FAYETTEVILLE — The Arkansas men’s basketball team has added a pair of home games to its 2023-24 schedule.
The Razorbacks will host Gardner-Webb on Nov. 10 and host Abilene Christian on Dec. 21, according to game contracts discovered through a Freedom of Information Act request. Game times have not been set.
Gardner-Webb, a member of the Big South Conference, finished the 2022-23 season at 15-16 overall and 10-8 in league games. The Runnin’ Bulldogs are led by Tim Craft, who is entering his 11th season with the program.
Gardner-Webb last made the NCAA Tournament in 2019, when it was a No. 16 seed.
The Razorbacks are 2-0 all-time against the Runnin’ Bulldogs. The programs last met on Nov. 13, 2021, in a game Arkansas won 86-69 in Fayetteville.
Gardner-Webb is expected to return two of its top four scorers from a season ago, including leading scorer DQ Nicholas, a 6-1 guard. He averaged 12.5 points on 45.6% shooting, and had team highs in assists (97) and steals (40).
Julien Soumaoro, a 5-11 guard, was fourth on the team in scoring in 2022-23 at 8.8 points per game. He led the Runnin’ Bulldogs with 55 three-pointers on 37.7% from deep.
Abilene Christian, led by third-year coach Brette Tanner, is coming off a 13-17 season and 5-11 finish in Western Athletic Conference play. The Razorbacks defeated the Wildcats 85-72 on Dec. 22, 2020, in Fayetteville in coach Eric Musselman’s second season at Arkansas.
According to KenPom data, Abilene Christian has finished in the top 12 nationally in defensive turnover rate in five consecutive seasons, including No. 1 in the 2020-21 and 2021-22 seasons.
The Gardner-Webb and Abilene Christian dates are the first known for next season's schedule.
Arkansas is also scheduled to play three games at the Battle 4 Atlantis in The Bahamas during the week of Thanksgiving. The field includes Memphis, Michigan, North Carolina, Northern Iowa, Stanford, Texas Tech and Villanova.
The Razorbacks also will be part of the first ACC/SEC Challenge. Matchups and game times have not been announced.