FAYETTEVILLE -- The Arkansas Razorbacks' men's basketball team's nonconference schedule includes nine opponents that won 20 or more games last season.
Bucknell, which returns five starters and its top nine scorers from last season's Patriot League regular-season and tournament championship team, will play the Razorbacks Nov. 12 in Walton Arena according to the finalized nonconference schedule released Monday.
Nonconference games
DATE OPP.
Nov. 10 Samford
Nov. 12 Bucknell
Nov. 17 Fresno State
Nov. 23 Oklahoma*
Nov. 24 UNC/Portland*
Nov. 26 TBD**
Dec. 2 at Houston
Dec. 5 Colorado State
Dec. 9 Minnesota
Dec. 16 Troy (NLR)
Dec. 19 Oral Roberts
Dec. 27 Cal Bakersfield
Jan. 27 Oklahoma State
*Phil Knight Invitational in Portland, Ore.
**Will play either Michigan State, UConn, Oregon or DePaul
Bucknell (26-9) lost to West Virginia 86-80 in the NCAA Tournament.
The teams have met once before, with Bucknell beating Arkansas 59-55 in the first round of the 2006 NCAA Tournament in Dallas.
Bucknell is one of three NCAA Tournament teams from last season on the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville nonconference home schedule along with Minnesota Dec. 9 and Oklahoma State Jan. 27 in the Big 12-SEC Challenge.
Arkansas plays Oklahoma Nov. 23 in the first round of the Phil Knight Invitational in Portland, Ore. The Razorbacks will face defending national champion North Carolina or the University of Portland in the second round. Possible third-round opponents are Oregon, Michigan State, Connecticut and DePaul.
In addition to Bucknell, Minnesota and Oklahoma State, the Razorbacks' nonconference opponents in Walton Arena are the regular-season opener against Samford Nov. 10, Fresno State Nov. 17, Colorado State Dec. 5, Oral Roberts University Dec. 19 and California State-Bakersfield Dec. 27.
Arkansas plays its one nonconference road game at Houston Dec. 2, and plays Troy Dec. 16 at Verizon Arena in North Little Rock.
The Razorbacks play their Red-White intrasquad game Oct. 20 and two exhibition games against opponents that haven't been announced on Oct. 27 and Nov. 3.
Dates for Arkansas' SEC games haven't been announced, but the Razorbacks will play Kentucky, South Carolina, Vanderbilt and Tennessee at home; have home-and-home games with Auburn, LSU, Ole Miss, Missouri and Texas A&M; and road games at Alabama, Florida, Georgia and Mississippi State.
Sports on 08/22/2017