NCAA Tournament Rd1 Preview: Arkansas vs Hawai’i

Who: #14/15 (#4 seed) Arkansas Razorbacks (26-8) vs (#13 seed) Hawai’i Rainbow Warriors (24-8)
What: Arkansas is 20-8 all-time in NCAA opening-round games.
When: Thursday – Mar. 19 – approximately 1:25 pm (PT) / 3:25 pm (CT)
Where: Portland, Ore. • Moda Center (19,393)
How (to follow):
– TV/Stream: TBS / NCAA Stream  (Brad Nessler, Wally Szczerbiak and Jared Greenberg)
– Radio: Learfield Razorback Sports Network (Chuck Barrett and Matt Zimmerman)
– Westwood One (Ryan Radtke & Austin Croshere)
– Westwood One on Sirius/XM: 211 or 204 || SXM App/Online Channel 966

– Arkansas-Hawai’I Game Information
– Arkansas Game Notes   
– Vanderbilt Game Notes
– SEC Men’s Basketball Release/Stats

PORTLAND, Ore. – Arkansas, the #4 seed in the West Regional, will face #13 seed Hawai’i in the opening round of the 2026 NCAA Tournament on Thursday (Mar. 19) in Portland, Ore. (Moda Center). The game is scheduled to start at approximately 1:25 pm (PT) / 3:25 pm (CT) – following the Wisconsin-High Point game – and will be televised on TBS.

Arkansas earned its 38th all-time NCAA berth and is playing in its fifth Tournament in a six-year span. The Razorbacks are coming off a three-game run to win the 2026 SEC Championship.

Arkansas is 52-36 (.591) in its 37th appearance (*also earned bid in 1944 but could not play) and is 20-8 all-time in first-round matchups. Razorback head coach John Calipari is 59-23 (.720) in his 25th NCAA Tournament appearance. He is 21-3 all-time in NCAA first-round games. He is 5-2 all-time as a #4 seed and 4-0 all-time versus a #13 seed.

The Arkansas-Hawai’I winner will face the winner of #5 seed Wisconsin and #12 seed High Point on Saturday. Time and TV to be announced.

NOTES:

• Arkansas is 2-0 all-time versus Hawai’i. The team met twice in the 1977-78 season, playing on back-to-back days on Dec. 1 and 2. The Hogs won game one, 78-53, and game two, 79-60.
• Arkansas is 2-1 all-time in Portland (and the Moda Center). The Razorbacks played in the 2017 PK80 Phil Knight Invitational in November of 2017. Arkansas beat Oklahoma, lost to North Carolina and beat UConn.
• Arkansas has won five straight, 10 of its last 12 and 13 of its last 15.
  ^ After a 6-3 January, Arkansas was 5-2 in February and is 5-0 in March.
  ^ In Cal’s two years at Arkansas, the Hogs are 20-8 in February and March.
• Getting hot in March is nothing new for Coach Cal’s teams during his career.
  ^ 62 Wins in Conference Tourneys (62-17 — 78.5%)
  ^ 59 Wins in the NCAA Tourney (59-23 — 72.0%)
  ^ 136 Postseason Wins (136-46 — 74.7%) — Including Conf Tourneys, NIT & NCAA
  ^ 182 Wins (all games) in March and April (182-63 — 74.2%)

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