nnFAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – For the first time since 2020, the Arkansas Razorbacks will face off against a storied Indiana Hoosiers program, but this time it will take place at Madison Square Garden for the Bad Boy Mowers Series.
The game is scheduled to take place on Tuesday, Nov. 17, but a tipoff time and television information will be available at a later time.
"This matchup represents what the Bad Boy Series is all about," said Lindsey Keller, VP of Marketing at Bad Boy Mowers. "It features two teams from different conferences getting to compete, and where better to have it than Madison Square Garden?"
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Arkansas coach John Calipari is known for his aggressive scheduling of premier neutral site games dating back to his time at UMass in the early 1990s. Since the Naismith Hall of Fame coach arrived on the college scene in 1988 with the Minutemen, he has coached inside the storied venue 28 times and holds a 16-12 all-time record.
Calipari's first game at MSG strolling the sideline as head coach came at UMass during the 1991 National Invitational Tournament (NIT), ultimately losing to Stanford in the semifinals of the tournament by a score of 78-71. The Minutemen also lost the third place consolation game to Colorado 98-91, finishing in fourth place.
The Razorbacks previously played at MSG during Calipari's first season in 2024-25, defeating the Michigan Wolverines, 89-87, as part of the Jimmy V Classic. One interesting storyline in that game came with Florida Atlantic transfer Johnell Davis facing his former coach Dusty May.
However, it wasn't Davis' finest day on the floor, recording just six points, four rebounds and one assist on 2-of-8 shooting from the floor, and 1-of-4 from three in just over 31 minutes of action.
Until his hiring at Kentucky in 2009, Calipari had never faced off against Indiana, but he has accumulated a 3-2 all-time record against Hoosiers, and all came during his time with Kentucky from 2009-2024.
Calipari's Coaching History Against Indiana:
12/12/2009 #4 UK won 90-73 at Indiana (Assembly Hall)
12/11/2010 #17 UK won 81-62 vs Indiana (Rupp Arena)
12/10/2011 #1 UK lost 73-72 at Indiana (Assembly Hall)
03/23/2012 #1 UK won 102-90 vs #16 Indiana in the Sweet 16 (Atlanta's Georgia Dome)
03/19/2016 #10 UK lost 73-67 vs #14 Indiana in the 2nd Rd of the NCAA Tournament (Des Moines' Wells Fargo Arena)
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Razorbacks, Hoosiers Series History
The Razorbacks have also met Indiana in five times on the hardwood with the first game coming in 1949 at Assembly Hall in Bloomington. Then coached by Presley Askew, Arkansas entered the game with a 2-3 record, and fell short of the Hoosiers, 75-50.
After nearly six decades from the first meeting, Arkansas and Indiana battled in the first round of the 2008 NCAA Tournament in Raleigh, N.C. The Razorbacks were led by a red-hot Sonny Weems who scored 31 points on 12-of-14 shooting to defeat one-and-done freshman sensation Eric Gordon and the Hoosiers, 86-72.
The Razorbacks and Hoosiers faced off twice in the 2018-19 season, with the teams splitting one possession games in non-conference play and in the NIT. The first game came during the Hardwood Showcase inside Bud Walton Arena with Daniel Gafford recording a double-double with 27 points and 12 rebounds.
Indiana go the upper hand during the second round of the NIT at Assembly Hall, defeating the Gafford-less Hogs, 63-60.
The latest meeting between the two schools came in former coach Eric Musselman's first season, as Arkansas pulled away late against Indiana, 71-64 inside BWA. Former Hogs' Isaiah Jones and Mason Jones combined for 45 points on 15-of-37 shooting, including a 10-of-26 mark from three.
With the announcement, Arkansas has now finalized four premier non-conference games for the 2026-27 season. Others on tap include Michigan State in Detroit (Nov. 26), at North Carolina (Dec. 1) and Arizona in Phoenix (Dec. 19).
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This article was originally published on www.si.com/college/arkansas as Razorbacks Scheduled to Face Storied College Basketball Program Next Season.