MBB Preview: Arkansas vs Virginia in the Capital Showcase

November 7, 2026

Who: #12/13 Arkansas Razorbacks (1-0, 0-0 SEC) vs #9/10 Virginia Cavaliers (2-0, 0-0 ACC)
What: A top-25 matchup in the nation’s capital.
When: Sunday – Nov. 8 – 1:00 pm (ET) / Noon (CT)
Where: Washington, D.C. • Capital One Arena (20,000)
How (to follow):
– TV/Stream: ESPN/Watch ESPN (Kevin Brown and Sean Farnham)
– Radio: Learfield Razorback Sports Network (Chuck Barrett and Matt Zimmerman)
– Sirius/XM: 246 || SXM App/Online Channel 256
– Arkansas Live Stats
– Razorback Gameday App

– Arkansas Game Notes
– Virginia Game Notes
– SEC Notes

FAYETTEVILLE – For the first time, Arkansas will play a game in Washington D.C., when the #12/13 Razorbacks face #9/10 Virginia on Sunday ( Nov. 8) in the Capital Showcase. Tipoff in the Capital One Arena is set for 1 pm (ET)/Noon (CT) and the game will be televised on ESPN.

The game will be a homecoming for two Razorbacks. Jordan Smith Jr. was born and raised in D.C., while Cooper Bowser is from Bridgewater, Va., which is about 35 miles south of D.C.

After facing Virginia, Arkansas returns to Bud Walton Arena for a pair of home games. The Razorbacks host Robert Morris on Wednesday – Nov. 11, and host Central Arkansas on Friday – Nov. 13. Both games will start at 7 pm and be broadcast on SEC Network+.

NOTES:

A small technicality to the “first time in D.C.” note: Arkansas did play at #2 Georgetown in Landover, Md., on Feb. 3, 1985. The Hoyas won, 56-39. Landover Md., is about 15 miles from the heart of D.C., and was the former home of the Washington Wizards and Hoyas.
This will be the third time Razorback head coach John Calipari will take one of his collegiate teams to D.C. On 2/4/95, #2 UMass lost, 78-75, at George Washington’s Smith Center with then President Bill Clinton in attendance. On 12/13/08, #19 Memphis lost, 79-70 (OT), at #17 Georgetown in the Capital One Center (then known as Verizon Center).
Arkansas is 3-4 all-time versus Virginia. The Cavaliers won the first three meetings while the Razorbacks have won three of the last four in the series.
The teams have met on neutral courts four times; twice in the NCAA, once in the 1998 Top of the World Classic, and once in Pine Bluff. UVA beat Arkansas in the NCAA 2nd Rd in 1984. The teams met once in Pine Bluff (Dec. 1986). The Cavaliers won, 78-66. The Hogs reached the 1995 Final Four after beating UVA in the Elite 8. Arkansas won the last neutral-site meeting in the series, 85-83, in Alaska.
The teams played in Charlottesville twice (Jan. 85 & Nov. 1998). UVA won both.
Arkansas won the only time the teams played in Fayetteville (Dec. 1987).
Coach Cal is 0-1 all-time versus the Cavaliers as his UMass squad fell, 71-56, to UVa in the 1993 NCAA Tournament 2nd Rd.
Arkansas got 45 points on fastbreaks in the win over UAPB. It was the most by the Razorbacks in a game since the stat started being kept in 2011-12. The previous high was 38 fastbreak points versus Texas last season. In the last two regular-season games Arkansas played in Bud Walton Arena, the Hogs combined for 83 fastbreak points (of 211 points – 105 vs Texas and 106 vs UAPB).
After one game, Arkansas ranked 3rd in the NCAA in fastbreak points. Arkansas ranked 2nd in the NCAA in fastbreak points last season at 18.84 ppg.
Arkansas was 30-of-42 at the free throw line versus UAPB. Those are both the most by a Razorback team in the Calipari era. 42 free throw attempts ranked 7th-most in the NCAA after one game. 30 free throw makes are the 6th-most in the NCAA after one game.

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