The No. 9 Arkansas Razorbacks (11-1, 0-0) will get started with SEC play Wednesday when they travel to Baton Rouge, Louisiana, to face the LSU Tigers (11-1, 0-0).
Arkansas will be without star freshman Nick Smith Jr., who continue to nurse a right knee injury, while the Tigers will have former Hog and Arkansas-native Justice Hill on their side.
Hill leads the SEC in assist-to-turnover ratio (3.12) and Arkansas head coach Eric Musselman knows the threat Hill presents.
"Obviously he had a great career at Murray State," Musselman said. "Continues to play at a high, high level. Continues to take care of the basketball. Makes threes. Tough competitor."
Under first year head coach Matt McMahon, the Tigers sit with just one loss entering conference play despite losing every player from their roster last season. McMahon spent eight seasons as the head coach at Murray State before taking the LSU job, and he brought over three players from the Racers.
"LSU's coaching staff has done a great job," Musselman said. "Bringing some guys that have played for them in the past has really helped continuity-wise. Hill does a really good job for them at the point."
LSU also has big-man KJ Williams, who also transferred from Murray State and is tied for the SEC lead in points per game (19.3), while also bringing down 8.3 rebounds per contest.
"KJ Williams, player of the year in their conference, has played at an elite, elite level through non-conference play," Musselman said.
Musselman has done a great job building his roster, as well, by hitting the transfer portal hard and bringing in a strong class of freshman. That depth is starting to show as Smith remains out indefinitely and sophomore forward Trevon Brazile is out for the year with a torn ACL.
"Yeah, we like our roster a ton," Musselman said. "Different guys have stepped up at different moments, whether you go back to the San Diego State game in Maui when Kamani (Johnson) really stepped up, or Jalen Graham last game really stepped up. Devo Davis has continued to play at a really, really high level. And Anthony Black, when we’ve been down scorers, Anthony has proven that he can step up and score the basketball."
Even with different players stepping up each game, Musselman said his squad is remaining confident.
"Yeah, we’re kind of changing our identity as the season is progressing because of the injuries, but I think our ball club is a confident team, and I think that we understand that we only have so many limited opportunities to play on the road, and this is one of those opportunities," Musselman said.
Here are details on how to watch/listen, notes, projected lineups, stats, odds and more for Wednesday's game between Arkansas and LSU:
Notes
~ This will be the 76th all-time meeting between Arkansas and LSU and 69th since the Razorbacks joined the SEC. Arkansas leads the all-time series, 41-34, and is 37-29 versus the Tigers since joining the SEC. Arkansas has won three straight in the series and four of the last five.
~ The Tigers lead 19-13 in games played in Baton Rouge, including 18-12 in SEC action.
~ Arkansas has played LSU 66 times since joining the SEC. The next closest is Mississippi State (59), followed by Alabama and Ole Miss (56).
~ The Razorbacks are 18-13 all-time in SEC openers.
~ This will be the third straight year — and the eighth time in 11 years — Arkansas has opened SEC play on the road. Arkansas is 6-7 when opening SEC play of the road.
~ Arkansas lost last year’s SEC opener (at Miss State) but won four straight SEC openers prior to that.
~ Arkansas is ranked No. 9, which is the program’s best ranking heading into SEC play since being No. 3 for the 1994-95 SEC opener. Overall, it is the eighth time Arkansas has been ranked when opening SEC played.
~ Arkansas has an NCAA NET of 10 (through Dec. 25) thanks to an 11-1 start. That is the highest NET for Arkansas since it was instituted.
How to Watch/Listen
Who: No. 9 Arkansas Razorbacks (11-1, 0-0 SEC) at LSU Tigers (11-1, 0-0 SEC)
When: Wednesday, Dec. 28 at 8 p.m. CT
Where: Baton Rouge, Louisiana - Pete Maravich Assembly Center
Television: ESPN2 (Mike Morgan and Jon Sunvold)
Stream/Online: Watch ESPN
Radio: Learfield Razorback Sports Network (Phil Brame 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 Stats per game: 33.3 min, 12.6 points, 4.9 rebounds, 3.7 assists, 1.8 steals, 2.8 turnovers, 0.6 blocks, 51.5 fg%, 29.4 3fg%
#4 - G Davonte Davis - Jr., 6'4", 185 lbs.
2022 Stats per game: 29.3 min, 7.5 points, 3.5 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 1.5 steals, 1.4 turnovers, 0.2 blocks, 33.7 fg%, 18.5 3fg%
#1 - G Ricky Gouncil IV - Jr., 6'6", 205 lbs.
2022 Stats per game: 35.3 min, 18.3 points, 2.8 rebounds, 2.8 assists, 1.7 steals, 2.2 turnovers, 0.2 blocks, 51.6 fg%, 30.8 3fg%
#13 - G/F Jordan Walsh - Fr., 6'7", 205 lbs.
2022 Stats per game: 23.0 min, 7.6 points, 2.8 rebounds, 1.3 assists, 1.3 steals, 0.9 turnovers, 0.4 blocks, 51.6 fg%, 34.8. 3fg%
#15 - F Makhi Mitchell - Sr., 6'9", 230 lbs.
2022 Stats per game: 18.7 min, 7.5 points, 4.9 rebounds, 1.4 assists, 1.5 steals, 0.9 turnovers, 1.3 blocks, 66.1 fg%
LSU
#3 - G Justice Hill - Sr., 6'0", 175 lbs.
2022 Stats per game: 28.6 min, 8.7 points, 1.9 rebounds, 4.2 assists, 1.3 steals, 1.3 turnovers, 0.1 blocks, 33.0 fg%, 30.4 3fg%
#44 - G Adam Miller - So, 6'3", 190 lbs.
2022 Stats per game: 33.5 min, 13.5 points, 2.0 rebounds, 1.4 assists, 0.6 steals, 2.1 turnovers, 0.3 blocks, 38.1 fg%, 30.4 3fg%
#1 - G Cam Hayes - Jr., 6' 2”, 185 lbs.
2022 Stats per game: 18.8 min, 8.8 points, 1.9 rebounds, 2.1 assists, 0.8 steals, 1.4 turnovers, 0.2 blocks, 55.0 fg%, 45.2 3fg%
#20 - F Derek Fountain - Jr., 6'10", 225 lbs.
2022 Stats per game: 21.0 min, 7.3 points, 5.3 rebounds, 0.8 assists, 1.6 steals, 1.3 turnovers, 0.4 blocks, 68.9 fg%, 66.7 3fg%
#12 - F KJ Williams - 5th Sr., 6'10", 250 lbs.
2022 Stats per game: 31.5 min, 19.3 points, 8.3 rebounds, 1.1 assists, 1.7 steals, 1.8 turnovers, 0.9 blocks, 55.7 fg%, 50.0 3fg%
Vegas odds:
Vegas: Arkansas is a -5.5 point favorite (BetSaracen)
ESPN: Arkansas has 65.1% chance to win
Headlines
WATCH: Musselman, Council preview SEC opener at LSU
Nick Smith Jr. remains out 'indefinitely' for Arkansas
Arkansas basketball moves up in AP Top 25
Arkansas basketball report card through first 12 games
Checking in on Arkansas' efficiency ratings through 12 games
(some information courtesy of Arkansas and LSU Communications)
