College basketball’s ACC/SEC Challenge continues with a showdown between the Louisville Cardinals and the Arkansas Razorbacks on Wednesday night at the KFC Yum! Center in Louisville. Both teams are ranked in the top 25. The Cardinals (7-0) come in at No. 6, while the Razorbacks (5-2) are ranked at No. 25.
Let’s take a look at my predictions between Louisville and Arkansas.
Louisville Cardinals vs. Arkansas Razorbacks Odds
Moneyline: Louisville -188 / Arkansas +155
Spread: Louisville -3.5 (-110) / Arkansas +3.5 (-110)
Total: Over 164.5 (-110) / Under 164.5 (-110)
Choice Louisville Cardinals vs. Arkansas Razorbacks: Arkansas +3.5 (-110)
Louisville is undefeated, but has only faced two Power 4 opponents – and one was Cincinnati, which lost to Eastern Michigan. The Cardinals haven’t had a real road game either; they’ve only ventured outside their home gym once (beat Cincinnati on a neutral site). The rebounding is some cause for concern when it comes to Arkansas, as the Razorbacks were out-rebounded by both Michigan State and Duke, while Louisville has an average rebound margin of +12.7. However, this is mainly due to taking advantage of weaker competition. The Cardinals lost the rebounding battle against Kentucky 42 to 40 – the same Kentucky team that was outrebounded by Michigan State at a ridiculous -14 clip (42 to 28).
Arkansas can stay on the boards with Louisville, and it can certainly keep pace on the scoreboard. Head coach John Calipari’s team has exceeded the 100-point mark twice and scored 84 and 93 points twice. Freshmen Meleek Thomas (17.6 ppg) and Darius Acuff Jr. (17.4 ppg) have impressed. Thomas leads the Razorbacks in scoring; Acuff leads in assists (4.4 apg). Arkansas lost by three points to Michigan State – a Michigan State program that has already destroyed both Kentucky and North Carolina. The Hogs lost to Duke by nine in a game they led by three with less than seven minutes remaining. Playing at home, Arkansas should be able to cover a +3.5 spread if he doesn’t even win outright.
Pick Louisville Cardinals vs. Arkansas Razorbacks: Under 164.5 (-110)
Neither Louisville nor Arkansas have played particularly fast so far this season. Louisville ranks 74th in the nation in pace of play with 75.1 possessions per game; Arkansas is No. 85 in that division with 74.6 possessions per game. While the sample size is small at this stage of the 2025-2026 campaign, last year’s numbers tell a similar story. The Cardinals ranked 151st; the Razorbacks ranked 71st.
In its most recent outing with a Power 4 opponent on the other side of the floor, Louisville scraped past Cincinnati 74-64 in a defensive battle. Arkansas scored 66 and 71 points in the first two games against Power 4 foes. The Cardinals can score, but offense could be an issue if Ryan Conwell (20.1 ppg) and Mikel Brown Jr. (17.0 ppg) are not on their game at all. Isaac McKneely is the only other player to score in double figures, coming in at a modest 12.3 ppg.
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