Arkansas Razorbacks set for December matchup against Houston in Never Forget Tribute Classic

Arkansas Razorbacks will face the Houston Cougars in the Never Forget Tribute Classic on December 20 at Newark’s Prudential Center. The matchup, part of the event’s eighth edition, will be broadcast on CBS and streamed live on Paramount+. The specific tipoff time has not yet been announced.

The Never Forget Tribute Classic is organized by Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment and supports charities related to 9/11. The beneficiary for this year’s event will be revealed in the coming weeks.

Tickets for the game go on sale October 8 through Ticketmaster, Prucenter.com, and at the Prudential Center box office. Fans can register for email alerts about ticket sales and updates at prucenter.com/nftc.

Dylan Wanagiel, Vice President of Sports Properties and Special Events at HBSE/Prudential Center, said: “Building upon last year’s record-setting college basketball season for Prudential Center, and the honor of hosting the NCAA Men’s Basketball Division I East Regional, we are proud to partner with industry-leader Intersport to bring this marquee event to Newark. Arkansas and Houston are nationally renowned programs, and we look forward to delivering another exciting iteration of the Never Forget Tribute Classic between National Championship hopefuls on CBS while also contributing to our community.”

Arkansas head coach John Calipari commented: “We are excited about this matchup for our fans. Razorback nation proved last year that they will show up for games like this that are played in elite facilities at destination cities. We look forward to facing a top-level program led by one of the best coaches in the country. Kelvin and I have been friends a long time. He has built an incredible program with a great culture at Houston. This game will be a great measuring stick for us as we wind down the nonconference part of the schedule and start to turn our attention to the SEC schedule.”

Houston head coach Kelvin Sampson added: “The great thing about piecing together a schedule is that you have to schedule teams who are going to test you. When you play one of John’s teams, you know their fan base is going to travel. Prudential Center is going to be full of Razorback fans. Arkansas is one of the great programs in the country, and John is a Hall of Fame coach. This is a great opportunity to test ourselves early against one of the best programs in the country.”

This marks Arkansas’ first appearance at Prudential Center; last season they played Michigan at Madison Square Garden as part of another New York-area classic event.

The Razorbacks lead their all-time series against Houston 22-18 over 40 games played between them, including notable victories during their Southwest Conference tenure before Arkansas left after 1990-91.

John Calipari holds a 17-3 career record versus Houston across his coaching stops at Memphis and Kentucky, including two wins as head coach playing previously at Prudential Center during NCAA tournament action.

More information about Arkansas Men’s Basketball can be found by following @RazorbackMBB on X (formerly Twitter), Instagram or Facebook.