likely play. The powers-that-be will probably not want to hold rematches, and because half of the conference teams will be on the road versus at home, it shortens the list even further.
Duke, Syracuse, Pitt, Notre Dame, Florida State, Wake Forest, Georgia Tech and Boston College all played at home last year, so they’re likely out of the equation.
HawgBeat takes a look at some of the potential opponents Arkansas could face…
North Carolina
This one makes the most sense, because it falls in line with a top-tier matchup and the logistics match up as well. UNC was on the road last year at Kentucky, and the two teams haven’t played since 2023 in the Battle 4 Atlantis.
North Carolina is one of the blue bloods of college basketball, though it will be breaking in a new coach in former NBA coach Michael Malone. Hubert Davis was fired after a first-round loss to VCU in the NCAA Tournament last season.
Malone comes to North Carolina with a strong NBA background, where he won an NBA championship with the Denver Nuggets. There’s questions about how his success will translate to the college game, but he built a roster that should look much-improved from last year.
Arkansas also has a game against North Carolina that lives in the history books. Back in 1984, the two met in Pine Bluff, and the Tar Heels, ranked No. 1 in the nation, had a little-known player called Michael Jordan.
Neither team led by more than seven points and Arkansas pulled off a 65-64 win thanks to a go-ahead shot by Charles Balentine that put the Hogs ahead in the waning seconds of the game.
Duke
Okay, yes Duke was at home last year, but they’re still on the list of potential opponents. Why? Because the Blue Devils are a premiere brand in college basketball, and another matchup against John Calipari and the Razorbacks would bring a lot of attention.
And what do TV executives love the most? Ratings and money, something this would inevitably bring.
If this were to come to fruition, it would be the third time since 2023 that the Hogs and Blue Devils have faced off. Arkansas played Duke in the SEC/ACC Challenge in 2023 and then at the United Center in Chicago on Thanksgiving Day last year. The teams are 1-1 against each other in that timeframe.
That matchup drew a lot of eyes, as it averaged 6.81 million viewers throughout the course of the game. That may be something the people making the decisions decide to break precedent for.
Virginia
There’s not a ton of recent history between Arkansas and Virginia, but the Cavaliers are a tough team that really took a leap under Ryan Odom in his first year at the helm. The former UMBC head coach led Virginia to a 30-6 record with a 15-3 mark in ACC play this past season with a Round of 32 appearance in the NCAA Tournament.
If the UMBC marker above raised a flag in your brain, it’s probably because Odom was the head coach of the Retrievers program that upset the Cavaliers in the 2018 NCAA Tournament, the first time a 16-seed ever beat a 1-seed.
Arkansas and Virginia have played seven total times in the two schools’ histories. The last time they met was in the Top of the World Classic in Fairbanks, Alaska, in 1998, a game the Hogs won 85-83. The Hogs have been to Charlottesville twice since 1984 and the Cavaliers hold a 4-3 record all-time against the Razorbacks.
Clemson
There’s not a ton of history here, but it fits logistically for Arkansas to potentially travel to Clemson, South Carolina next season.
The Tigers finished last season with a 24-11 record and a 12-6 mark in ACC play. They played Alabama last year at Coleman Coliseum and lost 90-84. Two years ago, they downed Kentucky 70-66 at Littlejohn Coliseum in the SEC/ACC Challenge.
Arkansas and Clemson have not played each other since 2014, when the 18th-ranked Razorbacks lost 68-65 on the road in overtime. Michael Qualls scored 21 points but missed a game-tying three with 10 seconds left that could have pushed the game to a second overtime period.
While the two didn’t play in the NCAA Tournament two years ago, they were in the same pod in Providence, Rhode Island, in the first weekend of the tournament. The Tigers were upset by McNeese State, who were led by Will Wade, which also plays into the next potential opponent Arkansas could face…
North Carolina State
The Wolfpack will be breaking in a new coaching staff this year after Wade bolted back to LSU after one season with NC State. Justin Gainey, an NC State alum and former Tennessee assistant and associate head coach, took over on March 31.
Only once in the two programs’ histories did Arkansas and NC State face off, back in 1983. That game, like the one against Virginia, was played in state of Alaska. The Hogs and Wolfpack played in the Great Alaska Shootout in Anchorage. The Wolfpack won 65-60, but Razorback great Joe Kleine was named the Tournament MVP.
Last season, the Wolfpack finished 20-14 with a 10-8 mark in ACC play. They lost in the First Four to Texas, which went on to a Sweet 16 run.
Other potential opponents
Along with those five, there are three others that the executives who decide the matchups could pair Arkansas with.
SMU was on the road last year, so a trip to Dallas could potentially be in store for the Hogs. Arkansas has a large contingent of fans in the Dallas metro area, so it would probably end up being close to a home game.
California and Stanford are new to the ACC but did not appear in the SEC/ACC Challenge last year. Cal did play in the 2024 SEC/ACC Challenge and were on the road in that game, so heading out west is a possibility as well.
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