The #12/13 Arkansas Razorbacks host the Memphis Tigers for a preseason exhibition game at 7 p.m. Wednesday at Bud Walton Arena in Fayetteville.
Arkansas and Memphis Hold Tied Series Record
Officially, the all-time series between Arkansas and Memphis is tied at 11-11. Last season, the Razorbacks defeated the Tigers 99-75 in an exhibition on Oct. 27, 2025, at the FedEx Forum in Memphis. that the teams last met in the regular season on Nov. 23, 2023, in Paradise Island, Bahamas, where Memphis claimed an 84-79 victory.
Wednesday marks Memphis’s first trip to Bud Walton Arena since Jan. 2, 2003, when the Tigers secured a 72-67 win. That game took place during John Calipari’s tenure as head coach at Memphis. Calipari now leads the Razorbacks, holding a 50-23 record in his third season in Fayetteville and a 905-286 career record in his 35th season overall. Penny Hardaway enters his ninth season guiding his alma mater with a 175-87 record.
Both Teams Field Mostly New Rosters
Both squads enter Wednesday carrying momentum from their opening preseason contests. The Razorbacks defeated Gonzaga 76-72 at Bud Walton Arena on Saturday, while Memphis secured a 75-58 win against Mississippi State in Starkville, Mississippi, on Friday.
The rosters look drastically different from a year ago. Memphis enters the new campaign with an entirely new roster following a 13-19 season. Meanwhile, Arkansas returns only one player from last season’s rotation in Billy Richmond, having signed 10 newcomers, including eight freshmen. According to RotoWire data, the Razorbacks field the youngest team in the power conferences and the fifth-youngest in Division I men’s basketball.
Health remains a storyline for the Razorbacks following their physical matchup against Gonzaga. Arkansas forwards Cooper Bowser and Miikka Muurinen and guard Jordan Smith are expected to play Wednesday after each was helped off the floor in the second half of Saturday’s game. Muurinen and Smith returned to action against Gonzaga, while Bowser did not.
What will Memphis basketball do for an encore at Arkansas? Our prediction https://t.co/eisS0ALJ1n
SEC Network+ and ESPN+ Stream Exhibition Game
Fans unable to attend the 19,200-seat Bud Walton Arena can watch the game streamed live on SEC Network+ and ESPN+, accessible via WatchESPN.com and the ESPN app with a subscriber login. Brett Dolan will handle play-by-play duties alongside analyst Manuale Watkins. On the radio side, Chuck Barrett and Matt Zimmerman will call the action on the Learfield Razorback Sports Network.
Following Wednesday’s exhibition, both teams pivot quickly to their regular-season openers. Arkansas hosts Arkansas-Pine Bluff at 7 p.m. on Nov. 3 in Fayetteville, while Memphis travels to face No. 18 Iowa State on Nov. 2 in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.
