Who: #25/23 Arkansas Razorbacks (6-2, 0-0 SEC) vs Fresno State Bulldogs (6-3, 0-0 MW)
What: Arkansas makes its annual trip to Simmons Bank Arena.
When: Saturday – Dec. 6 – 3:00 pm (CT)
Where: North Little Rock, Ark. • Simmons Bank Arena  (18,000)
How (to follow):
– TV/Stream: SEC Network Plus/Watch ESPN (Brett Dolan and Joe Kleine)
– Radio: Learfield Razorback Sports Network (Chuck Barrett and Matt Zimmerman)
– Sirius/XM: Sirius: 160 || XM: 192 || SXM App/Online Channel 962

– Arkansas Live Stats
– Razorback Gameday App
– Purchase Tickets

– Arkansas Game Notes   
– Fresno State Game Notes
– SEC Men’s Basketball Release/Stats

FAYETTEVILLE – For the 26th time since its opening in 1999-2000, Arkansas will play in North Little Rock’s Simmons Bank Arena when the #25/23 Razorbacks face Fresno State on Saturday (Dec. 6). Tipoff is set for 3 pm and the game will be broadcast on SEC Network Plus.

Arkansas is 15-10 in Simmons Bank Arena and 19-10 all-time in the city of North Little Rock. Last year, Arkansas defeated Central Arkansas, 82-57, in Simmons Bank Arena. The Razorbacks have played in NLR in 21 of the last 23 years, with a 20-year streak of playing in North Little Rock snapped in Dec. 2020 due to COVID. The only other year Arkansas did not play in NLR was the 2000-01 season.

After Fresno State, Arkansas will stay on the road to face #19 Texas Tech in Dallas on Dec. 13 (Sat.).

NOTES:

• Arkansas and Fresno State have met on two previous occasions and the Razorbacks won both.
• The first meeting was Nov. 29, 1997, in Phoenix. Arkansas upset the #12 Bulldogs, 70-69, in the Premier Classic. With Fresno State down one with four seconds left, Demetrius Porter’s shot in the lane as the buzzer sounded rattled around the rim but didn’t fall. Nick Davis led the Hogs with 15 points and 13 rebounds. Kareem Reid and Pat Bradley combined for 11 assists – 6 from Reid and 5 from Bradley – Bradley added four steals. Arkansas was just 4-of-20 from 3-point range but forced 24 turnovers. The Bulldogs were led by Avondre Jones’s 23 points and 14 rebounds while Rafer Alston added eight assists and Tremaine Fowkles had 14 rebounds.
• The second meeting was Nov. 17, 2017, in Fayetteville. Arkansas won, 83-75 as Daniel Gafford came off the bench to score 25 points with eight rebounds and three blocked shots. Jaylen Barford added 18 points and Anton Beard 15. Bryson Williams led the Bulldogs with 22 points and nine board while Jaron Hopkins had nine points and 10 boards. Neither team was particularly good at the line, but Arkansas was 25-of-38 compared to 131-of-22 for Fresno State.
• With an 89-80 victory over #6 Louisville on Wednesday, Arkansas improved to 3-0 in the three-year ACC/SEC Challenge. In the three years of the Challenge, the SEC leads 30-16, thanks to a 14-2 record last season and a 9-7 mark in 2025. The leagues tied, 8-8, in year one of the series.
• After its 89-80 win over #6 Louisville, Arkansas climbed 12 spots in the NCAA NET, going from #45 to #33.
• Arkansas and its opponents have both made 67 3-pointers. However, Arkansas has only attempted 190 (35.3%) and its opponents have attempted 230 (29.1%).

For more­­ information on Arkansas Men’s Basketball, follow @RazorbackMBB on X, Instagram and Facebook.

Christmas is arriving in style at the Arkansas State Capitol this Saturday, with a festive lighting ceremony set to dazzle and delight. Arkansas Secretary of State Cole Jester shared the exciting details: “It’s going to start at 5:30 this Saturday, and basically, once it gets dark, we’ll have a ceremony, we’ll have live music, we’ll have people, we might get a couple thousand people come.” The event promises to be a heartwarming experience, especially for the children at Arkansas Children’s Hospital who can see the lights from their windows.

The ceremony will feature live music, including a performance by Hannah Banks, a talented musician and lawyer, who will sing unless her baby arrives early. The evening will culminate in a spectacular fireworks display, followed by the grand lighting of the Capitol.

Visitors can enjoy the festive atmosphere throughout the holiday season, with opportunities to take family photos by the iconic Christmas tree and explore the Capitol’s holiday decorations, including a tree honoring fallen veterans. Jester emphasized the importance of the event, saying, “Times can feel dark, but that’s not all there is. There is hope that comes in the morning. There is joy, and when someone walks away with a piece from our state capitol, that’s what they should feel.”

For those not able to make it to the lighting ceremony, they can still visit the Capitol during its open hours to see the decorations, the trees, Santa’s Workshop, and more.

No tickets or RSVPs are required, so families can decide to attend at the last minute. After the festivities, attendees are encouraged to explore downtown for dinner, making it a full day of holiday cheer.

Frisco, Texas, will host a bowl to replace the now defunct Bahamas Bowl and feature Arkansas State and Missouri State, sources told On3.

The new bowl in Frisco will be held at the Ford Center at The Star on Dec. 18, sources said. Kickoff is 9 p.m. ET. The addition of the bowl, which is still finalizing a title sponsor, will be the 41st bowl game this season, allowing for 82 bowl teams.

Since this summer, On3 had reported that another bowl would replace the Bahamas Bowl. The Bahamas Bowl, which started in 2014, will not be held again, sources said. It’s undetermined whether the new bowl in Frisco will continue beyond this season, a source said.

Arkansas State (6-6) won five of its last seven games to make its third consecutive bowl under coach Butch Jones. Missouri State (7-5) is in its first year in Conference USA, transitioning from the FCS to the FBS. The Bears received their first bowl bid in school history after there were only 80 bowl eligible teams for 82 spots. This allowed Missouri State and Delaware, another Conference USA member in its first year after moving from FCS, to get the final two bowl berths.

The Bahamas Bowl began in 2014, but was not played in the Bahamas in 2023 when the stadium was not available. In 2023, Charlotte hosted the Bahamas Bowl.

Besides the Arkansas State-Missouri State matchup, the Ford Center at The Star will also host the Scooter’s Coffee Frisco Bowl on Dec. 23. The Frisco Bowl was moved to the Ford Center this year because Toyota Stadium, where the game had been held since 2017, is undergoing renovations.