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After weeks of anticipation, the Arkansas basketball non-conference schedule has finally been announced. The Hogs will play 9 non-conference games this season with 7 games inside Bud Walton Arena. Let’s dive into the schedule!
2020-21 Arkansas Basketball Non-Conference Schedule
Nov. 25 – Mississippi Valley State Dec. 12 – Central Arkansas
Nov. 28 – North Texas Dec. 20 – Oral Roberts
Dec. 02 – Texas-Arlington Dec. 22 – Abilene Christian
Dec. 05 – Lipscomb Jan. 30 – @ Oklahoma State
Dec. 08 – @ Tulsa
Mississippi Valley State Delta Devils
Date: November 25
2019-20 Record: 3-27
All-Time Series: Arkansas leads 5-0
Most Recent Matchup: Nov. 30, 2011. Arkansas win, 97-64.
The Delta Devils are coached by NBA vet Lindsey Hunter who played against the Razorbacks as a member of Jackson State years ago. This will be Hunter’s 2nd year as the head coach at MVSU. Arkansas should take care of business easily in the season opener.
North Texas Mean Green
Date: November 28
2019-20 Record: 20-11
All-Time Series: Arkansas leads 15-0
Most Recent Matchup: Nov. 12, 2019. Arkansas win, 66-43.
The Hogs faced off against the Mean Green in Eric Musselman’s first campaign. The defense was stifling like it was almost all of last season. The North Texas Head Coach, Grant McCasland, interviewed for the Arkansas job in 2019. McCasland is a good coach and should have another solid squad this season. North Texas could win the Conference USA.
Texas-Arlington Mavericks
Date: December 2
2019-20 Record: 14-18
All-Time Series: Arkansas leads 8-0
Most Recent Matchup: Nov. 23, 2018. Arkansas win, 78-60.
Hog fans may remember UTA nearly beating the Razorbacks in BWA in 2017. The Mavericks are under different leadership now and Chris Ogden is trying to rebuild UTA back to the 20-win seasons they experienced under Scott Cross. Former Razorback Jordan Phillips is now at Texas-Arlington.
Lipscomb Bisons
Date: December 5
2019-20 Record: 16-16
All-Time Series: Arkansas leads 1-0
Most Recent Matchup: Dec. 20, 2004. Arkansas win, 83-54.
This will be just the 2nd all-time meeting between Lipscomb and Arkansas. Casey Alexander built Lipscomb into a powerhouse in the Atlantic Sun before leaving for the Belmont job. Lennie Acuff is in year 2 and will look to build off of a .500 season in year 1.
@ Tulsa Golden Hurricane
Date: December 8
2019-20 Record: 21-10
All-Time Series: Arkansas leads 37-24
Most Recent Matchup: Dec. 14, 2019. Arkansas win, 98-79.
Frank Haith is still coaching at Tulsa and had a really solid season last year. Hog fans will remember Mason Jones scoring 40 points against the Golden Hurricane in that matchup. Former Razorback Keyshawn Embery-Simpson now plays for Tulsa. Arkansas has not played a game at Tulsa since 2003.
Central Arkansas Bears
Date: December 12
2019-20 Record: 10-21
All-Time Series: Arkansas leads 6-0
Most Recent Matchup: Jan. 31, 1947. Arkansas win, 59-39.
The first matchup against UCA since 1947. This will be the first of many in-state matchups to come in future years. Arkansas AD Hunter Yurachek has opened the gates on this and Arkansas coaches have taken advantage already. Anthony Boone took over in the middle of last season as head coach. He will look to establish his culture in his first full season as head coach of the Bears.
Oral Roberts Golden Eagles
Date: December 20
2019-20 Record: 17-14
All-Time Series: Arkansas leads 10-2
Most Recent Matchup: Dec. 19, 2017. Arkansas win, 104-69.
Former Baylor assistant Paul Mills has started gaining momentum at Oral Roberts as Head Coach. The Golden Eagles won 11 games in each of Mills’ first 2 seasons, but went 17-14 last year. That was good enough for 4thin the Summit League.
Abilene Christian Wildcats
Date: December 22
2019-20 Record: 20-11
All-Time Series: First Matchup
This will be ACU’s 8th season in Division 1 hoops. Joe Golding has really built this program to compete at the D1 level and in the Southland conference. The Wildcats made the NCAA Tournament in 2019 and have win 20+ games in each of the last 2 seasons. This will be their first matchup with the Razorbacks.
Oklahoma State Cowboys
Date: January 30
2019-20 Record: 18-14
All-Time Series: Oklahoma State leads 37-15
Most Recent Matchup: Jan. 27, 2018. Arkansas win, 66-65.
Oklahoma State was punished by the NCAA for violations by disqualifying them from a NCAA Tournament berth this season. This was and is a huge disappointment for fans as the Cowboys welcome the #1 recruit of the 2020 class to Stillwater. Former Monteverde teammate of Moses Moody, Cade Cunningham, will be a blast to watch. This will the 3rd matchup between this teams in the Big 12/SEC Challenge. The teams have split the first two games.
Arkansas has a very high chance at going undefeated in non-conference play this season. Truthfully, with a weaker schedule like this, they really need to go undefeated. The Oklahoma State game is a must-win. The COVID-19 pandemic really ruined what Anthony Ruta would have liked to do with this schedule. With that said, there are still some solid low-major and mid-major opponents for the Razorbacks.
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