Report: Kansas and Arkansas set to play charity exhibition college basketball game in Fayetteville

The Kansas Jayhawks and Arkansas Razorbacks are set to play a men’s college basketball preseason exhibition game in Fayetteville, according to Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports. The Razorbacks are ushering in a new era in their program, as former Kentucky head coach John Calipari bolted Lexington this offseason, immediately jumping ship to Fayetteville to lead the ‘Hogs.

With the amount of attention the Jayhawks and Razorbacks’ programs get nationally, it’ll be interesting to see how much money they raise. Kansas is expected to be one of the best teams in America in the 2024-2025 college basketball season. The two key players that they return are Hunter Dickinson and Dajuan Harris, Jr.

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More on the Kansas Jayhawks outlook into 2024-2025

Kansas also went out in the transfer portal and got a number of solid players from other schools: AJ Storr (Wisconsin), Rylan Griffen (Alabama), Zeke Mayo (South Dakota State), Noah Shelby (Rice), Shakeel Moore (Mississippi State), and David Coit (Northern Illinois). Their 2024 basketball transfer portal class was ranked as the No. 2 overall class in America, according to the 2024 On3 College Basketball Team Transfer Portal Rankings.

AJ Storr averaged 16.8 points and 3.9 rebounds per game last year for the Wisconsin Badgers, earning second team All-Big Ten honors. South Dakota State point guard Zeke Mayo was one of the most complete guards in America and he’s got the stat profile to prove it. Not only did Mayo drain 39.1% of his three-point shots, but he stuffed the stat sheet with 18.8 points, 5.7 rebounds, and 3.5 assists per game. His spectacular season earned him 2024 Summit League Player of the Year honors.

Noah Shelby is an invited walk-on who’s expected to be an additional depth piece for the Jayhawks. Mississippi State transfer guard Shakeel Moore is yet another piece in their backcourt. Before joining Kansas, he averaged 7.9 points, 2.2 rebounds, and 1.8 assists per game.

A dynamic defender, Moore has averaged over a steal per game for three years of his career, but not last season. Rylan Griffen was one of the best shooters in the country at the guard position last year for the Crimson Tide. He averaged 11.2 points, 3.4 rebounds, and 1.9 assists per game. Not only that, but he also connected on 39.2% of his shots from beyond-the-arc.

Those are just a few of the reasons why Kansas is once again, expected to be one of the best teams in college basketball. That’s been a familiar tune over the past few decades in the sport.

More on Arkansas and their outlook heading into 2024-2025

Arkansas landed their own haul in the transfer portal once John Calipari moved to Fayetteville. The Hogs brought a slew of players from Kentucky, including DJ Wagner, Jr., Adou Thiero, and Zvonimir Ivisic (otherwise known as “Big Z”).

The Hogs did have a number of the players on their roster hit the portal, but the biggest prospect they landed was former FAU shooting guard Johnell Davis, the 2024 AAC Co-Player of the Year. He’s been one of the nation’s best the past few years. Last year he averaged 18.2 points per game, 6.3 rebounds per game, and 2.9 assists per game. Not only that, Davis hit over 41% of his shots from beyond-the-arc and over 85% of his free throws.

Davis played a critical role in guiding the Owls to their historic Final Four run in the 2023 NCAA Tournament, helping propel the team to a 35-4 overall record and the best season in school history. He had a historic performance against FDU in the second-round victory in the 2023 NCAA Tournament, becoming the first player to score 25-plus points, grab 10 or more rebounds, dish out five or more assists, and tally five or more steals in an NCAA Tournament game since steals became an official stat in 1986.

Simply put, there are few players in America as complete as Davis and he’ll be a man to watch every single time Arkansas takes the court.