Join the live game thread on the Trough.

Arkansas will be welcomed back to Bud Walton Saturday afternoon with a clean 6-0 record and wins over Rice, North Texas, Texas Southern, Montana, South Dakota and Georgia Tech.

Traveling to Fayetteville are the Northern Kentucky Norse. They're 0-17 against Power 5/Big East teams but coming off of a second trip to the NCAA Tournament in the last three years. They fell 72-57 to No. 3 Texas Tech, which finished as the national runner-up.

Missouri was the Norse's first loss and the Tigers held them to 56 points. Arkansas's defense has been holding teams to an average of just 50 points per game.

Here's everything you need to know about the matchup with the 5-2 Norse:

Important Times:

Doors Open: 2 p.m.
Tip-off: 4 p.m.

TV/Radio:

Streaming: SECN+ (Benjamin Kelly, Kikko Haydar)
Radio: Learfield IMG College Razorback Sports Network, Online 993 (Chuck Barrett, Mike Zimmerman)

From the Head Hog Eric Musselman:

"They’ll play a unique zone defense. They’re a high steal team. They’re a high, high, high volume take a three-point shot team. So our three-point defense is going to be very, very important. Although they take a lot of threes, they do like to try to get in the paint, meaning paint touches some way. And they’ve got experience. They’ve got seniors that have played in big games. They’ve got a good record. It’s a good basketball team."

Northern Kentucky Players to Know:

F Dantez Walton: Senior forward Dantez Walton from Ohio averages 14.7 points per game and he's a solid shooter going 45.2% from the field and 34.8% from three.

G Tyler Sharpe: 6-foot senior from Kentucky, Sharpe is the team's leader in minutes with 33 per game and he's the second-leading scorer with 12.9 per game.

G Jalen Tate: Tate has only played three games this season but is averaging the team's most steals per game (2.3) since his return to action. He also has 6.3 assists per game.

Keys to the Game:

- Guard the three-point line: The team ranks 12th in the country in 3-point field-goal attempts (208th) and 16th in made threes (69).

- Contain senior forward Dantez Walton: Walton is both the team's leading scorer and leading rebounder.

- Win the rebounding battle: The Norse only have one really active player above 6-foot-8 but they're a great rebounding team. They average 39.4 boards per game opposed to Arkansas's 34.7.

- Limit turnovers: The Norse average 9.9 steals per game for a total of 69 steals that ranks 15th in the nation.

Latest Headlines:

- Arkansas wins No.6 with OT buzzer-beater over Georgia Tech READ MORE
- Even Eric Musselman didn't anticipate this Razorback defense READ MORE

Vegas Line:

Arkansas -16.5 O/U 135

Key Rankings: Arkansas (previous ranking) | Northern Kentucky

AP Top 25: 13 (3 votes) | 0 votes
KenPom: 23 (21) | 139
Sagarin: 20 (25) | 138
ESPN BPI: 36 (44) | 153

You can join HawgBeat for free for 30 days with code HAWGS30 or jump on for a year with two of the best deals Rivals has ever offered to choose from. Details