FAYETTEVILLE -- There was a big-name surprise on the University of Arkansas men's 2018-19 basketball schedule released Thursday.
Georgia Tech wasn't among the 29 of 31 opponents previously reported, but the Yellow Jackets will visit Arkansas for the first time when they play Dec. 19.
The other new opponent revealed on the schedule was Florida International, which will play at Walton Arena on Dec. 1.
Arkansas is 1-4 all-time against Georgia Tech, including a 72-42 victory in Greenville, S.C. during the 1961-62 season. The Yellow Jackets won the teams' most recent meeting during the 2014-15 season, 83-73, in New York.
Razorbacks Coach Mike Anderson said Arkansas will play Georgia Tech in Atlanta during the 2019-20 season to complete the two-game series.
"They needed a game and we needed a game," Anderson said. "I thought it would be a good series."
Josh Pastner is going into his third season as Georgia Tech's coach with a 34-35 record after being promoted at Memphis to replace John Calipari and going 167-73 in seven seasons with the Tigers.
Georgia Tech's top returning player from last season's 13-19 team is sophomore guard Jose Alvardo, who averaged 12.1 points. The Yellow Jackets' newcomers include junior guard Shembari Phillips, a transfer from Tennessee who averaged 6.2 points during the 2016-17 season, and freshman guard Michael Devoe, a 4-star recruit.
Georgia Tech is one of two non-conference opponents from Power 5 conferences playing at Arkansas along with Indiana.
The Hoosiers -- who play at Walton Arena on Nov. 18 in their first visit to Arkansas -- are expected to be much improved after going 16-15 in Coach Archie Miller's first season.
Senior forward Juwon Morgan, who averaged 16.5 points and 7.4 rebounds last season, withdrew from the NBA Draft to return to Indiana. The Hoosiers also added a consensus top 10-ranked recruiting class, led by 5-star freshman guard Romeo Langford.
Anderson said he expects Indiana to be ranked in the preseason top 25.
"Archie Miller has got his guys in there," Anderson said.
Arkansas opens the season against Texas on Nov. 9 in El Paso, Texas, in the Armed Forces Classic. The game will be played at Fort Bliss.
The Longhorns lost 7-0 center Mo Bamba to the NBA Draft as the No. 6 overall pick by the Orlando Magic from last season's 19-15 NCAA Tournament team, but Texas returns senior forward Dylan Osetkowski (13.4 points. 7.2 points per game last season) along with senior guard Kerwin Roach (12.3 points) and sophomore guard Matt Coleman (10.2 points). The Longhorns also have a signing class ranked among the top 10 nationally.
"You say Texas and Arkansas, you've said a mouthful," Anderson said of the former Southwest Conference rivals. "We're honored to play in that game. It'll be in front of all the armed services there and their families.
"[The Longhorns] have a chance to be a really, really good basketball team. It's a big, big challenge right off the bat."
Other notable non-conference games for the Razorbacks include road games at Texas Tech in the Big 12-SEC Challenge and at Colorado State and at home against Western Kentucky, where Rick Stansbury is going into his third season as coach after taking Mississippi State to six NCAA Tournament and five NIT appearances in 15 seasons. Last season Stansbury's Hilltoppers finished 27-11 and advanced to the NIT semifinals.
"They were probably within a game of going to the NCAA Tournament, and he returns a lot of those guys," Anderson said. "He signed a kid [6-11 freshman Charles Bassey] that's one of the top forwards in the country."
The Razorbacks return only one starter in 6-11 sophomore Daniel Gafford and have 10 newcomers. They lost 80 percent of their scoring and 73 percent of their rebounding from last season's 23-12 team that played in the NCAA Tournament.
Including SEC opponents, the Razorbacks have 11 games against teams that played in the NCAA Tournament last season and five against teams that played in the NIT.
"As I look at this schedule, it's going to be a challenge, and it's going to challenge our guys in a lot of areas," Anderson said. "They'll be some adversity, but adversity should make you stronger and hopefully be on the same page.
"With a young team, obviously there's going to be some peaks and valleys ... One thing I like about this team already is they compete. They're competing against each other in our individual workouts and when we do some team workouts.
"Now, obviously, we have to get them in shape, and conditioning will start next week."
Sports on 08/31/2018