How to watch to Arkansas-Mississippi State, projected lineups, more
The Arkansas Razorbacks (17-7, 6-5 SEC) will put their five-game conference winning streak on the line when they host the Mississippi State Bulldogs (16-8, 4-7 SEC) on Saturday inside Bud Walton Arena.
Following a 15-point victory over the Kentucky Wildcats at Rupp Arena on Tuesday, the Razorbacks moved off the bubble and up to an 8-seed in Joe Lunardi's most recent bracketology.
The big storyline for Arkansas will be if star freshman Nick Smith Jr. is able to suit up for the first time since Dec. 17 against Bradley. Head coach Eric Musselman revealed Wednesday that Smith has started practicing with the team.
"Nick has practiced the last few days with us," Mussleman said. "Obviously he did not go on the road trip (to Kentucky) so he could continue to stay back here and work on his conditioning. We’re optimistic and hopeful that Nick will be able to play some time here in the near future."
Rumors swirled throughout the week that Smith could potentially play in Saturday's matchup, but no official announcement has been made by the team as of the publishing of this story.
Winners of their last four, the Bulldogs enter Saturday's matchup as of the nation's best defensive teams. Led by first year head coach Chris Jans, Mississippi State will not be an easy foe to face for the Hogs.
"They're tough," Arkansas head coach Eric Musselman said. "They're physical. They create grind-it-out games. They're very well coached. They're defense oriented. They're going to throw the ball inside six to nine times to Tolu Smith on straight post-ups, and they're a great offensive rebounding team."
Smith is the only Bulldog to average double-digit points per game this season. Standing at 6-feet-11-inches tall, he's averaging 14.7 points, 8.3 rebounds and 1.8 assists per contest.
"Smith is just a hard, hard cover because he's a wide body," Musselman said. "He's a guy that draws free-throws attempted. They do such a great job of creating steals, and it's really hard to create a defense when there is a high volume of turnovers.
"It's hard to come up with a game plan for a team that's a high steal, high gamble team. So, getting a shot on goal becomes paramount. Trying to eliminate live-ball turnovers is extremely important as well."
Mississippi State allows opponents to score just 58.5 points per game, which ranks 5th nationally. Arkansas' defense has played near the same level recently, as the Hogs have allowed their last six opponents to score an average of 61.6 points per game.
Arkansas sits at No. 23 in the NET rankings and Mississippi State is No. 48, so the Hogs will have the chance to boost their resume with a Quad 2 win following Tuesday's Quad 1 road victory over Kentucky.
Here are details on how to watch/listen, notes, projected lineups, stats, odds and more for Saturday's game between Arkansas and Mississippi State:
Notes
~ Arkansas and Mississippi State have met on 67 previous occasions, and the Hogs hold a slight 35-32 advantage all-time, as well as a slight 30-28 advantage since the they joined the SEC.
~ While the all-time series is tight, Arkansas holds a commanding 23-8 advantage over the Bulldogs in games played in Fayetteville, including 22-7 in SEC games.
~ Davonte Davis has scored in double figures a career-best nine-straight games for Arkansas. During that span, he has come alive from 3-point range, hitting at a 44.6% clip compared to 23% during his previous 81 career games.
~ Mississippi State’s defense is the only team to rank inside the nation’s top 10 in scoring defense (58.3 ppg, t-5th nationally), opponent field goal percentage (38.6%, 7th nationally) and steals (9.54 spg, 7th nationally).
How to Watch/Listen
Who: Arkansas Razorbacks (17-7, 6-5 SEC) vs Mississippi State Bulldogs (16-8, 4-7 SEC)
When: Saturday, Feb. 11 at 5 p.m. CT
Where: Fayetteville, Ark. – Bud Walton Arena (19,200) / Nolan Richardson Court
Television: ESPNU (Michael Eaves and Dane Bradshaw)
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: 35.3 min, 12.8 points, 5.3 rebounds, 4.1 assists, 1.9 steals, 3.2 turnovers, 0.6 blocks, 45.2 fg%, 30.3 3fg%
#1 - G Ricky Council IV - Jr., 6'6", 205 lbs.
2022-23 Stats per game: 35.3 min, 17.1 points, 3.2 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 1.3 steals, 2.4 turnovers, 0.2 blocks, 46.1 fg%, 28.3 3fg%
#4 - G Davonte Davis - Jr., 6'4", 185 lbs.
2022-23 Stats per game: 33.4 min, 11.2 points, 4.1 rebounds, 3.0 assists, 1.4 steals, 2.2 turnovers, 0.1 blocks, 41.7 fg%, 32.6 3fg%
#15 - F Makhi Mitchell - Sr., 6'9", 230 lbs.
2022-23 Stats per game: 20.3 min, 7.1 points, 5.7 rebounds, 1.0 assists, 0.9 steals, 1.0 turnovers, 1.4 blocks, 64.5 fg%, 100.0 3fg%
#22 - F Makhel Mitchell - Sr., 6'10", 240 lbs.
2022-23 Stats per game: 13.4 min, 4.06points, 3.4 rebounds, 0.4 assists, 0.5 steals, 0.5 turnovers, 1.7 blocks, 66.0 fg%
Mississippi State
#10 - G Dashawn Davis - Sr., 6'2", 195 lbs.
2022 Stats per game: 28.7 min, 7.9 points, 2.0 rebounds, 3.5 assists, 1.7 steals, 2.0 turnovers, 37.4 fg%, 39.0 3fg%
#3 - G Shakeel Moore - Jr., 6'1", 190 lbs.
2022 Stats per game: 23.9 min, 9.0 points, 3.0 rebounds, 2.1 assists, 2.1 steals, 1.7 turnovers, 0.2 blocks, 41.0 fg%, 27.1 3fg%
#0 - F DJ Jefferies - Sr., 6'7", 215 lbs.
2022 Stats per game: 30.6 min, 9.2 points, 6.1 rebounds, 1.8 assists, 1.3 steals, 1.4 turnovers, 0.5 blocks, 33.6 fg%, 28.0 3fg%
#4 - F Cameron Matthews - Jr., 6'7", 225 lbs.
2022 Stats per game: 25.6 min, 6.8 points, 5.3 rebounds, 2.1 assists, 1.7 steals, 1.4 turnovers, 0.8 blocks, 46.9 fg%, 14.3 3fg%
#1 - F Tolu Smith - R-Sr., 6'11”, 245 lbs.
2022 Stats per game: 26.2 min, 14.7 points, 8.3 rebounds, 1.8 assists, 0.5 steals, 2.4 turnovers, 0.8 blocks, 58.4 fg%
Vegas odds:
Vegas: Arkansas is a 7-point favorite (BetSaracen)
ESPN: Arkansas has 78.5% chance to win
Headlines
Nick Smith Jr. returns to practice for Arkansas
Scouting Report: Analyzing Arkansas vs Mississippi State
WATCH: Musselman talks Nick Smith Jr., Mississippi State, horses
(some information courtesy of Arkansas and Mississippi State Communications)