Bud Walton has been hard on Top 5 teams

Arkansas' Mardracus Wade celebrates following an upset of No. 2 Florida in 2013. (Photo by Samantha Baker)
Arkansas' Mardracus Wade celebrates following an upset of No. 2 Florida in 2013. (Photo by Samantha Baker)

— Texas A&M will be in uncharted territory Wednesday, playing as a top-five team for the first time in school history.

The No. 5 Aggies (17-2, 7-0) will be the 10th top-five team to visit Bud Walton Arena since it opened in 1993 and the ninth to do so against an unranked Arkansas team.

Despite playing as the underdog, the Razorbacks have done well in those games, compiling a 6-3 record. Even if you toss out the time Arkansas was also ranked, the Razorbacks are 5-3.

Here is a look back at the previous nine times Arkansas has hosted one of the five best teams in the country.

Jan. 29, 1995 - No. 9 Arkansas 94, No. 5 Kentucky 92

Playing on Super Bowl Sunday, Arkansas beat Kentucky 94-92 with some late-game heroics by Scotty Thurman.

The Wildcats took the lead on Walter McCarty's tip-in with 25 seconds left, but Thurman answered with a jump shot 15 seconds later and Clint McDaniel sealed the victory with a baseline steal on the other end.

Thurman finished with 22 points, while Corliss Williamson had 28 points and nine rebounds. Kentucky was led by Tony Delk, who scored a game-high 31 points.

It is the only game played at the arena in which both teams were ranked in the top-five of the national polls.

Jan. 26, 1997 - No. 3 Kentucky 83, Arkansas 73

Kentucky returned to Fayetteville two years later and got revenge, beating Arkansas 83-73 in front of a record 20,320 fans.

The Razorbacks used a 12-2 run to cut their deficit to two, but that was as close as they could get to the Wildcats, who were playing without their best player.

Derek Anderson, an all-America candidate, was missing his second game with a torn ACL. Instead, Kentucky was led by Nazr Mohammed's 18 points and four blocks, both of which were career highs.

Tarik Wallace scored 16 points for the Razorbacks, while Derek Hood notched a double-double, with 10 points and 11 rebounds.

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Arkansas players celebrate near the end of a rout of No. 2 Auburn in 1999. (AP Photo/Gary Yandell)

Feb. 24, 1999 - Arkansas 104, No. 2 Auburn 88

Four days after knocking off No. 6 Kentucky, Arkansas sent a crowd of 20,298 into a frenzy with a 104-88 win over No. 2 Auburn.

The Tigers cut the Razorbacks' lead to one early in the second half, but a 30-10 run quickly put the game away and led to the first court-storming at Bud Walton Arena.

"The greatest performance in my 14 years as Arkansas coach was by our fans tonight," Arkansas coach Nolan Richardson said afterward. "That was the loudest crowd I've ever heard."

Pat Bradley became the SEC's all-time career leader in three-pointers during the game and led Arkansas with 23 points. Chris Walker scored a career-high 21 points, while Hood (18 points, 13 rebounds) and Kareem Reid (10 points, 10 assists) had double-doubles.

Jan. 26, 2002 - Arkansas 94, No. 5 Florida 92 (OT)

Students stormed the court again after Arkansas snapped a four-game losing streak with a 94-92 overtime win over No. 5 Florida.

Jannero Pargo sent the game to overtime with a three-pointer in the closing seconds of regulation, then won the game on a shot with 2.7 seconds left in the extra period. He finished with a career-high 35 points on 7-of-8 shooting beyond the arc.

The Gators had a chance to win after both shots, but didn't convert. Justin Hamilton missed a pair of free throws after Pargo's game-tying three-pointer and Orien Greene missed an open three as the final buzzer sounded.

To go along with Pargo, Michael Jones scored 15 points and J.J. Sullinger had 11 for the Razorbacks. All three players came off the bench.

Florida was led by Udonis Haslem, who had 19 points and 13 rebounds before fouling out in overtime, and future Razorbacks assistant coach Brett Nelson, who scored 23 points.

Feb. 20, 2002 - Arkansas 67, No. 5 Alabama 59

Nolan Richardson's final game at Bud Walton Arena was not the typical high-scoring affair fans had come to expect.

Instead, Arkansas held No. 5 Alabama to just 4 of 33 from the floor in the first half and built a lead the Crimson Tide couldn't overcome, as the Razorbacks won 67-59.

The team's leading scorer, Jannero Pargo, made the only shot he took and finished with three points, while Charles Tatum was the only Arkansas player in double figures, scoring 20 points.

Richardson was fired a week later, following losses to Kentucky, after which he made the comment, "If they go ahead and pay me my money, they can take my job tomorrow," and Mississippi State.

Feb. 19, 2003 - No. 2 Kentucky 66, Arkansas 50

The 2002-03 season is one most fans would like to forget and that season's game against Kentucky didn't help.

The second-ranked Wildcats cruised to a 66-50 win over Arkansas. It was the Razorbacks' worst home loss to Kentucky and their lowest point total in the series since 1948.

Nearly half of Arkansas' points came from Eric Ferguson and Jonathan Modica, who had 13 and 10 points, respectively. Gerald Fitch scored 17 for Kentucky.

Ferguson cut the Razorbacks' deficit to five early in the second half, but a 12-0 run over a seven-minute stretch ended any hope for a comeback.

It was the Wildcats' 15th straight win, which was the longest active streak in the country at the time.

Dec. 30, 2008 - Arkansas 96, No. 4 Oklahoma 88

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Marcus Monk had a memorable night against Blake Griffin and Oklahoma in 2008. (Photo by Michael Woods)

A balanced attack helped Arkansas overcome a pair of dominant performances by the Sooners.

Blake Griffin, who would become that season's national player of the year, had 23 points and 13 rebounds, while Willie Warren scored 35 points for No. 4 Oklahoma, but the Razorbacks won 96-88.

Six Arkansas players finished in double figures, including Marcus Monk, who scored 12 points in just his third game since joining the basketball team, and Michael Washington, who had 24 points and 11 rebounds. Freshman Courtney Fortson nearly had a triple-double, finishing with 12 points, 10 assists and eight rebounds.

The final score doesn't indicate it, but it was a blowout much of the game, as Arkansas led by as many as 25 in the second half.

It seemed the Razorbacks were headed back to the NCAA Tournament, but after knocking off No. 7 Texas a week later, they won only two of their final 17 games.

Jan. 5, 2010 - No. 2 Texas 96, Arkansas 85

Because of a scheduling anomaly, Arkansas nearly upset the Longhorns two years in a row at home, but couldn't quite close it out.

The Razorbacks and No. 7 Texas were tied 48-48 at halftime before the Longhorns pulled away in the second half. Despite getting within two in the final minutes, Arkansas eventually fell 96-85.

Texas, which was led by Dexter Pittman's 21 points and 10 rebounds, improved to 14-0 with the victory.

Rotnei Clarke scored 24 points for the Razorbacks.

Feb. 5, 2013 - Arkansas 80, No. 2 Florida 69

The last time Arkansas hosted a top-five opponent and a team that was 7-0 or better in SEC play, it turned out well for the Razorbacks.

No. 2 Florida came into Bud Walton Arena on a 10-game winning streak and with a 8-0 conference record, but left with a 80-69 loss in which the Gators were never close.

The Razorbacks made 15 of their first 20 shots of the game and led by as many as 23 points in the first half. That lead never went below 11 the rest of the way.

Only three Arkansas players reached double figures, but five scored between seven and nine points and 11 total players scored.

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