How to watch to Arkansas-Alabama, projected lineups, more
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No. 15 Arkansas will face the toughest test of its season Wednesday when No. 4 Alabama comes to town for a top-15 showdown at Bud Walton Arena.
The last time out for both squads went much differently for each team, as the Hogs suffered their second loss out of three conference game at Auburn, 72-59, while the Crimson Tide dominated Kentucky at home, 78-52.
Arkansas head coach Eric Musselman's squad has struggled out of the gate in conference play for each of the past three seasons. Though his team advanced to the Elite Eight that past two years, he said that's no guarantee this year.
"Just because it’s happened that way the last two years doesn’t mean that that’s going to happen this year," Musselman said. "You look at our road games towards the end of the year, you’ve got to go at Tennessee and you’ve got to go at Alabama. But I will say this, and I learned it a long time ago from my father, your schedule often dictates wins and losses at times, as well."
While the Razorbacks have struggled offensively over the past three games, scoring just over 63 points per outing, Alabama has been on a tear, averaging 80 points over the past three contests.
The Crimson Tide are led by the SEC's leading scorer and projected lottery pick Brandon Miller, who is scoring 19.1 points per game. Musselman said Alabama head coach Nate Oats has his team rolling.
"They’ll shoot a lot of threes, but they also are really good getting to the basket," Musselman said. "Really good dribble-drive team. And there’s a reason they’re ranked fourth in the country because they’re really, really good and they have a really difficult non-conference schedule. They did an awesome job winning those games that they scheduled. They’re a really confident team."
Here are details on how to watch/listen, notes, projected lineups, stats, odds and more for Wednesday's game between Arkansas and Alabama:
Notes
~ The Razorbacks will be debuting a new uniform, featuring the throwback Hog jumping through the A logo on the jersey and pants.
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~ This is the first AP top 15 match-up in Bud Walton Arena since No. 9 Arkansas defeated No. 5 Kentucky, 94-92, on Jan. 29, 1995.
~ This will be the 67th meeting between Arkansas and Alabama.The Razorbacks own a 36-30 advantage in the series, including a slight 28-27 margin in SEC meetings. The home team has dominated the series, as Arkansas is 20-6 againzg Alabama in Fayetteville, but the Crimson Tide is 22-8 in games played in Tuscaloosa.
~ Alabama will be the third-straight ranked opponent Arkansas has faced. The last time Arkansas played three consecutive ranked opponents was 2003-04 when unranked Arkansas faced No. 6 Mississippi State, No. 9 Kentucky and No. 25 South Carolina. Arkansas went 1-2, falling at home to the Bulldogs on the road to the Wildcats and winning at home versus Gamecocks.
~ Arkansas’ first four SEC opponents (LSU, Missouri, Auburn and Alabama) have each won at least 12 games and have a combined record of 50-10. That represents the best four-team aggregate record any team has faced to date, according to Arkansas Communications.
~ This will be the 99th time in Razorback history — and third straight game — that a ranked Arkansas team will play a ranked opponent. Arkansas is 48-50 in such games and 18-4 in such games in Fayetteville.
~ This will be the first time since the 1990-91 season a ranked Arkansas team played a ranked opponent in three straight regular-season games. The then No. 20 Hogs went 2-1 in the Great Alaska Shootout — beating No. 11 Missouri, beating No. 12 LSU and falling to No. 13 North Carolina in the championship.
~ Arkansas is 16-4 overall (4-1 at home) when ranked No. 15 in the country. The Razorbacks are 5-12 overall (2-2 at home) when playing the No. 4 team in the nation.
How to Watch/Listen
Who: No. 15 Arkansas Razorbacks (12-3, 1-2 SEC) at No. 4 Alabama Crimson Tide (13-2, 3-0 SEC)
When: Wednesday, Jan. 11 at 6 p.m. CT
Where: Bud Walton Arena - Fayetteville, Arkansas
Television: ESPN2 (Karl Ravech and Jay Bilas)
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
Projected Lineups
Arkansas
#0 - G Anthony Black - Fr., 6'7", 198 lbs.
2022-23 Stats per game: 34.0 min, 12.5 points, 5.1 rebounds, 3.8 assists, 1.7 steals, 2.9 turnovers, 0.6 blocks, 48.8 fg%, 32.6 3fg%
#4 - G Davonte Davis - Jr., 6'4", 185 lbs.
2022-23 Stats per game: 30.4 min, 7.9 points, 3.6 rebounds, 2.6 assists, 1.5 steals, 1.6 turnovers, 0.1 blocks, 35.3 fg%, 17.9 3fg%
#1 - G Ricky Gouncil IV - Jr., 6'6", 205 lbs.
2022-23 Stats per game: 35.4 min, 18.1 points, 3.2 rebounds, 2.3 assists, 1.5 steals, 2.4 turnovers, 0.3 blocks, 47.1 fg%, 29.8 3fg%
#13 - G/F Jordan Walsh - Fr., 6'7", 205 lbs.
2022-23 Stats per game: 24.4 min, 7.7 points, 4.0 rebounds, 1.3 assists, 1.3 steals, 1.1 turnovers, 0.5 blocks, 46.8 fg%, 25.0 3fg%
#15 - F Makhi Mitchell - Sr., 6'9", 230 lbs.
2022-23 Stats per game: 19.8 min, 7.5 points, 5.7 rebounds, 1.2 assists, 1.2 steals, 0.9 turnovers, 1.5 blocks, 65.3 fg%
Alabama
#1 - G Mark Sears - Jr., 6'1", 185 lbs.
2022 Stats per game: 31.7 min, 14.7 points, 3.9 rebounds, 2.8 assists, 1.1 steals, 2.3 turnovers, 0.1 blocks, 43.3 fg%, 41.9 3fg%
#0 - G Jaden Bradley - Fr., 6'3", 185 lbs.
2022 Stats per game: 22.7 min, 8.9 points, 3.1 rebounds, 3.7 assists, 0.6 steals, 2.1 turnovers, 44.2 fg%, 25.0 3fg%
#24 - F Brandon Miller - Fr., 6' 9”, 200 lbs.
2022 Stats per game: 33.3 min, 19.1 points, 8.5 rebounds, 1.9 assists, 0.9 steals, 2.3 turnovers, 0.8 blocks, 43.3 fg%, 43.5 3fg%
#15 - F Noah Clowney - Fr., 6'10", 210 lbs.
2022 Stats per game: 24.4 min, 9.6 points, 8.5 rebounds, 0.9 assists, 0.6 steals, 1.8 turnovers, 1.3 blocks, 51.6 fg%, 31.0 3fg%
#14 - C Charles Bediako - So., 7'0", 215 lbs.
2022 Stats per game: 21.5 min, 5.7 points, 6.3 rebounds, 0.7 assists, 0.5 steals, 0.7 turnovers, 2.1 blocks, 60.7 fg%
Vegas odds:
Vegas: Arkansas is a +1.5-point underdog (BetSaracen)
ESPN: Arkansas has 57.8% chance to win
Headlines
WATCH: Musselman, Johnson preview matchup against No. 4 Alabama
Scouting Report: Analyzing the Alabama Crimson Tide
Musselman, Hoop Hogs still tinkering
(some information courtesy of Arkansas and Alabama Communications)