Calipari, Izzo to face off; Arkansas Razorbacks, Michigan State date official

Razorbacks to face reigning Elite Eight team as road test

Arkansas Razorbacks coach John Calipari at practice at the Eddie Sutton Practice Center in Fayetteville, Ark. | Andy Hodges-Hogs on SI Images

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — It's official, John Calipari and Arkansas will face Michigan State and Tom Izzo Nov. 8 in Lansing, Mich., as the first part of a home-and-home.

Our Kevin McPherson reported the news Saturday, but it hadn't been confirmed and the UA did that Wednesday.

The Spartans will make the return trip to Bud Walton Arena during the 2026-27 season, according to an official announcement.

A TV designation and tipoff time have not been announced.

The Spartans and Razorbacks have only met twice before with the Hogs still looking for its first win. The two teams have not faced each other since November 1995, when the Spartans beat the Hogs 75-72. It was Izzo's fourth game as head coach of Michigan State in a career that has spanned over three decades at the same school.

The Razorbacks would go on to reach the Sweet 16 of the 1996 NCAA Tournament that year where they were knocked out by a UMass team that was coached by Calipari.

Izzo and Calipari have had plenty of meetings in the past as Izzo enters his 31st season as the head coach of the Spartans. Calipari has won three of the five previous meetings against his fellow Hall of Fame coach, but Izzo won the most recent meeting in 2022 when Michigan State beat Kentucky 86-77 in double overtime.

Kentucky Wildcats head coach John Calipari reacts during the first overtime period against the Michigan State Spartans at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. Spartans defeat the Wildcats 86 to 77 in double overtime. | Marc Lebryk-Imagn Images

The two coaches both rank in the Top 10 amongst active coaches in on-court wins, combining for 1,614 wins. The two have 59 NCAA Tournament wins each, leading all active coaches. Both also rank in the Top 25 among all coaches for career wins.

Calipari spoke very highly of Izzo and the mutual respect they have for one another while the Hogs were on there 2025 NCAA Tournament run.

"Tom Izzo and I have been friends for a long time," Calipari said prior to their Sweet 16 game. "My wife, any time he calls I have to put it on speaker because we're laughing and doing whatever, but we're not in the same conference."

Michigan State Spartans head coach Tom Izzo yells to players from the sidelines Tuesday, Nov 15, 2022 at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. The Michigan State Spartans defeated the Kentucky Wildcats in double overtime, 86-77. | Grace Hollars/IndyStar / USA TODAY NETWORK

Michigan State won 30 games last season and brought in three transfers in point guard Divine Ugochukwu from Miami, small forward Kaleb Glenn from FAU and shooting guard Trey Fort from Samford. Glenn, however, will miss the season due to injury.

Arkansas has all eight reigning Elite Eight teams on its schedule. Arkansas will face four of the eight teams in non-conference before facing the other half when SEC play gets underway in January.

The placement of the Michigan State game means that the Razorbacks will face two top-tier teams in a span of less than three weeks, both away from Fayetteville. The Razorbacks will face Duke in a neutral site game on Thanksgiving in Chicago.

Other tough non-conference games include Texas Tech, Dec. 13 in Dallas and Houston in Newark, New Jersey Dec. 20. Both those games have yet to be officially announced.