FAYETTEVILLE (KFSM) – All kinds of questions remain about what to expect in Eric Musselman’s first year as head coach of Arkansas basketball, but we now at least know how things will start.
The Hogs will tip off the season November 5th at home against the Rice Owls. That’s the earliest ever start to an Arkansas basketball season.
Arkansas and Rice have a history; the old Southwest conference foes have met 141 times, with Arkansas winning 101. They last played in 2005, when Arkansas beat the Owls 80-61. Their last Fayetteville meeting came in 1991, and the teams have never played at Bud Walton Arena.
Rice was 13-19 last season, and join North Texas, Georgia Tech, Indiana, and Western Kentucky as the known non-conference games on the schedule.
!["This program, [when] you talk about some of the best jobs in the country in basketball, this is one of them," Calipari said.](https://media.tegna-media.com/assets/KFSM/images/cf0926fc-f855-401b-9c52-091fa843e8c1/cf0926fc-f855-401b-9c52-091fa843e8c1_1920x1080.jpg)