How to watch Arkansas-Oklahoma, projected lineups, more
The No. 9 Arkansas Razorbacks will hit the road for the second time this season Saturday to face the Oklahoma Sooners in Tulsa.
The matchup marks the second year of the Crimson and Cardinal Classic at Tulsa's BOK Center, which is right around the midway point between the two schools (116 miles from Fayetteville, 125 miles from Norman).
Arkansas enters the matchup on a four-game winning streak, but it will be without star forward Trevon Brazile, who suffered a torn ACL in Tuesday's matchup against UNC Greensboro.
Replacing Brazile will not be easy, nor will one player be able to do it. Head coach Eric Musselman talked through the process of making up the production that Brazile had to start the season.
"Who we are Saturday, it’s a new ball club," Musselman said Thursday. "(Brazile) was a leader for us way back when we went and played the four games overseas. He’s been a go-to player and a guy that we’ve relied on offensively, defensively, blocking shots, versatility. So there’s going to be an adjustment, there’s no about it."
Musselman said that other guys will get an opportunity, but not one particular player. Arizona State transfer Jalen Graham has been a name of discussion throughout the week to see more minutes.
According to Musselman, Graham showed up one hour and 40 minutes before practice on Thursday.
"Today, first practice back since our last game, he was here really early," Musselman said. "I can tell you that today is the earliest I’ve seen him here. He’s excited to practice today, I guess, if he was here that early."
Graham is a talented scorer and rebounds the ball at a high clip when he's in the game. Musselman said he thinks Graham can also be an effective shot blocker.
"It’s a shame this ball club will really have only one game together that it was fully healthy," Musselman said. "That’s not going to change. That’s just going to be a fact for the entire year. Somebody’s going to get a new opportunity, or a couple guys are, and then we just have to hope that guys play well."
The Sooners have two losses on the season. The first came in the season-opener, when Sam Houston State beat them, 52-51. Villanova defeated Oklahoma 70-66 last Saturday.
Nevada transfer Grant Sherfield has shined early on for the Sooners, scoring 17.1 points per game, including back-to-back 20-plus point performances the last two times out.
"He’s a dynamic scorer," Musselman said. "He can really shoot the 3 — 11 made 3s in his last two games. He’s got a really good off-the-drill pull-up, so he’s a really tough cover. He’s a really, really good offensive player."
The Razorbacks played one of their worst games of the season against Oklahoma last year in an 88-66 loss. Musselman was tossed late in the game to add to the frustrating day in Tulsa. He said there isn't any extra motivation going into the game following the outcome of last year's matchup.
"Regardless of the outcome Saturday, I think last year’s game is irrelevant," Musselman said. "We made an Elite Eight last year, and Oklahoma beat us really, you know, I mean, they beat us. But we were able to recover from that game, and we were able to use it as a big part of our teaching throughout the year, how that game unfolded. So again, I don't really think that last year's game has any relevance at all to any of us, to be honest."
Here are details on how to watch/listen, notes, projected lineups, stats, odds and more for Saturday's game between Arkansas and Oklahoma:
Notes
~ Arkansas has a 16-13 lead over Oklahoma in the all-time series. The Razorbacks are 5-1 when the teams play on a neutral court.
~ Oklahoma's Tanner Groves scored 16 points and finished 3-for-5 from deep, and Jalen Hill tallied 11 points and eight boards in last year's game. The Sooners shot 54.9% (28-51) from the field and 59.1% (13-22) from three. Oklahoma finished 19-of-22 from the free throw line and recorded 20 attempts in the second half.
~ The Sooners defeated Ole Miss 59-55 on Nov. 27 to take home the ESPN Events Invitational title. Sherfield was honored as the tournament MVP after averaging 15.7 points and 5.3 assists per contest in three games.
~ Last year was the first time Arkansas played in Tulsa's BOK Center. The Hogs are 9-15 all-time at the University of Tulsa, 1-2 all-time at Oral Roberts and 1-0 vs Oklahoma State at Tulsa’s Mabee Center.
