Arkansas to Host Louisville in ACC/SEC Challenge
FAYETTEVILLE – Arkansas will host 2025 NCAA Tournament team Louisville in the third annual ACC/SEC Challenge, ESPN announced today. The game will be played on Dec. 3 (Wednesday) in Bud Walton Arena. Network designations and tip-off times will be announced at a later date.
The Razorbacks and Cardinals have met on eight previous occasions – once in Fayetteville, once in Louisville and six times on neutral courts. The series is tied, 4-4.
The only previous meeting between Arkansas and Louisville in Bud Walton Arena was Dec. 21, 1996, when then #19 Louisville defeated then #18 Arkansas, 91-88 in overtime. The following year, Arkansas, ranked #15, returned the favor with a 100-83 victory at Louisville on Dec. 9, 1997.
Four of the six neutral-court matchups have come in the NCAA Tournament. Arkansas won the first two meetings in the series, defeating the Cardinals 73-62 in the 1979 NCAA Tourney in Cincinnati and 74-73 in the 1980 NCAA Tourney in Austin.
Louisville won the next two NCAA Tournament matchups. First, Milt Wagner, grandfather of current Razorback D.J. Wagner, led the Cardinals to a 65-63 win over the Hogs in the 1983 NCAA Tourney in Knoxville. In 1989, current Razorback associate head coach Kenny Payne led the Cards to a 93-84 victory in Indianapolis.
The last two meetings in the series have come on neutral courts. Arkansas and Louisville met early in the 2009-10 season (Nov. 17) in the Hall of Fame Showcase in St. Louis. The #20 Cardinals won, 96-66. Three seasons ago, #9 Arkansas beat Louisville, 80-54, in the opening round of the Maui Invitational. Coach Payne was the head coach of the Cardinals in that contest.
Arkansas is 2-0 in the first two ACC/SEC Challenges. Last season, Arkansas came from behind to beat Miami, 76-73, in Coral Gables. In the inaugural Challenge, Arkansas defeated #7 Duke, 80-75, before a Bud Walton Arena record crowd of 20,334.
The SEC leads in the ACC/SEC Challenge, 21-9, over the first wo years. In 2023-24, the leagues split, 7-7. Last year, the SEC won 14 of the 16 matchups.
2025 ACC/SEC Challenge Matchups
December 2 – Tuesday
Florida at Duke
Georgia at Florida State
North Carolina at Kentucky
Miami at Ole Miss
Missouri at Notre Dame
Oklahoma at Wake Forest
Virginia Tech at South Carolina
Tennessee at Syracuse
Texas A&M at Pittsburgh
December 3 – Wednesday
Clemson at Alabama
Louisville at Arkansas
NC State at Auburn
Mississippi State at Georgia Tech
LSU at Boston College
Virginia at Texas
SMU at Vanderbilt
For more information on Arkansas Men’s Basketball, follow @RazorbackMBB on X.
