Preseason exhibition with Purdue shows Arkansas basketball brand is strong
For the second straight season, the Arkansas men's basketball team will play a preseason charity exhibition against one of the nation's top programs when Purdue comes to Fayetteville on Oct. 28.
Last season, head coach Eric Musselman took his team to Austin, Texas, to face the Texas Longhorns in a preseason exhibition. While the Longhorns beat the Razorbacks by 30 points, it ended up being a game that Musselman and his staff referenced throughout the 2022-23 season, which resulted in a third straight Sweet Sixteen appearance.
"We referenced our Texas game even as we got ready for the NCAA Tournament about things Texas did and about physicality," Musselman said Tuesday. "So, hopefully this is a game we're going to be able to reference throughout the course of the season as well."
One could argue that the matchup with Purdue will be even more highly-anticipated as the Boilermakers went into the NCAA Tournament as the 1-seed in the East Regional. Though Purdue was upset by 16-seed Fairleigh Dickinson in the first round of the tournament, the Boilermakers are still viewed as a top-10 program entering the 2023-24 season.
With head coach Matt Painter in his 18th season and reigning national player of the year Zach Edey back, Purdue is one of college basketball's premier programs.The Boilermakers choosing to travel to Fayetteville and play inside Bud Walton Arena shows just how strong the Arkansas basketball brand is.
"Purdue, that game in particular, they had a choice probably of doing that game with a lot of people," Musselman said. "I think that Coach Painter and his staff understand that Bud Walton is a unique place to play, and I’m really hopeful that our fans across the state understand the significance of getting a team like this for an exhibition.
"There’s not a lot of exhibition games that are being played against Division I teams, so we’re doing something unique. You’re putting it all out there really quickly. You’re auditioning in front of a lot of people. There’s a little bit more opinions that are going to be formed during that game, after that game, than if you play a Division II team. Credit to Purdue for being willing to play a road game."
Last year, Musselman's squad was filled with plenty of young talent and new faces, including three one-and-dones in Anthony Black, Nick Smith Jr. and Jordan Walsh. This season, the Razorbacks still have new faces, but they are mostly older transfer additions to go along with the returning talent.
Key pieces like Davonte 'Devo' Davis, Trevon Brazile, Jalen Graham and Makhi Mitchell are back. Transfer additions Tramon Mark, El Ellis, Jeremiah Davenport, Khalif Battle and others will all play significant minutes and the exhibition against Purdue will be the first time fans get to see the transfers and freshmen — Layden Block and Baye Fall — put on the Razorback uniform.
“Yeah I feel like having Purdue come in for an exhibition game is very big," Davenport said. "Especially what they did last year in the tournament, just the whole year period. I feel like fans will come out and pack that out...So, I feel like I can’t wait.
"Especially from where I played at Cincinnati. You know, it was what, 12,000? And now I’m stuck into a bigger arena, 20,000. And the season tickets are sold out. So I can’t wait for that Purdue exhibition.”
The game is perfectly scheduled on Oct. 28, which is the Arkansas football team's bye week. With the matchup beginning at 3 p.m. CT, Bud Walton Arena should be packed as if it was a true regular season top-10 matchup.
"I think it's going to be a great game for Purdue, for Arkansas, for our fanbase as well," Musselman said. "You're going to be able to get a Big Ten team in here that I'm going to assume comes in anywhere from 1-3.
"They're really unique. They have incredible shooters. They were young last year. They have a player that could be player of the year in college basketball who is overly unique in how you have to prepare for him. So, I think it gives us a lot of really great things."
Not only will the fans be able to enjoy the experience, but the new players will get their first taste of a Bud Walton Arena crowd.
"Especially coming from where I came from, you know we had a rough year so the fans weren't really there for us but I feel like that’s the main reason I came here," said Ellis, a Louisville transfer. "I wanted to be able to play in front of a lot of fans each and every night. So I’m very excited and I feel like those guys as well like they said we’re ready for a top-five team to come into Bud Walton and we’re going to be ready to play."
Tickets for the charity exhibition went on sale earlier Tuesday and you can purchase them by clicking here. Proceeds from the game will go to Arkansas 211, a program of the United Way, to assist with relief efforts from the tornadoes that affected Arkansas this past spring.