Arkansas Basketball Gets Relatively Favorable Draw With SEC Schedule

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — All things considered, Arkansas basketball's 2026-27 SEC schedule is a pretty favorable one.

SEC schedule locked in. 🔒🗓️ pic.twitter.com/mt4DzBbK4K
— Arkansas Men’s Basketball 🐗 (@RazorbackMBB) July 27, 2026

Head coach John Calipari and the Razorbacks will begin SEC play inside Bud Walton against Missouri on Jan. 2 and conclude in Fayetteville against Oklahoma on March 6. Arkansas' first SEC game likely to be of national prominence will come on Jan. 9 when they host Alabama, and getting off to a 2-0 start against Missouri and South Carolina, the latter of which will host Arkansas on Jan. 5 or 6, will be critical.

While Arkansas only has consecutive home games once during conference play, they will have two instances of playing back-to-back road games. The Hogs will travel to Texas A&M on either Jan. 12 or Jan. 13 before playing Tennessee in Knoxville on Jan. 16.

Arguably the more important two-game road stretch will come on Feb. 20 and Feb. 23, when Arkansas travels to a pair of rivals in Kentucky, which would like nothing more than to get revenge on Calipari for his 2025 win with Arkansas in Lexington, and Missouri.

Arkansas will play seven of the 10 SEC schools that made the NCAA Tournament on the road in conference play, but will also get to host marquee matchups against Alabama (Jan. 9) and Florida (Feb. 27). The Razorbacks will also travel to Tuscaloosa on Feb. 13.

Some of Arkansas' biggest games, however, are between matchups with opponents Arkansas will be heavily favored against. After playing at Texas on Jan. 23, Arkansas gets its lone instance of back-to-back SEC home games, playing LSU on Jan. 26 or 27 and Mississippi State on Jan. 30 before a midweek bye.

That bye will then lead into what is Arkansas' toughest stretch of the season: a road trip to Vanderbilt on Feb. 6, a return to Bud Walton Arena on Feb. 9/10 to play Ole Miss, a road game against Alabama on Feb. 13, a home game against Auburn on Feb. 16/17, aforementioned road trips to Kentucky and Missouri and a huge contest in Bud Walton between Arkansas and Florida on Feb. 27.

If the Razorbacks want to contend for their first SEC regular season title since 1994, winning at least five of those seven games will be key. The Razorbacks then end the regular season against two teams that failed to reach the NCAA Tournament last season, traveling to LSU on March 2/3 and hosting Oklahoma.

The SEC Tournament, which Arkansas won last season, will one again take place at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville from March 10-14.

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