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The No. 13 Arkansas Razorbacks (11-2, 0-1) will return home to Fayetteville for their SEC home opener Wednesday against the No. 20 Missouri Tigers (12-1, 1-0).
Under first year head coach Dennis Gates, the Tigers sit with just one loss entering the matchup. Gates brought in seven transfers to help improve his squad, and it has paid off so far.
“They’re a team that looks like they’re having fun together, and they’re really healthy,” Arkansas head coach Eric Musselman said. “I don’t see an injury on their team. They’ve got a returner whose a star in Kobe Brown, who’s an all-league player. They did a great job in the portal…So, it’s a well-coached, confident basketball team, and they’re probably playing their best basketball of the season their last two games.”
Missouri’s top player didn’t transfer in, though, as senior Kobe Brown continues to play at a very high level for the Tigers. Brown has scored 61 points over the last two games, which were both wins over ranked Illinois and Kentucky teams.
“He can score the ball from 3-point land, he can score the ball off the bounce,” Musselman said. “They’re running him handling the ball as a pick-and-roll player, which is a new dimension to his game. To have a 4-man or if they go small ball and he plays 5, to have that guy be a ball handler in an angle/elbow pick-and-roll…he’s a movable piece that you can put in scoring positions in different spots on the court.”
Arkansas will once again be without star freshman Nick Smith Jr., who continues to nurse a right knee injury. After an ugly offensive performance at LSU last Wednesday, Musselman has tried to switch things up at practice.
“Practices have been good,” Musselman said. “We’ve cleaned up some things both offensively and defensively. And we’ve gone more live than we probably ever have in the seven-and-a-half years I’ve been a college coach to try to clean up some areas that we want to improve on, both offensively and defensively.”
The Hogs saw zero points from players off the bench against LSU, and that can’t happen against a Missouri team that is No. 1 in the SEC and third nationally in points per game (88.8).
Here are details on how to watch/listen, notes, projected lineups, stats, odds and more for Wednesday’s game between Arkansas and Missouri:
Notes
~ This will be the 59th meeting between Arkansas and Missouri and the 22nd since the Tigers joined the league in 2012-13. Arkansas leads the all-time series, 32-26, and is 18-10 against the Tigers in Fayetteville. In SEC play, Arkansas leads 13-8, including an 8-2 mark in Bud Walton Arena.
~ This will be the 98th time in Razorback history that a ranked Arkansas team will play a ranked opponent. Arkansas is 47-50 in such games and 17-5 in those games at home. This will mark the fourth time in the last three years a ranked Arkansas team has hosted a ranked opponent. Prior to that, it had not happened since 1998.
~ This game against Missouri is on the same date as the Razorbacks’ first ever home game (Jan. 4, 1924). It was the ninth game of the inaugural season and Arkansas improved to 8-1. The Hogs defeated Northeastern State, 43-22. Elbert Pickel scored 16 points in the win. Arkansas turned around the following day to once again host and defeat Northeastern State, 42-14.
~ The Razorbacks are 19-12 all-time in SEC home openers.
~ Arkansas lost its last two SEC home openers (vs No. 12 Missouri in 2021 and vs Vanderbilt in 2022).
~ Arkansas’ No. 13 ranking is the program’s best ranking for an SEC home opener since being #3 for the 1994-95 SEC opener. Overall, it is the eighth time Arkansas has been ranked when playing its SEC home opener and the first time to be ranked for an SEC home opener since 2014-15.
~ With Missouri being ranked No. 20, it will mark the first time a ranked Arkansas team has hosted a ranked opponent for the Hogs’ SEC home opener.
How to Watch/Listen
Who: No. 13 Arkansas Razorbacks (11-2, 0-1 SEC) vs Missouri Tigers (12-1, 1-0 SEC)
When: Wednesday, Jan. 4 at 7:30 p.m. CT
Where: Bud Walton Arena – Fayetteville, Arkansas
Television: SEC Network (Dave Neal and Pat Bradley)
Stream/Online: Watch ESPN
Radio: Learfield Razorback Sports Network(Chuck Barrett and Matt Zimmerman)
Gameday Info and How to Listen Online/Mobile:Razorback Gameday App
Projected Lineups
Arkansas
#0 – G Anthony Black – Fr., 6’7″, 198 lbs.
2022 Stats per game: 33.8 min, 12.2 points, 5.2 rebounds, 3.7 assists, 1.8 steals, 2.8 turnovers, 0.5 blocks, 50.5 fg%, 36.1 3fg%
#4 – G Davonte Davis – Jr., 6’4″, 185 lbs.
2022 Stats per game: 30.2 min, 8.2 points, 3.7 rebounds, 2.4 assists, 1.5 steals, 1.3 turnovers, 0.2 blocks, 34.6 fg%, 20.0 3fg%
#1 – G Ricky Gouncil IV – Jr., 6’6″, 205 lbs.
2022 Stats per game: 35.37min, 17.9 points, 3.0 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 1.8 steals, 2.2 turnovers, 0.2 blocks, 48.9 fg%, 29.5 3fg%
#13 – G/F Jordan Walsh – Fr., 6’7″, 205 lbs.
2022 Stats per game: 23.7 min, 8.0 points, 3.3 rebounds, 1.2 assists, 1.4 steals, 1.0 turnovers, 0.5 blocks, 50.0 fg%, 29.0. 3fg%
#15 – F Makhi Mitchell – Sr., 6’9″, 230 lbs.
2022 Stats per game: 20.0 min, 7.5 points, 5.5 rebounds, 1.4 assists, 1.4 steals, 0.9 turnovers, 1.5 blocks, 65.6 fg%
Missouri
#10 – G Nick Honor – Grad-Sr., 5’10”, 200 lbs.
2022 Stats per game: 28.5 min, 10.0 points, 2.0 rebounds, 3.6 assists, 2.2 steals, 1.2 turnovers, 48.8 fg%, 44.6 3fg%
#5 – G D’Moi Hodge – Grad-Sr., 6’4″, 188 lbs.
2022 Stats per game: 27.9 min, 16.5 points, 3.9 rebounds, 2.2 assists, 2.8 steals, 0.5 turnovers, 0.4 blocks, 52.0 fg%, 41.8 3fg%
#2 – G Tre Gomillion – Grad-Sr., 6′ 4”, 210 lbs.
2022 Stats per game: 18.8 min, 5.7 points, 3.2 rebounds, 2.3 assists, 1.1 steals, 1.0 turnovers, 0.2 blocks, 53.6 fg%, 36.4 3fg%
#13 – F Ronnie DeGray III – Jr., 6’6″, 225 lbs.
2022 Stats per game: 11.4 min, 2.5 points, 2.1 rebounds, 0.4 assists, 0.6 steals, 0.4 turnovers, 0.6 blocks, 45.5 fg%, 28.6 3fg%
#24 – F Kobe Brown – Sr., 6’8″, 250 lbs.
2022 Stats per game: 25.5 min, 15.6 points, 5.7 rebounds, 2.7 assists, 1.3 steals, 1.9 turnovers, 0.6 blocks, 60.6 fg%, 45.7 3fg%
Vegas odds:
Vegas: Arkansas is a -7.5 point favorite (BetSaracen)
ESPN: Arkansas has 85.7% chance to win
Headlines
(some information courtesy of Arkansas and Missouri Communications)