Courtesy of Mike Cawood
FAYETTEVILLE – Arkansas will travel to Chapel Hill to face North Carolina in the fourth annual SEC-ACC Challenge, ESPN announced today. The game will be played on Dec. 1 (Tuesday) in the Dean Smith Center. Network designations and tip-off times will be announced at a later date.
Arkansas and North Carolina have played on 11 previous occasions, and this will be the first time the two programs have not met at a neutral site, with the Tar Heels owning an 8-3 advantage in the series.
The last time the two teams met was on Nov. 24, 2023, in the Battle 4 Atlantis in the Bahamas. Then #14 North Carolina pulled out an 87-72 victory in the third-place game. Prior to that, #9 North Carolina handed the Hogs an 87-68 loss on Nov. 24, 2017, in the Phil Knight Invitational semifinals in Portland.
From 1990 to 2017, the two programs met six times, all in the NCAA Tournament.
• 2017: #6 North Carolina defeated Arkansas, 72-65, in the NCAA Second Round (Greenville, S.C.).
• 2015: #15 North Carolina defeated #21 Arkansas, 87-78, in the NCAA Second Round (Jacksonville, Fla.).
• 2008: #1North Carolina defeated Arkansas, 108-77, in the NCAA Second Round (Raleigh, N.C.).
• 1995: #6 Arkansas defeated #4 North Carolina, 75-68, in the NCAA Final Four (Seattle, Wash.).
• 1993: #4 North Carolina defeated #12 Arkansas, 80-74, in the NCAA Sweet 16 (East Rutherford, N.J.).
• 1990: #7 Arkansas defeated North Carolina, 96-73, in the NCAA Sweet 16 (Dallas, Texas).
One game in the series – one of the best games in Razorback history – was played in the state of Arkansas when the Razorbacks upset #1 North Carolina, led by Michael Jordan, 65-64, in Pine Bluff. Joe Kleine scored 20 points and had 10 rebounds in the win, but Charles Balentine was the hero, hitting the game-winning shot with four seconds left.
The first game of the series was a “made for TV” game when #3 North Carolina defeated #10 Arkansas, 63-7-57, in a game played in Greensboro, N.C., on NBC. Two seasons later, #13 North Carolina defeated #20 Arkansas, 64-58, in the 1980 Great Alaska Shootout championship game.
Razorback head coach John Calipari has faced the Tar Heels on 13 previous occasions and leads 9-4. Highlights include:
• UMass defeated North Carolina in the 1993 Preseason NIT semifinals in Madison Square Garden.
• Kentucky defeated North Carolina in the 2011 Elite 8 in Newark’s Prudential Center.
• Kentucky defeated North Carolina in the 2018 CBS Sports Classic in Chicago.
• Kentucky defeated North Carolina in the 2021 CBS Sports Classic in Las Vegas.
• Kentucky defeated North Carolina in the 2023 CBS Sports Classic in Atlanta.
Arkansas is 3-0 in the first three SEC-ACC Challenges.
• 2023: Arkansas defeated #7 Duke, 80-75, before a Bud Walton Arena record crowd of 20,334.
• 2024: Arkansas came from behind to beat Miami, 76-73, in Coral Gables. In the inaugural Challenge
• 2025: #25 Arkansas hosted #6 Louisville and won 89-80 as Trevon Brazile scored 12 of the Hogs’ first 19 points while Darius Acuff Jr. had a double-double, scoring nine of his team’s last 15.
The SEC leads in the ACC/SEC Challenge, 30-16, over the first three years. In 2023, the leagues split, 7-7. The SEC won 14 of the 16 matchups in 2024 and won 9 of the 16 in 2025.
