HawgBeat's non-conference basketball game wish list for Arkansas

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Arkansas took advantage of the lack of sports Wednesday by making a splash and announcing a series of non-conference basketball games against Oklahoma.

Two games are scheduled - on Dec. 12, 2020, and Dec. 11, 2021 - for the BOK Center in Tulsa, with the possibility of extending the series another two years in 2022 and 2023.

There are plenty of storylines surrounding what is expected to be a resume-building matchup between regional schools, including the fact that Arkansas coach Eric Musselman worked for Oklahoma coach Lon Kruger in the NBA.

It also got us thinking about some other non-conference games we’d like to see the Razorbacks add to their schedule in the coming years.

Here is a list of the top 11 opponents HawgBeat came up with, divided up by the kind of matchup - home-and-home, neutral site or just a home game - preferred…

Memphis

Any list of desired non-conference opponents for Arkansas is pretty much required to include Memphis. The two schools had a fierce rivalry during the 1990s, when both were among the best programs in college basketball.

A 12-year stretch of home-and-home matchups, during which they also met twice in The NCAA Tournament, ended following the 2003 game, when then-Tigers head coach John Calipari said the Razorbacks were no longer a “national program” and canceled the series.

Relations between the schools finally started to soften when Tubby Smith was hired in 2016 and openly talked about wanting to resume the rivalry. Current coach Penny Hardaway - who averaged 18.7 points and seven rebounds while leading Memphis to a 2-1 record against Arkansas in his playing days - has also publicly expressed a desire to play the Razorbacks.

“I want to play all the teams that we used to play back in the day to get the rivalries going against,” Hardaway said during an interview on Sports Talk with Bo Mattingly in 2018. “I would love to play Arkansas. … I’m definitely going to be the guy that wants to get those rivalries going again the way they were back in the day.”

Despite those claims, no series - or even single-game neutral-site matchups - have been announced during his two-year tenure at Memphis. With both programs seemingly on the rise, most would agree it’d be good for college basketball if that changed.

St. John’s

Arkansas has played in the modern Madison Square Garden just four times and not since reaching the NIT Final Four in 1997. (The other two times were in the 1990 Preseason NIT.)

What makes this hypothetical home-and-home series more intriguing, though, would be the game at Bud Walton Arena. It would mark the return of former head coach Mike Anderson, who just completed his first season with the Red Storm.

Unlike many fired coaches, Anderson is still largely beloved by Arkansas fans. While most probably agreed it was time to move on, they also recognize that he got the program back to a respectable level during his eight-year tenure and that he was a key figure on the 1994 national title team as an assistant.

That was evident when he received a resounding standing ovation at the Nolan Richardson Court ceremony before an exhibition game just eight months after he was fired. It was similar to the ovation he received as Missouri’s coach when the Tigers came to Fayetteville in 2007.

St. John’s finished the season just two games over .500, but was No. 62 in the NET rankings and had a solid strength of schedule because it’s in the Big East. That would make the Red Storm a Quadrant 1 opponent on the road or a Quadrant 2 opponent at Bud Walton Arena.

Texas

Among the 11 teams on this list, Texas has played Arkansas most recently. The former SWC rivals opened the 2018-19 season against each other in the Armed Forces Classic in El Paso, with the Longhorns pulling out a 73-71 overtime win.

Two years before that, the Razorbacks won a close matchup in Houston. However, it’s been nearly a decade since Arkansas and Texas met on either team’s home court. The last time they did was back in 2011 and that capped a four-year home-and-home series.

Those were their first matchups since the Razorbacks left the SWC following the 1990-91 season. Included in that stretch was a memorable upset over the No. 7 Longhorns in 2009, but that was just one of two wins for Arkansas out of the six non-conference games. Despite the recent struggles, it still leads the all-time series 87-68.

As for the current Longhorns, head coach Shaka Smart is seemingly on thin ice and was all but fired before winning five of six games to end the regular season and put Texas on the bubble heading into the Big 12 Tournament.

Kansas

Several programs would probably include Kansas on a non-conference wish list because it is one of college basketball’s blue bloods, but it actually makes sense for Arkansas because of geography.

Fayetteville and Lawrence are separated by an easy 4-hour drive - head north on I-49 and hang a left at I-435 - so it would be a doable road trip for both fan bases. Despite their proximity, the Razorbacks and Jayhawks have met just twice over the last three decades - in the 1991 NCAA Tournament and 2005 Maui Invitational.

They had a single home-and-home in the 1970s (1976 and 1977) and 1980s (1985 and 1986), and before that, they played a six-year series during the 1960s, so it would not be unprecedented for Arkansas and Kansas to schedule something. There’s also the possibility of meeting in the Big 12/SEC Challenge.

