Take Arkansas’ Results In Exhibitions Vs Gonzaga, Memphis With A Grain Of Salt

FAYETTEVILLE – As exciting as it will be to have real basketball be played on Nolan Richardson Court inside Bud Walton Arena between No. 12 Arkansas and No. 15 Gonzaga on Saturday, it’s important to remember that the game is being played in October and that both head coaches have shared each other’s inbounds plays and told each other that they will exclusively be playing man-to-man defense.

Both Arkansas and Gonzaga will be drastically different teams when they open their seasons during the first week of November, much less when conference play begins in January and the postseason rolls around in March.

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There’s certainly some things you can glean from exhibition games, especially those featuring two good teams, but a squad’s ceiling or floor is not one of them.

A look back at Arkansas’ past results in exhibition games proves just that.

In 2021, Arkansas squeaked out a pair of wins over East Central (77-74) and North Texas (68-60) in exhibition play before going on to have a stellar season that included a victory over No. 1 Auburn and a second straight trip to the Sweet 16. In 2022, they were handed a 30-point loss at the hands of Texas before proceeding to make the Sweet 16 again.

Arkansas Razorbacks head coach Eric Musselman works the referees against South Carolina during their second round game of the SEC Men’s Basketball Tournament at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tenn., Thursday, March 14, 2024. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

In 2023, excitement for the season peaked after Arkansas destroyed UT Tyler 92-39 and knocked off No. 1 Purdue 81-77 in overtime – only for the Hogs to go 16-17 overall and 6-12 in SEC play in Eric Musselman’s tumultuous final season in Fayetteville.

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In 2024, John Calipari’s first Arkansas team – that infamously got off to an 0-5 start in SEC play before turning things around – beat No. 1 Kansas 85-69 before going to Fort Worth and losing 66-65 to TCU in its two exhibition matchups.

The bottom line is this: these…

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Publish date : 2026-10-23 14:30:00

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