Gameday Central: How to watch Arkansas-Texas Southern, Tigers to know, more

Becoming one of two teams since 1949 to hold their first three opponents to 50 points or less, the Arkansas Razorbacks will look to continue that trend Tuesday at Bud Walton Arena in Fayetteville against the Texas Southern Tigers.

This will be the seventh matchup between the Razorbacks and the Tigers. The Hogs are 6-0 all-time against Texas Southern dating back to 1988. The Tigers have lost three straight games this season against San Diego State, Wichita State, and South Dakota.

TSU is coached by a close friend of head hog Eric Musselman, Johnny Jones. Jones was Musselman's boss at LSU before they reversed roles at Nevada.

"(The Nevada job) kind of spring-boarded him back to another head job at Texas Southern and obviously my time at LSU helped springboard me to get a head job at Nevada," Musselman said. "I really respect him as an Xs and Os coach. He’s like a mentor to me."

Here is everything you need to know about the matchup with the 0-3 Tigers:

Important Times

Doors Open: 5 p.m.
Tip-off: 7 p.m.

Streaming/Radio

Online: SEC Network+ (Watch ESPN)
Radio: Razorback/IMG Sports Network/Sirius 984 (Chuck Barrett & Matt Zimmerman)

From the Head Hog Eric Musselman:

“They got some guys that are really talented, I think the biggest thing is just like, another opportunity against somebody that we feel could win in their league. Another program that has made NCAA tournament of late.”

“You look at their game at Baylor last year when they went into Baylor and won, you look at their game at Oregon, where they won last year, we have to be ready to play for sure.”

Texas Southern Players to Know

Despite being in the SWAC conference, the Tigers have some talented players on their roster. They’ve added some notable athletes from big FBS schools like Arizona St, Texas A&M, and Purdue.

F Eden Ewing: Ewing, a transfer from Purdue, leads the Tigers in points and rebounds per game despite only playing two out of three games this season. At 6’8 225, Ewing plays mostly down low and has the third best FG% on the team.

G Tyrik Armstrong: Armstrong, a JUCO transfer, leads the team in points, steals, and assist with 31, four, and eight respectively. At 5’10 175, Armstrong is undersized but makes up for his lack of size by being ‘quick’ and ‘crafty with the ball’.

F Jethro Tshisumpa: A former ESPN top 100 player, Tshisumpa transferred to Texas Southern from Arizona State. At 6’10 260 pounds, Tshisumpa is the biggest guy on the team. He is unsurprisingly tied for team leader in blocks this season with three.

F Justin Hopkins: The junior from Huntsville, AL is one of the leaders for the Tigers and is all over the court. He leads the team in rebounds with 15 and is third on the team in scoring at 20.

F John Walker III: Despite not putting up a lot of stats this season, Walker has the second most minutes (66) on the court behind point guard Tyrik Armstrong (76). A transfer from Texas A&M, Walker has instilled himself as a facilitator for this Tigers squad.

Notable tidbits from this week:

- After another very nice win on Saturday afternoon, Razorbacks Adrio Bailey and Mason Jones heaped praise upon their new head coach. READ MORE

- Shooting percentages for Isaiah Joe, Desi Sills and Jeantal Cylla are a little low right now. Here's how Eric Musselman is working to bring them up. READ MORE

- As expected, Reggie Chaney was reinstated Tuesday morning after a 3-game suspension. READ MORE

Vegas Line:

Arkansas -23.5 O/U 148 (Hogs are 3-0 against the spread and 3-0 on the under)

Key Rankings: Arkansas (previous ranking)/Texas Southern

AP Top 25: 3 votes (11 votes)/0 votes
KenPom: 29 (31)/280
NET rating: 60/205
Sagarin: 28 (32)/272
ESPN BPI: 48/264

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