How to watch to Arkansas-Alabama, preview, projected lineups, more
The Arkansas Razorbacks (19-9, 8-7 SEC) will be searching for revenge Saturday when they take on the No. 2 Alabama Crimson Tide (24-4, 14-1 SEC) inside Coleman Coliseum in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.
Arkansas is on a two-game winning streak where it outscored Georgia and Florida by a combined 51 points, while the Crimson Tide have also won two straight, but struggled in a 78-76 overtime win over South Carolina on Wednesday.
These two teams previously met on Jan. 11, when then-No. 4 Alabama pulled away late to defeat then-No. 15 Arkansas, 84-69, inside Bud Walton Arena. Arkansas was down two, 65-63, after a Jalen Graham basket with 4:54 left before Alabama went on a 13-0 run. After a tie game at halftime, Alabama drained 7-of-10 from 3-point range and was 14-of-17 at the free throw line in the second half.
"For us, we defended them pretty well for most of the game and they got hot down the stretch," Arkansas head coach Eric Musselman said of Alabama after Tuesday's win over Georgia. "They’re an explosive offensive team, so we’re going to have to defend. And then offensively, they’re such a great defensive team that we’re going to have to share the ball like we did tonight. The ball has got to have eyes and find open people. And you can’t force things against their defense."
While Alabama is dealing with drama of its own, the Razorbacks have seen the return of star freshman Nick Smith Jr. benefit them tremendously. Arkansas was without the five-star McDonald's All-American in the previous meeting, but following a 26-point performance on Tuesday, he should help the Hogs stack up better against the Crimson Tide this time around.
"I think that every game that Nick gets to play, I think he’s going to feel more and more comfortable," Musselman said after the Georgia game. "I probably left him out there tonight an extra four minutes in the second half late because I wanted him to continue to get conditioning and rhythm and confidence. Again, I think he’s a player that changes our spacing and how people have to guard us."
A win for Arkansas would be extremely beneficial as far as metrics go, as the Crimson Tide rank No. 2 in the NET, No. 3 on KenPom, No. 2 on Torvik and No. 2 on Sagarin.
While Alabama has dropped just one conference game — a 69-59 loss at Tennessee on Feb. 15 — Saturday's game will be as tough as any with a hot Arkansas team coming to town looking to get back at the Crimson Tide for the Jan. 11 loss.
"It’s a big game,” Alabama head coach Nate Oats said. “Obviously we only have two home games left and we’re a game up on Texas A&M with three games to go. If you’re planning on winning an SEC Championship you can’t give away home games — we’ve said that from the beginning. Arkansas is much better than they were the first time we played them and I think we’re better too.”
Here are details on how to watch/listen, notes, projected lineups, stats, odds and more for Saturday's game between Arkansas and Alabama:
Notes
~ This will be the 68th meeting between Arkansas and Alabama. All but 10 have come since Arkansas joined the SEC. The Razorbacks own a 36-31 advantage in the series, including a slight 29-28 margin in SEC meetings. The Crimson Tide is 22-8 in games played in Tuscaloosa. Alabama has won three of the last four, but Arkansas has won 8 of the last 12.
~ Arkansas is one of 12 teams in the NCAA that rank among the NCAA top 50 in both FG% and FG% defense. The Razorbacks rank 15th in the NCAA in FG% and No. 42 in FG% defense.
~ Over the last 12 games, Arkansas has shot at least 44% from the field 12 times. With its recent success, Arkansas leads the SEC (and ranks 15th in the NCAA) in field goal percentage at 48.6%.
~ In SEC games, Arkansas leads the league in FG% (.477). At its current rate, Arkansas’s SEC FG% of .477 would rank 5th-best in school history and the best in SEC play since shooting a school-record 49.7% in 1993.
~ Arkansas is the only SEC team to play each of its final three road games at the current top three teams in the SEC standings. The Hogs’ last road game was at Texas A&M (2/15) and the their next two games are at Alabama (2/25) and at Tennessee (2/28).
~ Since Eric Musselman’s arrival, Arkansas leads the SEC in overall wins (92) and overall home wins (60), is second in SEC home wins (27) and ranks 10th in the NCAA in overall wins (92).
