Arkansas vs. LSU Game Moved to 4 p.m. Due to Winter Storm Impact

In case you were planning a leisurely Saturday night in front of the tube instead of an early drive through whatever the weather has brewing, the Razorbacks’ showdown with the LSU Tigers just got the equivalent of a breakfast game.

What had been a 7:30 p.m. tip-off at Bud Walton Arena has been moved up to 4 p.m. Saturday because forecasters see a winter storm bearing down on Northwest Arkansas this weekend.

The SEC Network will still carry the game, but fans and families might want to dig out shovels along with snacks if they’re headed to Fayetteville.

This isn’t just a drama reel forecast on some cable weather channel. Law enforcement officials have already urged residents to avoid driving this weekend as roads get slick and snow accumulates.

Forecast models show up to 12 inches of snow could fall in and around Fayetteville, enough to give even seasoned Southerners pause and remind them that a yard sale in January usually comes with shovels and a full thermos.

Arkansas’ state government is taking it seriously, too. On Thursday, Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders declared a state of emergency ahead of the storm’s arrival. That’s not the sort of thing you pull out for a few flurries unless you really mean it.

Even with all this, the Hogs and Tigers still plan to lace up and play basketball in the deep heart of winter.

A team spokesperson reminded everyone that the game will go on as long as both LSU and two members of the officiating crew can make it inside the arena.

When asked Friday whether all this weather talk was rattling the Razorbacks, Arkansas assistant Chuck Martin thinks they have a handle on it.

“We’re ready, man,” he said. “Snowmobiles, shovels, all of the above.”

If you weren’t chuckling by the second line of that, you might not have grown up in a place where snow is sometimes treated like an uninvited cousin who shows up with gift baskets but doesn’t leave.

🚨 Time change for tomorrows matchup against LSU. Stay safe and Go Hogs! pic.twitter.com/8dg3nfjxvF
— Arkansas Razorbacks Men’s Basketball 🐗 (@RazorbackMBB) January 23, 2026

Martin has seen it before.

“Years ago at St. John’s in New York City,” he said. “We played Boston College and it was just a really bad snowstorm. I think it was 2004 maybe, and it was just — it was one of those games. The game was played, but the arena was empty, half-empty … It was a mess.”

That paints a picture most folks here can appreciate of tough conditions, thin crowds, but still basketball.

And beyond that snow memory, Martin didn’t sound like he thinks this system will slow his team’s momentum. He pointed to the “buzz on campus” and said the student body has been “unbelievable.”

Let me say THANK YOU to all of our fans! Let’s continue to build on these environments in Bud Walton Arena!

Season ticket holders- IF you can’t make the game on Saturday transfer the tickets to us at hogtix@uark.edu so we can get more students in the building! pic.twitter.com/hRJ2A8WCrs
— John Calipari (@CoachCalArk) January 22, 2026

He mentioned the intense atmosphere from the Razorbacks’ last game against Vanderbilt and added he doesn’t see that energy flagging because of a little ice and snow.

Still, lofty words aside, this is a reminder that college basketball in January sometimes gets as unpredictable as the weather forecast itself — especially when it comes to planning travel for teams, officials and fans.

Whether anybody’s actually happy about an afternoon tip-off in January instead of the original evening slot, well … that’s a conversation best had after you find a warm place to watch.

And should every road out of Fayetteville end up looking like a snow globe Monday morning, well, at least the early tip-off gave folks extra time to get home.

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