Arkansas and Louisville have met seen times on the basketball over the two schools’ history.
But the 2022-23 meeting at the Maui Invitational may hold a little something more.
The last time the two met when Arkansas was considering a national powerhouse was in 1996, so it’s been a while. Now the Razorbacks, who are largely expected to be ranked inside the top 15 when polls are released in November, will have a shot at revenge for the 2009-10 team that fell to the Cardinals by 30.
The winner of the game will play the winner of Texas Tech and Creighton, while the loser will get the corresponding loser. Ohio State, San Diego State, Cincinnati and Arizona are the other four teams in the bracket. The Blue Jays, Red Raiders, Aztecs and Wildcats are also expected to be Top 25 teams.
Louisville is in the midst of its worst two-year stretch since 1999-2001. The Cardinals went just 13-19 last year, resulting in the exiting of coach Chris Mack in January of the season. Kenny Payne will head into his first year with the team. He was previously an assistant with the New York Knicks.