How to Watch/Listen
Who: No. 9 Arkansas Razorbacks (8-1, 0-0 SEC) vs Oklahoma (7-2, 0-0 Big-12)
When: Saturday, Dec. 10 at noon CT
Where: Tulsa, Oklahoma - BOK Center
Video: ESPN2 (Mark Neely and Tim Welsh)
Online Video Stream: Watch ESPN
Radio: Learfield Razorback Sports Network (Chuck Barrett and Matt Zimmerman)
How to Listen Online/Mobile: Razorback Gameday App
Projected Lineups
Arkansas
#0 - G Anthony Black - Fr., 6'7", 198 lbs.
2022 Stats per game: 33.4 min, 13.1 points, 5.4 rebounds, 3.6 assists, 1.8 steals, 2.8 turnovers, 0.4 blocks, 50.6 fg%, 40.7 3fg%
#3 - G Nick Smith Jr. - Fr., 6'5", 185 lbs.
2022 Stats per game: 22.7 min, 12.7 points, 2.0 rebounds, 2.7 assists, 0.3 steals, 0.7 turnovers, 0.3 blocks, 40.0 fg%, 36.4 3fg%
#1 - G Ricky Gouncil IV - Jr., 6'6", 205 lbs.
2022 Stats per game: 35.8 min, 18.4 points, 3.0 rebounds, 2.7 assists, 1.8 steals, 2.4 turnovers, 0.2 blocks, 50.8 fg%, 30.3 3fg%
#13 - G/F Jordan Walsh - Fr., 6'7", 205 lbs.
2022 Stats per game: 22.0 min, 6.3 points, 2.7 rebounds, 1.3 assists, 0.9 steals, 1.1 turnovers, 0.4 blocks, 43.5 fg%, 29.4. 3fg%
#15 - F Makhi Mitchell - Sr., 6'9", 230 lbs.
2022 Stats per game: 18.9 min, 7.2 points, 5.4 rebounds, 0.9 assists, 1.3 steals, 1.0 turnovers, 1.2 blocks, 65.9 fg%
Oklahoma
#25 - G Grant Sherfield - Sr., 6’2", 201 lbs.
2022 Stats per game: 33.9 min, 17.1 points, 3.0 rebounds, 4.4 assists, 0.8 steals, 2.1 turnovers, 43.9 fg%, 55.6 3fg%
#12 - G Milos Uzan - Fr., 6' 4”, 183 lbs.
2022 Stats per game: 19.8 min, 4.3 points, 1.0 rebounds, 2.3 assists, 1.0 steals, 1.2 turnovers, 62.5 fg%, 50.0 3fg%
#1 - F Jalen Hill - Sr., 6'6", 232 lbs.
2022 Stats per game: 32.1 min, 7.8 points, 4.6 rebounds, 0.9 assists, 0.7 steals, 1.3 turnovers, 0.4 blocks, 46.2 fg%, 23.1 3fg%
#34 - F Jacob Groves - Sr., 6'9", 216 lbs.
2022 Stats per game: 26.2 min, 8.7 points, 3.0 rebounds, 1.4 assists, 0.3 steals, 0.8 turnovers, 0.2 blocks, 50.0 fg%, 37.9 3fg%
#35 - F/C Tanner Groves - S-Sr., 6'10", 240 lbs.
2022 Stats per game: 26.1 min, 11.1 points, 6.9 rebounds, 2.4 assists, 0.6 steals, 1.9 turnovers, 1.4 blocks, 59.1 fg%, 30.8 3fg%
Vegas odds:
Vegas: Arkansas is a -6.5 point favorite (BetSaracen)
ESPN: Arkansas has 62.7% chance to win
Headlines
WATCH: Musselman, Black preview Oklahoma
Trevon Brazile out for the year - what does it mean for Arkansas?
Trevon Brazile out for season with torn ACL
Hardwood Hawgs Podcast: Nick Smith Jr. is all the way back
Takeaways, notes, stats from Arkansas' win over UNC Greensboro
(some information courtesy of Arkansas and Oklahoma Communications)