MBB Preview: Arkansas vs Illinois

Who:  #19/21 Arkansas Razorbacks (5-1, 0-0 SEC) vs RV/RV Illinois Fighting Illini (5-1, 0-0 Big Ten)
What: The CBS Thanksgiving Classic. It will be the first time CBA has televised a college basketball game on Thanksgiving.
When: Thursday – Nov. 28 – 3:00 pm (CT)
Where: Kansas City, Mo. • T-Mobile Center (18,972)
How (to follow):
– TV/Stream: CBS / Watch CBS (Ian Eagle, Bill Raftery, Jon Rothstein)
– Radio: Learfield Razorback Sports Network (Chuck Barrett and Matt Zimmerman)
– Sirius/XM: Sirius: 211 / XM: 19-0 || SXM App Channel 960
– Arkansas Gameday App
– Live Stats

– Arkansas Game Notes  
– Illinois Game Notes
– SEC Notes/Stats

FAYETTEVILLE – Arkansas will take center stage on the national basketball landscape when the #19/21 Razorbacks face Illinois in the Thanksgiving Classic, played at Kansas City’s T-Mobile Center on Thursday (Nov. 28). Tipoff is set for 3 pm (CT) and televised on CBS, marking the first time the network has ever broadcast a college basketball game on Thanksgiving Day.

Arkansas and Illinois have met on six previous occasions and the Illini won each of the first five meetings. The first meeting (Dec. 14, 1949) was played in Champaign and the next four were played in “home” neutral sites (North Little Rock for Arkansas and Chicago for Illinois) in a four-game “home-and-home” series from 2001-2004.

The Razorbacks and Fighting Illini last played in the first round of the 2023 NCAA Tournament in Des Moines. Arkansas won, 73-63, thanks to Ricky Council IV recording a double-double (18 points and 10 rebounds).

Arkansas will stay on the road to face Miami in the second annual SEC/ACC Challenge on Dec. 3 in Coral Gables, Fla. Tipoff is set for 6 pm (CT) and will be televised on ESPN2.

NOTES:

• Arkansas and Illinois are very familiar with each other.
• First, the game will pit the Ivisic twin brothers against one another. Arkansas’ 7-2 Zvonimir Ivisic is in his second year as a collegian and Illinois’ 7-1 Tomisiav Ivisic will be playing in his inaugural collegiate season. Zvonimir is the older of the two (by four minutes) and he lists his brother as his life’s greatest influence.
• Also, the Razorbacks have assistant coach Chin Coleman, who worked on Illinois head coach Brad Underwood’s staff from 2017-21, while the Fighting Illini has assistant coach Orlando Antigua, a longtime staffer under Razorback head coach John Calipari at both Memphis and Kentucky.
• Arkansas will be playing in Kansas for the 15th time. Both Arkansas and Illinois last played in Kansas City’s T-Mobile Center in the 2021 Hall of Fame Classic. The two squads did not meet in the event. Arkansas won the Classic, beating Kansas State and Cincinnati.
• With its two wins to claim the 2021 Hall of Fame Classic, Arkansas is 8-6 all-time when playing in Kansas City.
  ^ 1-1 in the 1941 Final Four at Municipal Auditorium
  ^ 1-1 in the 1945 Final Four at Municipal Auditorium
  ^ 1-2 in the 1946 Big Six Tournament at Municipal Auditorium
  ^ 1-1 in the 1948 NCAA Western Regional Sweet 16 at Municipal Auditorium
  ^ 0-1, lost 47-46 in OT in 1980 vs K-State at Kemper Arena
  ^ 2-0 in the 1995 NCAA Midwest Regional at Kemper Arena
  ^ 2-0 in the 2021 Hall of Fame Classic at T-Mobile Center

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