How to Watch, Scouting Report: Arkansas hoops vs. Vanderbilt
Arkansas plays its SEC home opener tonight. Here's everything you need to know ahead of the game...
Arkansas (10-3, 0-1) vs. Vanderbilt (8-4, 0-0)
The Basics
Location: Bud Walton Arena (Fayetteville, Ark.)
Tip off: 7:30 p.m. CT
How to Watch/Listen
TV: SEC Network (link to watch online)
On the call: Richard Cross and Dane Bradshaw
Radio: Razorback Sports Network (TuneIn / Razorback Gameday App)
XM/internet: 381/971
Projections
-- Vegas spread: Arkansas, -7.5
-- O/U: 145
-- ESPN BPI: Arkansas has 74.6% chance to win, favored by 7.3
-- Bart Torvik: Arkansas has 69% chance to win, favored by 4.9 (proj. score: 73-68)
-- Sagarin: Arkansas has 73% chance to win, O/U set at 140.81
Scouting Report
~This will be the second SEC game of the season for Arkansas, which is trying to avoid its first 0-2 start in conference play since 2013-14, but it will be the SEC opener for Vanderbilt. The Commodores' late start to the conference slate is due to not being one of the participants in the Big 12/SEC Challenge later this month.
~It is also worth noting that the Commodores have not played since Dec. 23, when they beat BYU 69-67 in Hawaii. Their game against Stanford that was scheduled for Christmas Day was canceled. That means they've had a 12-day layoff.
~That win over BYU is a Quadrant 1 win for Vanderbilt, which is sitting at No. 77 in the NET rankings. That is actually 13 spots higher than Arkansas at No. 90.
~Junior guard Scotty Pippen Jr. is by far the Commodores' best player, leading the SEC in scoring at 18.1 points per game. Voted the preseason SEC Player of the Year, Pippen can stretch the floor with his ability to shoot from beyond the arc and get to the basket, which also helps him draw a lot of fouls and get to the free throw line. "You have to be a disciplined defender when you guard him," Eric Musselman said. "You can’t gamble. You have to have high basketball IQ defensively as an individual defender, as well, as does your team defense."
~Last season, Pippen scored 15 points on 6 of 14 shooting against Arkansas - which was below his season average of 20.8 points. In three career matchups with the Razorbacks, he's averaged 14 points on 43.8 percent shooting.
~Vanderbilt's only other player averaging double figures is Jordan Wright at 12.6 points per game. The junior is also the team's leading rebounder, averaging 6.1 boards.
~Musselman is also impressed with Quentin Millora-Brown, despite him contributing just 5.3 points per game. The 6-foot-10 big man who began his career at Rice is averaging 5.9 rebounds and nearly half of his boards have been on the offensive end. "Their center plays very, very hard," Musselman said. "He looks like he enjoys his role being a screen setter and a roller and a guy that pounds the offensive glass."
~This will be a matchup of two of the worst 3-point shooting teams in the SEC. Arkansas has made just 30.4 percent of its attempts beyond the arc, which is 12th in the conference, while Vanderbilt is shooting just 29.5 percent, which is 13th. (The only team shooting worse is Missouri at an abysmal 24.3 percent.)
~Arkansas has won seven straight and 11 of its last 12 games against Vanderbilt and leads the all-time series 29-12. That includes a 16-3 mark in Fayetteville.