Hogs add 4 games to non-conference slate for 2020-21
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Eric Musselman’s second season as Arkansas’ head coach will begin Nov. 10 with a home game against Oral Roberts.
That matchup is one of four the Razorbacks have recently added to their 2020-21 men’s basketball schedule, a source confirmed to HawgBeat. They were first reported by WholeHogSports.
In addition to the Golden Eagles, Arkansas will also play Northern Illinois on Nov. 28, Lipscomb on Dec. 5 and Abilene Christian on Dec. 23. All four games will be played at Bud Walton Arena.
Located just a couple of hours away in Tulsa, Oral Roberts has been a frequent non-conference opponent for the Razorbacks. The teams last met on Dec. 19, 2017, when Arkansas cruised to a 35-point victory to improve its record in the series to 10-2.
Coming off a 17-14 season, the Golden Eagles are expected to return a pair of players who averaged double-figures in scoring last year. Guard Max Abmas made a conference-leading 87 three-pointers and averaged 14.5 points as a freshman, earning a spot on the Summit League’s All-Newcomer Team, while forward Kevin Obanor contributed 12.3 points and 6.9 rebounds.
It will also be the first of three games against former Arkansas players, as R.J. Glasper has transferred to Oral Roberts for his final season. After redshirting in his lone year with the Razorbacks, the Forrest City product was a prolific scorer at Division II Arkansas Tech the last three seasons, leading the Wonder Boys in scoring each year while averaging 18.7 points and 5.1 assists per game.
The only one of the other three teams Arkansas has played is Lipscomb, which it beat 83-54 on Dec. 20, 2004. The Bison went just 16-16 last season, but reached the ASUN Championship Game for the third straight year. They were led by 6-foot-8 center Ahsan Asadullah, who finished second in the conference in scoring (18.6 ppg), rebounding (10.1 rpg) and assists (3.9 apg) to earn first-team All-ASUN honors.
Northern Illinois and Abilene Christian have never faced the Razorbacks.
The Huskies went 18-13 and won a share of the MAC West Division title last season, but must replace their all-time leading scorer, Eugene German, who averaged 20.5 points. No other player on their roster averaged double figures.
The Wildcats went 20-11 and tied for second in the Southland Conference standings during the regular season. They also have to replace their leading scorer, but do return 6-foot-8 forward Joe Pleasant, who averaged 14.3 points. Former Little Rock Parkview standout Airion Simmons is also at Abilene Christian and averaged 5.4 points and 4.1 rebounds in 14.0 minutes as a freshman.
Arkansas now has 11 of its 13 non-conference slots set.
Other known dates include a neutral site matchup with Oklahoma at the BOK Center in Tulsa on Dec. 12 and a matchup with Old Dominion for the annual game at Simmons Bank Arena in North Little Rock on Dec. 19.
Exactly when they’ll be played is unknown at this point, but the Razorbacks will travel to Tulsa for the return game in a home-and-home series that started last season and a source confirmed to HawgBeat that they’ll host UT-Arlington. Those are the other two games against former Razorbacks, with Keyshawn Embery-Simpson and Jordan Phillips playing for the Golden Hurricane and Mavericks, respectively.
Arkansas will also play in the MGM Resorts Main Event in Las Vegas on Nov. 20 and 22. The other teams are known, but matchups haven’t been officially announced. However, San Francisco is reportedly its first opponent at the event, followed by either Louisville or Colorado State.
The Razorbacks are expected to participate in the Big 12/SEC Challenge, as well, with the date and opponent to be released at the same time as the rest of the matchups.
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