Razorbacks hit part of schedule where excuses don’t work anymore

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — There are early-season games, and then there are games that expose what a team is made of. Arkansas is about to play the second kind.

The 22nd-ranked Razorbacks head to Chicago for a Thanksgiving matchup with No. 4 Duke at the United Center, and they enter the week knowing this one will say more than anything they’ve done so far.

A 5-1 start looks good on paper, but the details make it clear why this Duke test matters.

Arkansas’ wins came against mid-major teams, and its lone loss at Michigan State showed the gaps that still follow them. In a few of those wins, the front court left real questions about physicality and consistency.

Those questions are about to be answered by a program known for exposing weak spots quickly.

Duke brings the likely No. 1 pick in the 2026 NBA Draft in freshman Cameron Boozer, and he has lived up to every expectation.

He averages 21.1 points and 9.9 rebounds per game and has been efficient scoring at all three levels.

Boozer’s 62.5% shooting inside the arc makes him a matchup problem, and his 37% three-point shooting on nearly four attempts a game forces defenders out of their comfort zones.

Brazile knows that challenge well.

“Obviously we know how talented he is and how skilled he is,” Brazile said. “So we just prepare for him like we would anyone else. Obviously he gets a little bit more attention.”

That’s one way to put it.

Hogs knows what’s coming, but stopping it is another thing

Brazile stayed quiet on specifics, but the description he did offer pointed to the area where Arkansas has to grow the most.

“He’s a bulldozer,” Brazile said.

That means Arkansas must play with a physical edge it hasn’t shown consistently. Boozer scores through contact, rebounds his own misses and doesn’t get pushed off his spots. Arkansas hasn’t faced anything close to that yet.

And Duke isn’t only Boozer. Patrick Ngongba adds 13 points and 6.7 rebounds a game, meaning Arkansas can’t simply load up on the freshman star.

The Blue Devils shoot 37.3% from three as a team, so crowding the paint brings its own consequences.

The Razorbacks learned that lesson earlier this season when they surrendered 15 three-pointers in a single night. That performance still lingers long enough that Brazile mentioned it unprompted.

“Run them off the line, closing out to their shoelaces,” he said. “We’ve been practicing that ever since the game we gave up 15 threes.”

Practicing it is one thing. Doing it against Duke’s shooters is the real test.

Two seasons ago, Arkansas upset Duke in the SEC/ACC Challenge, and Brazile was part of that night. But he didn’t pretend the past had anything to do with Thursday.

“It’s really hard to say, that was a totally different team, to be honest,” he said. “It was a good game, though… a lot of adrenaline.”

This year doesn’t bring a white-out crowd in Fayetteville. It brings the United Center — a massive stage, but one without the built-in chaos Arkansas had last time against Duke.

Arkansas Razorbacks coach John Calipari during game against the Jackson State Tigers at Bud Walton Arena in Fayetteville, Ark. | Nilsen Roman-allHOGS Images

Chicago changes tone, raises stakes on toughness

Neutral-site games don’t create the same noise advantage, but they do something else: they reveal whether a team can create its own momentum. Arkansas hasn’t shown that consistently.

Still, Brazile admitted he’s excited for what the arena means.

“I never got to play in Chicago’s arena,” he said. “So to go there, it’ll be crazy, just all the history that’s there, with Michael Jordan, Derrick Rose, people like that.”

The question isn’t whether the Razorbacks appreciate the moment. The question is whether they’re ready for the force that Duke brings inside and the discipline required against a team that shoots well outside.

This will be Arkansas’ first opponent with high-level size, pro-level talent and a lineup that punishes slow rotations.

Arkansas needs to prove it can rebound with more urgency, rotate with more purpose and match physicality without relying on its home crowd to lift it.

Duke will not make any of that easy.

The game tips at 6 p.m. on CBS following the NFL game between the Dallas Cowboys and Kansas City Chiefs.

By then, Arkansas should know whether its strong start means something — or if it still has to search for answers.

Key takeaways

Arkansas faces a major physical test from Duke and star freshman Cameron Boozer.
Trevon Brazile says the Hogs must be stronger on drives and sharper defending the 3-point line.
The United Center setting removes home-court advantages and raises questions about Arkansas’ toughness.

Hogs knows what’s coming, but stopping it is another thing

Chicago changes tone, raises stakes on toughness

Key takeaways

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