How to watch to Arkansas-South Carolina, projected lineups, more
The Arkansas Razorbacks (15-7, 4-5 SEC) have a prime opportunity to get their first road victory of the year Saturday at the South Carolina Gamecocks (8-14, 1-8).
Arkansas enters the matchup with an 0-5 record in road games this season, while the Gamecocks are 0-5 in SEC play on their home court inside Colonial Life Arena.
South Carolina ranks dead last in the SEC in four categories — scoring offense, assists, field goal percentage and steals. Even though everything points towards an easy Arkansas win, the Hogs sure aren't overlooking the Gamecocks.
"Every game takes on its own theme," head coach Eric Musselman said. "It’s really hard to win on the road. They’re desperate to win at home, we’re desperate to win on the road. It’s a team that beat Clemson, who has been a ranked team. It’s a team that beat Kentucky. They have a young superstar, so they’re going to beat ranked teams like a Clemson."
The young star he is referring to is freshman forward Gregory "GG" Jackson II, who is averaging 16.1 points and 6.6 rebounds per game. Arkansas freshman point guard Anthony Black played with Jackson on the 2022 USA Basketball Men's U18 National Team that competed at the 2022 FIBA U18 Americas Championship in Tijuana, Mexico, last June.
"Me and GG, we talk every now and then," Black said. "The thing about him is he is super tall and long and has a guard-like skillset. He's pretty young. So, he's just a special talent, and he's a good kid, too. He was cool to be around."
While Jackson has been one of the lone bright spots for the Gamecocks, Arkansas' Mitchell twins have been two of many bright spots for the Hogs. Makhi and Makhel combined for a triple-double in Tuesday's 81-70 win over Texas A&M, and Makhel had seven blocks in the contest.
"Their attitude and their perseverance and their ability to come in every single day and work regardless of what happened the night before is certainly what you want as a competitor," Musselman said of the Mitchell twins. "You want that player to come in and be competitive enough that they're going to try to continue to work and earn their minutes, which those two guys have done the entire season since they stepped on campus."
A win for Arkansas would be its fourth straight in SEC play, and it would give the Hogs a .500 record (5-5) in the conference after a 1-5 start. A loss would mark the Razorbacks' first Quadrant 4 defeat of the season, as the Gamecocks own a NET ranking of 284th.
Here are details on how to watch/listen, notes, projected lineups, stats, odds and more for Saturday's game between Arkansas and South Carolina:
Notes
~ Arkansas and South Carolina have met on 37 previous occasions, all coming since the Gamecocks joined the SEC the same year the Razorbacks did (1991-92). Arkansas owns a 22-15 advantage in the series, but South Carolina leads 8-7 in games played in Columbia.
~ On Feb. 9, 2019, Arkansas (Mason Jones) made a 3-pointer for the 1,000th consecutive game versus South Carolina at Colonial Life Arena. At the time, only five other teams had streaks of at least 1,000 consecutive games with a 3-pointer made (UNLV, Duke, Vanderbilt, Kentucky and Western Kentucky).
~ Last year in Fayetteville, Arkansas went 0-of-11 from 3-point range against South Carolina to snap a streak of 1,092 games with a 3-pointer made - dating back to Jan. 7, 1989. It was the third-longest such streak in the NCAA at the time behind UNLV and Duke.
~ In the first 4 SEC games, Arkansas was just 14-of-72 (19.4%) from three. In the last 6 games, the Hogs have made 35-of-94 (37.2%) from deep.
~ Over the last four games, Arkansas is holding opponents to just 58.5 points and 34% shooting from the field.
How to Watch/Listen
Who: Arkansas Razorbacks (15-7, 4-5 SEC) at South Carolina Gamecocks (8-14, 1-8 SEC)
When: Saturday, Feb. 4 at 2:30 p.m. CT
Where: Columbia, S.C. – Colonial Life Arena (18,000)
Television: SEC Network (Roy Philpott, Mark Wise)
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: 34.1 min, 12.5 points, 5.3 rebounds, 4.0 assists, 1.8 steals, 3.1 turnovers, 0.5 blocks, 44.9 fg%, 32.3 3fg%
#1 - G Ricky Council IV - Jr., 6'6", 205 lbs.
2022-23 Stats per game: 35.1 min, 17.3 points, 3.2 rebounds, 2.4 assists, 1.5 steals, 2.5 turnovers, 0.2 blocks, 46.0 fg%, 27.9 3fg%
#4 - G Davonte Davis - Jr., 6'4", 185 lbs.
2022-23 Stats per game: 32.8 min, 10.9 points, 4.2 rebounds, 2.9 assists, 1.3 steals, 2.1 turnovers, 0.1 blocks, 41.0 fg%, 31.1 3fg%
#15 - F Makhi Mitchell - Sr., 6'9", 230 lbs.
2022-23 Stats per game: 21.1 min, 7.5 points, 5.8 rebounds, 1.1 assists, 1.0 steals, 1.1 turnovers, 1.4 blocks, 64.6 fg%, 100.0 3fg%
#22 - F Makhel Mitchell - Sr., 6'10", 240 lbs.
2022-23 Stats per game: 12.1 min, 3.9 points, 3.4 rebounds, 0.5 assists, 0.6 steals, 0.6 turnovers, 1.6 blocks, 66.7 fg%
South Carolina
#5 - G Meechie Johnson - So., 6'2", 180 lbs.
2022 Stats per game: 32.8 min, 11.9 points, 4.0 rebounds, 3.3 assists, 0.8 steals, 2.7 turnovers, 0.1 blocks, 34.2 fg%, 30.8 3fg%
#2 - G Chico Carter Jr. - Sr., 6'3”, 192 lbs.
2022 Stats per game: 31.1 min, 10.5 points, 1.9 rebounds, 1.5 assists, 0.7 steals, 1.4 turnovers, 49.1 fg%, 48.9 3fg%
#10 - F Hayden Brown - Gr-Sr., 6'5", 234 lbs.
2022 Stats per game: 28.7 min, 10.6 points, 4.9 rebounds, 1.0 assists, 1.0 steals, 2.0 turnovers, 0.5 blocks, 42.9 fg%, 23.3 3fg%
#23 - F Gregory "GG" Jackson II - Fr., 6'9", 215 lbs.
2022 Stats per game: 33.0 min, 16.1 points, 6.6 rebounds, 0.9 assists, 1.0 steals, 2.7 turnovers, 0.8 blocks, 38.5 fg%, 32.8 3fg%
#33 - F Josh Gray - Jr., 7'0", 255 lbs.
2022 Stats per game: 13.9 min, 3.4 points, 4.9 rebounds, 0.4 assists, 0.2 steals, 0.8 turnovers, 0.9 blocks, 50.8 fg%
Vegas odds:
Vegas: Arkansas is a -14.5-point favorite (BetSaracen)
ESPN: Arkansas has 93.9% chance to win
Headlines
Hardwood Hawgs Podcast: Has Musselman turned things around again?
WATCH: Eric Musselman, Anthony Black preview South Carolina game
(some information courtesy of Arkansas and South Carolina Communications)