RUSSELLVILLE, Ark. – The 2025-26 Arkansas Tech men's basketball team will have its first action of the year on Tuesday night as they will travel to the Capitol City of Arkansas for an exhibition game against NCAA Division I-affiliated Little Rock.
 
Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. from the Jack Stephens Center. Wonder Boys fans wishing to attend the game are encouraged to purchase tickets through the following link: https://www.ticketreturn.com/prod2new/GroupPortalPEC.asp?HoldID=994&SponsorID=19219&EventID=356286. This will ensure seating in the general sections behind the Wonder Boys' bench.
 
The exhibition against Little Rock is one of two that the Wonder Boys will play this year against in-state DI competition. The second of those is scheduled for December 30 at Arkansas State.
 
In playing this preseason exhibition, the Wonder Boys are expected to get a great trail run at what they might look like this year, especially considering the fact that 15 of their 18 players are new to Tech.
 
Despite all of the new faces that will be donning the green and gold this year, the Wonder Boys, behind 10^th-year head coach Mark Downey, were picked to finish fourth and received a first-place vote in the preseason Great American Conference Coaches Poll.
 
On the other end of the court, the Wonder Boys will be going up against a Little Rock team that was picked to win the Ohio Valley Conference. The Trojans, who are led by eighth-year head coach Darrell Walker, return a pair of All-OVC players in Johnathan Lawson and Tuongthach Gatkek.
 
The Trojans also bolstered their roster in the offseason with key additions Kachi Nzeh and Braxton Bayless, both of whom were named to the OVC Preseason Players to Watch list.
 
At the conclusion of this preseason exhibition, the Wonder Boys will turn their attention to the beginning of their regular season start on the weekend of November 14-15. That weekend, Tech will take on Missouri Southern and Newman as part of this year's GAC/MIAA Crossover Challenge.