No. 25 Arkansas upsets No. 6 Louisville, hands Cardinals first loss of the season

For the first time this season, Louisville lost a basketball game. The Cardinals fell to Arkansas on Wednesday at Bud Walton Arena as part of the ACC-SEC men’s challenge.

Trevon Brazile led the way with 21 points while Darius Acuff had a double-double with 17 points and 10 rebounds to lead Arkansas to the 89-80 victory. The Razorbacks improved to 6-2 on the season and stayed unbeaten at home while the Cardinals suffered their first loss of the year in their first true road game of 2025-26.

Arkansas and Louisville had similar shooting days from the floor, both hovering around 42%. But the Razorbacks had the rebounding advantage, 46-36, and went to the free throw line 35 times. That helped make the difference as the SEC notched a win in the challenge.

Louisville used a balance scoring attack as it headed into Arkansas. Mikel Brown had a team-high 22 points and was one of four Cardinals in double figures. Ryan Conwell added 15 points, and Sananda Fru added 14 to go with eight rebounds.

Arkansas took a commanding lead into halftime of Wednesday’s game, going up 49-27 at the break. But Louisville didn’t back down, outscoring the Razorbacks 51-42 in the second half. However, the fouls mounted and Arkansas was able to capitalize, going 27 of 35 from the free throw line to eventually seal its sixth win of the year.

It was a solid bounce back for the Razorbacks, who fell to Duke on Thanksgiving, 80-71. After that game, John Calipari expressed confidence in his group and the ability to get back on track. He also said Arkansas was still learning how to navigate a challenging non-conference schedule. That’s why he stressed the need to avoid putting more pressure on the next shot.

“I got a good group,” Calipari said. “They were more connected today than they have been, which is why we were able to play the way we played. Now, it’s okay. How do you get separation? We did. We got it to seven. When you get that separation, how do you start putting people away?

“Normally, it will come down to defense and rebounding and then making easy plays on offense and putting more pressure on their offense to make baskets. But if you give them a missed shot, an offensive rebound, come down, bad shot, throw it ahead, make a three, you know, we are still learning but the kids fought.”