Arkansas is a mess. Thought by some to be an SEC championship type team in the pre-season, it's just been a disaster of a season, and that's not even n counting their off-court recent drama.
We are in the midst of a little run of teams who get to the line a lot. Auburn, Alabama, Florida, Georgia and Arkansas are all top 32 in the country in FT attempted per game. Arkansas shoots more than any of them, first in the SEC and sixth most per game in the country. We've done a GREAT job of not letting teams get to the line a lot. Mizzou shot 20 free throws last Saturday, but the previous four opponents were all only between 10-16 free throws. We know we are likely to be at a deficit from the line because we shoot it so poorly, so limiting the other team's chances is a key for us. Aside from that, nothing positive stands out for Arkansas. They are a poor rebounding team, a worse defensive team, and believe it or not they even have a worse turnover margin than we do which is also hard to do.
Expect the Hogs to push the tempo as much as they can and to try to finish in the paint and/or get fouled. Unlike many Arkansas teams of the past, this one won't shoot a lot of threes and doesn't usually make many. Khalif Battle and Tramon Mark are the best of the shooters and the leading scorers. Graham and Mitchell give them some effective (at times) post players but nothing we can't handle.
Hogs have been bad all around, but really bad on the road. Lost by 21 at LSU, by 26 in Oxford, by 22 at Florida, and by 10 at UGA. They do claim a win over Mizzou, by 7.
We should absolutely win this game. I'm hoping for a large crowd at the Hump and a defeated Arkansas team that gets behind early and gives up early in the second half.
We are in the midst of a little run of teams who get to the line a lot. Auburn, Alabama, Florida, Georgia and Arkansas are all top 32 in the country in FT attempted per game. Arkansas shoots more than any of them, first in the SEC and sixth most per game in the country. We've done a GREAT job of not letting teams get to the line a lot. Mizzou shot 20 free throws last Saturday, but the previous four opponents were all only between 10-16 free throws. We know we are likely to be at a deficit from the line because we shoot it so poorly, so limiting the other team's chances is a key for us. Aside from that, nothing positive stands out for Arkansas. They are a poor rebounding team, a worse defensive team, and believe it or not they even have a worse turnover margin than we do which is also hard to do.
Expect the Hogs to push the tempo as much as they can and to try to finish in the paint and/or get fouled. Unlike many Arkansas teams of the past, this one won't shoot a lot of threes and doesn't usually make many. Khalif Battle and Tramon Mark are the best of the shooters and the leading scorers. Graham and Mitchell give them some effective (at times) post players but nothing we can't handle.
Hogs have been bad all around, but really bad on the road. Lost by 21 at LSU, by 26 in Oxford, by 22 at Florida, and by 10 at UGA. They do claim a win over Mizzou, by 7.
We should absolutely win this game. I'm hoping for a large crowd at the Hump and a defeated Arkansas team that gets behind early and gives up early in the second half.
