Davonte Davis says no SEC teams remind him of Illinois

The SEC and the Big Ten are two of the best conferences in the country. Still, they both have their own, unique cultures and styles of play. Because of that, teams from these conferences can create interesting first-round matchups.

Ahead of their game, Arkansas guard Davonte Davis explained why Illinois doesn’t remind him of any SEC team.

“I don’t know,” Davonte Davis said. “I don’t think so, with the big they got, Dain Dainja, and, like you said, 6’8″ guard playing a 1 the majority of the game.”

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“With the length they have on the wings, I don’t think nobody in our conference — nah, I can’t say Kentucky. So I don’t think so. This is going to be new. I think it’s something thrown at us, but we will be able to execute with what they got coming at us.”

Arkansas and Illinois are meeting in what is expected to be a competitive eight-nine game. This season, the Fighting Illini went 20-12 while the Razorbacks went 20-13.

“Overall I think even though we haven’t seen anything similar we will be ready for the contest,” Davonte Davis concluded.

Davonte Davis on Terrence Shannon

One of the key matchups in the Illinois-Arkansas game is going to be how successful Davonte Davis is in his matchup against Terrence Shannon.

“I think I guarded him a little bit two years ago,” Davis said.

“He’s gotten good and with the team he’s on now, he’s got the ball in his hand more and he’s ball dominant. It’s not just me guarding him, it’s the whole team. We’re coming into the game knowing we are helping each other on defense guarding him and his teammates for sure.”