Razorback Report: Razorbacks headed to Dallas for ACC/SEC Challenge

Your daily briefing on what's going on with Arkansas Razorbacks' athletics

Arkansas Razorbacks coach Kelsi Musick on the sidelines during game against Southeastern Louisiana at Bud Walton Arena in Fayetteville, Ark. | Arkansas Communications

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Arkansas women’s basketball will plays it game in the ACC/SEC Challenge for the third time in a road trip to SMU in Dallas.

Tip-off is set for 6 p.m. and the game will be televised live on ACC Network. The Razorbacks won both of their previous ACC/SEC Challenge games against Florida State, 71-58 and 75-64.

Arkansas’s only home loss this season came last week when Harvard won 69-51. The Crimson made 12 three-pointers and led for 35:23. Taleyah Jones led all scorers with 19 points and led the Razorbacks for the sixth straight game.

Jones was the only Razorback in double-figures. The Hogs committed a season-high 21 turnovers and grabbed a season-low 27 rebounds.

Arkansas and SMU will clash for the 30th time, marking their first meeting since the Mustangs entered the ACC. The programs were long-time Southwest Conference foes until Arkansas departed in 1991. They most recently faced off in a home-and-home series in 2020 and 2021, both won by the Razorbacks.

Arkansas has taken six of the last seven games and 11 of the last 13 overall.

Series record: Arkansas leads 24–5. In Fayetteville: 10–2. In Dallas: 12–3. Neutral sites: 2–0.

SMU enters on a two-game winning streak after opening the season 1–5 under first-year head coach Adia Barnes. Four Mustangs average at least nine points per game — Tyi Skinner (14.8), Zahra King (14.6), Sahnya Jah (9.0) and Kyla Deck (9.3).

Defense has been the team’s calling card: SMU ranks second in the ACC and 53rd nationally with 11.5 steals per game, while also sitting fifth in the ACC and 39th nationally in blocks per game (4.9). The Mustangs force 19.38 turnovers per game, good for fifth in the league, and have posted double-digit steals in all but two contests.

Their six games with 10-plus steals already mark their most in a season since 2023–24, and their 84 steals through seven games are the program’s best early-season mark since 2012–13. SMU is currently fourth in the ACC with 92 total steals.

As the Mustangs embark on their second year in the ACC, they do so with a completely rebuilt roster and staff, having signed 15 newcomers for 2025–26. Eight of those additions transferred from Power Four programs, and the group includes eight seniors or graduate players, making SMU one of the more experienced teams in the country.

Yesterday’s Results

Men’s Basketball: No. 25 Arkansas 89, No. 6 Louisville 80

Today’s Schedule

Women’s Basketball: Arkansas at SMU, 6 p.m., ACC Network

Did You Notice?

• No. 25 Arkansas handed No. 6 Louisville its first loss of the season , 89-80, and gave Calipari his 20th win over the Cardinals. Louisville entered Wednesday night’s contest with the nation’s highest scoring offense with 95.7 points per game, but the Razorbacks’ defense, that’s allowed just 71.6 points per game, was the victor. Read a full recap here.

• Arkansas track and field announced the signing of Kenyan distance runner Ernest Cheruiyot for the upcoming season in January. A two-time first-team All-America in the 10,000m, Cheruiyot finished third at the 2025 NCAA Championships and fourth in the 2024 NCAA meet while competing for Texas Tech.

We’ll Leave You With This