How to Watch/Listen
Who: Arkansas Razorbacks (19-9, 8-7 SEC) at No. 2 Alabama Crimson Tide (24-4, 14-1 SEC)
When: Saturday, Feb. 25 at 1 p.m. CT
Where: Tuscaloosa, Ala. – Coleman Coliseum (15, 316)
Television: ESPN2 (Tom Hart and Jimmy Dykes)
Stream/Online: Watch ESPN
Radio: Learfield Razorback Sports Network (Chuck Barrett and Matt Zimmerman)
Gameday Info and How to Listen Online/Mobile: Razorback Gameday App
Sirius/XM: 81 (Sirius) / 81 (XM) || SXM App: Channel 81
Projected Lineups
Arkansas
#0 - G Anthony Black - Fr., 6'7", 198 lbs.
2022-23 Stats per game: 35.3 min, 12.9 points, 5.1 rebounds, 4.4 assists, 2.0 steals, 3.1 turnovers, 0.5 blocks, 46.7 fg%, 32.0 3fg%
#3 - G Nick Smith Jr. - Fr., 6'5", 185 lbs.
2022-23 Stats per game: 22.1 min, 11.7 points, 1.3 rebounds, 1.4 assists, 0.6 steals, 1.2 turnovers, 0.1 blocks, 40.9 fg%, 33.3 3fg%
#4 - G Davonte Davis - Jr., 6'4", 185 lbs.
2022-23 Stats per game: 33.1 min, 10.5 points, 3.9 rebounds, 2.9 assists, 1.4 steals, 2.1 turnovers, 0.1 blocks, 40.7 fg%, 32.4 3fg%
#13 - G/F Jordan Walsh - Fr., 6'7", 205 lbs.
2022-23 Stats per game: 23.7 min, 7.3 points, 3.9 rebounds, 0.9 assists, 0.9 steals, 1.0 turnovers, 0.5 blocks, 45.8 fg%, 29.3 3fg%
#15 - F Makhi Mitchell - Sr., 6'9", 230 lbs.
2022-23 Stats per game: 20.3 min, 7.3 points, 5.9 rebounds, 1.1 assists, 0.9 steals, 0.9 turnovers, 1.4 blocks, 67.2 fg%, 100 3fg%
Alabama
#1 - G Mark Sears - Jr., 6'1", 185 lbs.
2022 Stats per game: 30.3 min, 13.4 points, 3.6 rebounds, 2.8 assists, 1.3 steals, 2.1 turnovers, 0.1 blocks, 43.5 fg%, 39.3 3fg%
#0 - G Jaden Bradley - Fr., 6'3", 185 lbs.
2022 Stats per game: 22.0 min, 7.8 points, 2.8 rebounds, 3.5 assists, 0.6 steals, 2.0 turnovers, 0.1 blocks, 42.0 fg%, 28.6 3fg%
#24 - F Brandon Miller - Fr., 6' 9”, 200 lbs.
2022 Stats per game: 33.0 min, 19.5 points, 8.0 rebounds, 1.9 assists, 0.9 steals, 1.8 turnovers, 0.9 blocks, 46.6 fg%, 43.1 3fg%
#15 - F Noah Clowney - Fr., 6'10", 210 lbs.
2022 Stats per game: 25.0 min, 9.7 points, 8.0 rebounds, 0.8 assists, 0.6 steals, 2.0 turnovers, 1.0 blocks, 48.1 fg%, 27.3 3fg%
#14 - C Charles Bediako - So., 7'0", 215 lbs.
2022 Stats per game: 20.6 min, 5.7 points, 5.5 rebounds, 0.6 assists, 0.5 steals, 0.9 turnovers, 1.7 blocks, 62.1 fg%
Vegas odds:
Vegas: Arkansas is a +8.5-point underdog (BetSaracen)
ESPN: Alabama has an 83.3% chance to win
Headlines
Council provides spark off Arkansas bench
Hardwood Hawgs Podcast: Nick Smith Jr. takes Arkansas to different level
Nick Smith Jr.'s return makes Razorbacks poised for postseason run
Smith makes Arkansas more well-rounded offensive team
Takeaways, notes, stats from Arkansas' 97-65 win over Georgia
(some information courtesy of Arkansas and Alabama Communications)