FAYETTEVILLE – The Arkansas Razorbacks will play a basketball game in Washington, D.C., for the first time in program history, taking on the Virginia Cavaliers in the Capital Showcase. The Gazelle Group announced the matchup, which is scheduled for Sunday, Nov. 8, at Capital One Arena. Tipoff is set for 1 p.m. Eastern (noon Central), and the game will be broadcast on ESPN.
Tickets for the event will go on public sale Friday, Sept. 4. Early access to tickets is available for those who sign up for updates through the event's official channels.
While this will be a historic first for the Razorbacks in the nation's capital, it will mark a homecoming for Arkansas freshman Jordan Smith Jr. The Washington, D.C., native was the 2026 consensus National High School Player of the Year and led Paul VI Catholic High School to back-to-back national championships.
The matchup pits two strong programs. Virginia finished the 2025–26 season with a 30-6 record, came in second in the ACC with a 15-3 conference mark, and made it to the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Arkansas concluded its season at 28-9, claiming the SEC Tournament championship and advancing to the NCAA Sweet 16 for the second consecutive year.
The Razorbacks and Cavaliers last faced each other in 1998, and Arkansas leads the series 3-4 overall. Virginia won the first three contests, while Arkansas came out on top in three of the last four meetings between 1984 and 1998.