Arkansas Travels to North Carolina for SEC-ACC Challenge
FAYETTEVILLE – Arkansas will travel to Chapel Hill to face North Carolina in the fourth annual SEC-ACC Challenge, ESPN announced today. The game will be played on Dec. 1 (Tuesday) in the Dean Smith Center. Network designations and tip-off times will be announced at a later date.
Arkansas and North Carolina have played on 11 previous occasions, and this will be the first time the two programs have not met at a neutral site, with the Tar Heels owning an 8-3 advantage in the series.
The last time the two teams met was on Nov. 24, 2023, in the Battle 4 Atlantis in the Bahamas. Then #14 North Carolina pulled out an 87-72 victory in the third-place game. Prior to that, #9 North Carolina handed the Hogs an 87-68 loss on Nov. 24, 2017, in the Phil Knight Invitational semifinals in Portland.
From 1990 to 2017, the two programs met six times, all in the NCAA Tournament.
• 2017: #6 North Carolina defeated Arkansas, 72-65, in the NCAA Second Round (Greenville, S.C.).
• 2015: #15 North Carolina defeated #21 Arkansas, 87-78, in the NCAA Second Round (Jacksonville, Fla.).
• 2008: #1North Carolina defeated Arkansas, 108-77, in the NCAA Second Round (Raleigh, N.C.).
• 1995: #6 Arkansas defeated #4 North Carolina, 75-68, in the NCAA Final Four (Seattle, Wash.).
• 1993: #4 North Carolina defeated #12 Arkansas, 80-74, in the NCAA Sweet 16 (East Rutherford, N.J.).
• 1990: #7 Arkansas defeated North Carolina, 96-73, in the NCAA Sweet 16 (Dallas, Texas).
One game in the series – one of the best games in Razorback history – was played in the state of Arkansas when the Razorbacks upset #1 North Carolina, led by Michael Jordan, 65-64, in Pine Bluff. Joe Kleine scored 20 points and had 10 rebounds in the win, but Charles Balentine was the hero, hitting the game-winning shot with four seconds left.
The first game of the series was a “made for TV” game when #3 North Carolina defeated #10 Arkansas, 63-7-57, in a game played in Greensboro, N.C., on NBC. Two seasons later, #13 North Carolina defeated #20 Arkansas, 64-58, in the 1980 Great Alaska Shootout championship game.
Razorback head coach John Calipari has faced the Tar Heels on 13 previous occasions and leads 9-4. Highlights include:
• UMass defeated North Carolina in the 1993 Preseason NIT semifinals in Madison Square Garden.
• Kentucky defeated North Carolina in the 2011 Elite 8 in Newark’s Prudential Center.
• Kentucky defeated North Carolina in the 2018 CBS Sports Classic in Chicago.
• Kentucky defeated North Carolina in the 2021 CBS Sports Classic in Las Vegas.
• Kentucky defeated North Carolina in the 2023 CBS Sports Classic in Atlanta.
Arkansas is 3-0 in the first three SEC-ACC Challenges.
• 2023: Arkansas defeated #7 Duke, 80-75, before a Bud Walton Arena record crowd of 20,334.
• 2024: Arkansas came from behind to beat Miami, 76-73, in Coral Gables. In the inaugural Challenge
• 2025: #25 Arkansas hosted #6 Louisville and won 89-80 as Trevon Brazile scored 12 of the Hogs’ first 19 points while Darius Acuff Jr. had a double-double, scoring nine of his team’s last 15.
The SEC leads in the ACC/SEC Challenge, 30-16, over the first three years. In 2023, the leagues split, 7-7. The SEC won 14 of the 16 matchups in 2024 and won 9 of the 16 in 2025.
2026 SEC-ACC Challenge Matchups
December 1 – Tuesday
Arkansas at North Carolina
Auburn at Clemson
Duke at Florida
Boston College at Georgia
Wake Forest at LSU
Pitt at Missouri
Syracuse at Oklahoma
Ole Miss at Virginia Tech
South Carolina at NC State
Florida State at Tennessee
Texas at Louisville
December 2 – Wednesday
Alabama at Miami
Kentucky at Virginia
Georgia Tech at Mississippi State
Stanford at Texas A&M
Vanderbilt at Notre Dame
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