Arkansas to Face Hawai’i in 2026 NCAA Tournament

FAYETTEVILLE – Arkansas, seeded fourth in the West Region, will face Hawai’i, the region’s No. 13 seed, on Thursday, March 19, in the first round of the 2026 NCAA Championship. The Razorbacks and Rainbow Warriors will play in Portland, Oregon, at the Moda Center. Tipoff time and TV information are TBA.

Arkansas earns its 38th NCAA bid and fifth in a six-year span. This is the seventh time in program history Arkansas has earned a No. 4 seed. Arkansas is 52-36 all-time in the NCAA Tournament, including a 20-8 record in first-round games.

This will be the third time Arkansas and Hawai’i have played on the hardwood. The Razorbacks won the first two meetings on back-to-back days in December of 1977 in Honolulu.

With a first-round win, Arkansas would face the winner of No. 5 seed Wisconsin and No. 12 seed High Point on Saturday, March 21, in Portland.

Arkansas (26-8) won the SEC Tournament and was SEC runner-up during the regular season. Hawai’i (24-8) defeated UC Irvine in the Big West Tournament finals and finished second in Big West play.

Highlights for John Calipari in his 34th year as a collegiate head coach include:
• His 25th NCAA appearance in 33 NCAA Tournaments held.
^ 1 – NCAA Championship
^ 2 – NCAA Runners-Up
^ 6 – Final Fours (tied for seventh-most all-time)
^ 12 – Elite 8s
^ 16 – Sweet 16s (ties for fifth-most all-time)
^ His 25 appearances rank eight-most all-time by an NCAA DI coach
• A 59-23 (.727) record in NCAA Tournament games.
^ The 59 NCAA Tournament wins ties for most among active coaches (Michigan State Tom Izzo).
^ The 59 NCAA Tournament wins ties for 5th-most all-time.
^ Is 21-3 in the 2st Round
^ Is 16-5 in the 2nd Round
^ Is 12-4 in the Sweet 16
^ Is 6-6 in the Elite 8
^ 3-3 in the Final Four
^ 1-2 in the NCAA Championship
• 20 wins for the 31st time in this his 3th season as a collegiate head coach.
^ 30 – 20-win seasons
^ 21 – 25-wins seasons
^ 11 – 30-win seasons
^ 5 – 35-plus win seasons
^ 3 – 38-win seasons. 38 wins in a season is an NCAA record and Coach Calipari is the only coach to win at least
38 games in a season. He did it once at Memphis (2007-08) and twice at Kentucky (2011-12 and 2014-15).

Fans who have already completed their postseason ticket request do not need to take any additional action at this time. Ticket requests will be fulfilled based on 2025 membership level and priority points. Fans will be notified on the status of their ticket order no later than Tuesday, March 17.

University of Arkansas students who are access pass holders will have until 5 pm on Monday, March 16 to purchase tickets.

General public tickets for each of the NCAA First and Second Round sites can be accessed at the NCAA Ticketmaster page.

For more information on Arkansas Men’s Basketball, follow @RazorbackMBB on Twitter.