The Jayhawks are a perennial powerhouse in the Big 12 and on the national scene, but could potentially face fallout from the bribery scandal that involved the FBI. It’s also worth noting that their athletics director is Jeff Long, who was previously at Arkansas for 10 years before being fired in 2017.

Wichita State

Similar to Kansas, this matchup makes sense because of the two school’s proximity. Despite being separated by a 4.5-hour drive, though, Arkansas and Wichita State have played just twice, with both games coming in 1956.

The Shockers have evolved from one of the top mid-majors in the country to now being considered a high-major program as a member of the American Athletic Conference. With Gregg Marshall at the helm, Wichita State has won at least 22 games in 11 straight seasons.

In addition to being a resume booster (Wichita State finished the season at No. 41 in the NET), Charles Koch Arena is known for having a great environment, so it would help prepare Arkansas for tough road games in the SEC.

Butler

Every basketball fan who has seen the movie Hoosiers knows about Hinkle Fieldhouse, the home gym for the Butler Bulldogs. The historic venue opened in 1928 and is sometimes referred to as “Indiana’s Basketball Cathedral,” which is saying something for a basketball-crazed state.

That would be enough to make this game a bucket list road trip for Arkansas fans, but it would also be a quality game for the Razorbacks. With a 22-9 record and No. 19 ranking in the NET, Butler was set to return to the NCAA Tournament this season after a one-year absence. It would have been the Bulldogs’ 11th appearance in 14 seasons, a stretch that includes two runner-up finishes.

Oregon

This would be another quality game for Arkansas, as the Ducks won the Pac-12 regular-season title and were 12th in the NET this year, reached the Sweet 16 last year and are just three years removed from a Final Four trip.

Over the past 10 years, Oregon has won 71.5 percent of its games and never finished with fewer than 21 wins. The man in charge during that decade of success? Dana Altman.

Even if it’s at a neutral site because of the distance separating the two schools, a matchup with the man who left Arkansas after less than 24 hours on the job would fire up the fan base.

UCLA

The last time Arkansas and UCLA met on the basketball court, the game ended with the Bruins cutting down the nets in Seattle as the 1995 national champions. The 89-78 loss denied the Razorbacks back-to-back titles.

There’s no doubt fans would love to get a rematch, even if it’s nearly three decades later and on a neutral floor.

Nevada

Who knows if Eric Musselman would be up for it, but there would be plenty of storylines surrounding a matchup with his former school. He helped build Nevada into a mid-major powerhouse, reaching the NCAA Tournament his last three years there, including a trip to the Sweet 16 in 2018.

To make a neutral-site game worthwhile, though, current coach Steve Alford - who was previously at UCLA - will need to sustain that success. The Wolf Pack went 19-12 this season and were No. 89 in the final NET rankings, so they would have been just a Quadrant 2 opponent on a neutral floor.

Little Rock

Playing in-state schools is still taboo for a portion of the fan base, but athletics director Hunter Yurachek recently loosed the decades-old policy against such games. Baseball and other sports have already taken advantage of being able to schedule teams in the University of Arkansas system.

The men’s basketball team sort of has, as well, but it was in the form of an exhibition game. Scheduling a regular-season game now would make a lot of sense for several reasons.

For one, it presumably wouldn’t cost the Razorbacks as much as other “buy games” because Little Rock wouldn’t have much travel and would probably jump at the opportunity. The Trojans are also coached by Arkansas legend Darrell Walker, who led them from 10-21 and 11th in the Sun Belt to 21-10 and a regular-season conference title in just his second year at the helm.

Some fans may argue Little Rock would be the perfect opponent for the Razorbacks’ annual game at Simmons Bank Arena in North Little Rock. However, that wouldn’t make sense for Arkansas because it already regularly sells out that game, even when playing the likes of Valparaiso, UTSA and Troy. On the flip side, a game against Little Rock at Bud Walton Arena would undoubtedly draw a larger crowd than your typical mid-major.

Tennessee Tech

It’s highly unlikely Tennessee Tech would meet scheduling wizard Anthony Ruta’s criteria for a non-conference game, as the Golden Eagles went 7-22 and were No. 331 in the NET this year. So why is it included? John Pelphrey just wrapped up his first season as the program’s head coach.

That’s right. It’s the former Arkansas coach’s first head coaching job since being fired by the Razorbacks in 2011. Although he’s been back as an assistant at Florida and Alabama, it would be interesting to see the kind of reception he received at Bud Walton Arena - especially compared to Anderson.