Men’s Basketball Finalizes Season Opener

June 22, 2017

2017-18 Schedule | Season Ticket Renewals Due This Friday

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Arkansas men’s basketball team will open the 2017-18 campaign on Friday, Nov. 10, welcoming the Samford Bulldogs to Bud Walton Arena.

The Razorbacks will open their 95th season against a team coming off its first postseason win in program history after advancing to the second round of the 2017 CollegeInsider.com Tournament (CIT). Samford posted a 20-16 record last year and reached the 20-win plateau for the first time since the 2005-06 season.

The Bulldogs return 12 of their 13 players from a season ago, including 97-percent of their scoring production. After sitting out last year due to the NCAA transfer rule, former Alabama guard Justin Coleman will make his Samford debut in Bud Walton Arena. In his final season with the Crimson Tide, Coleman averaged 7.8 points and 3.3 assists per game and recorded the second-highest free throw percentage in school history.

Arkansas continues to add to its best home schedule of the Mike Anderson era, hosting five teams coming off NCAA Tournament appearances and three more that advanced to postseason play. Oklahoma State and Minnesota will travel Bud Walton Arena in non-conference action, as well as SEC foes Kentucky, South Carolina and Vanderbilt, all of which advanced to the NCAA Tournament, with the Gamecocks earning a trip to the Final Four. The Razorbacks will also welcome Auburn, LSU, Missouri, Ole Miss, Texas A&M, Tennessee and Colorado State to Fayetteville.

Arkansas has won 43 straight home openers, including a perfect 24-0 record in openers inside Bud Walton Arena. The Razorbacks have won 22 consecutive season openers and have opened the year in the win column in 44 of the last 46 years. Under Anderson, Arkansas is 55-2 (.965) in non-conference games in Bud Walton Arena. The Razorbacks are 2-0 all-time against Samford, with the last meeting coming in a 30-point defeat in the 1989 season opener.

The Home Dates We Know
• Friday, Nov. 10 – Samford
• Saturday, Dec. 9 – Minnesota
• Saturday, Jan. 27 – Oklahoma State

Seat deposits for new season ticket holders for the 2017-18 campaign are due this Friday and can be made by calling the Razorback Ticket Office at 1-800-982-4647 or by clicking here.

For more information on Arkansas men’s basketball, follow @RazorbackMBB on Twitter.