How to watch to Arkansas-Vanderbilt, projected lineups, more
No. 15 Arkansas will hit the road for the third time since conference play began with a trip to Nashville, Tenn., Saturday to face the Vanderbilt Commodores at Memorial Gymnasium.
Both teams have dropped their past two games to ranked teams. Arkansas lost to No. 21 Auburn last Saturday and No. 4 Alabama on Wednesday, while the Commodores fell at No. 20 Missouri last Saturday and at No. 5 Tennessee on Tuesday.
The Razorbacks have struggled to score since SEC play started, while the Commodores are scoring above their season average in conference play so far. While Arkansas is the favorite for Saturday's matchup on paper, the SEC is a grind no matter who you're playing.
Following Wednesday's 84-69 loss to the Crimson Tide that put the Hogs at 1-3 in conference play, head coach Eric Musselman said his team has a long way to go.
"How we claw out of this is… We have a much more uphill battle than we did the last two years, I know that for sure," Musselman said. "Much, much more uphill battle. There’s no doubt about it."
Arkansas did go with a new starting lineup against Alabama by throwing Rhode Island transfer Makhel Mitchell in the starting five and bringing Ricky Council IV off the bench. Though the Hogs lost by 15, the change in the starters was something that seemed to work.
"I thought it worked out well," Musselman said. "They (had) a really big front line, so that was a little bit of the reason. What we’ll do at Vanderbilt I have no idea right now. I mean, there’s a lot of stuff that I’m still trying to solve and search, if there’s something there, to try to figure out. We’re trying."
The Commodores boast a 6-3 home record this season, while the Hogs are 0-2 on the road, both losses coming at LSU and at Auburn. Saturday's game marks the start of a two-game road stretch for the Razorbacks, who will travel to Columbia, Mo., to take on Missouri next Wednesday.
Here are details on how to watch/listen, notes, projected lineups, stats, odds and more for Saturday's game between Arkansas and Vanderbilt:
Notes
~ This will be the 53rd meeting between Arkansas and Vanderbilt. All but 12 have come since Arkansas joined the SEC. The Razorbacks own a 39-13 advantage in the series, including a 28-12 margin in SEC meetings.
~ Arkansas is 8-8 versus the Commodores in Memorial Gym, including an 8-7 mark in SEC games. While Vanderbilt won last year’s meeting in Bud Walton Arena, Arkansas has won 11 of the last 13 games.
~ In an SEC scheduling quirk, Arkansas is playing at Vanderbilt for just the fourth time since 2014-15 (12 meetings). Over the last 12 meetings with the Commodores, seven have been at Bud Walton Arena, three have been at Vandy’s Memorial Gym and two have been in Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena for the SEC Tournament.
~ Arkansas’ first four SEC opponents (LSU, Missouri, Auburn and Alabama) have each won at least 12 games and won a combined 52-10. That represents the best four-team aggregate win total any team has faced to date.
How to Watch/Listen
Who: No. 15 Arkansas Razorbacks (12-4, 1-3 SEC) at Vanderbilt Commodores (8-8, 1-20 SEC)
When: Saturday – Jan. 14 – 1:00 pm (CT)
Where: Nashville, Tenn. – Memorial Gymnasium / Ingram Court
Television: ESPNU (Kevin Fitzgerald and Carolyn Peck)
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: 33.9 min, 12.0 points, 5.1 rebounds, 3.6 assists, 1.6 steals, 3.0 turnovers, 0.6 blocks, 45.9 fg%, 30.4 3fg%
#4 - G Davonte Davis - Jr., 6'4", 185 lbs.
2022-23 Stats per game: 30.9 min, 8.4 points, 4.1 rebounds, 2.6 assists, 1.5 steals, 1.5 turnovers, 0.2 blocks, 35.3 fg%, 21.4 3fg%
#1 - G Ricky Gouncil IV - Jr., 6'6", 205 lbs.
2022-23 Stats per game: 35.4 min, 17.9 points, 3.1 rebounds, 2.4 assists, 1.5 steals, 2.6 turnovers, 0.3 blocks, 46.7 fg%, 28.8 3fg%
#13 - G/F Jordan Walsh - Fr., 6'7", 205 lbs.
2022-23 Stats per game: 23.9 min, 7.4 points, 3.9 rebounds, 1.2 assists, 1.2 steals, 1.0 turnovers, 0.5 blocks, 45.5 fg%, 24.3 3fg%
#15 - F Makhi Mitchell - Sr., 6'9", 230 lbs.
2022-23 Stats per game: 20.3 min, 7.6 points, 5.6 rebounds, 1.2 assists, 1.2 steals, 1.1 turnovers, 1.4 blocks, 65.0 fg%
Vanderbilt
#12 - G Trey Thomas - Jr., 6'0", 160 lbs.
2022 Stats per game: 23.0 min, 6.5 points, 1.7 rebounds, 1.4 assists, 0.5 steals, 1.0 turnovers, 0.2 blocks, 34.2 fg%, 33.3 3fg%
#0 - G Tryin Lawrence - Jr., 6'4", 200 lbs.
2022 Stats per game: 25.4 min, 9.6 points, 3.3 rebounds, 1.7 assists, 0.9 steals, 1.9 turnovers, 0.1 blocks, 48.2 fg%, 27.8 3fg%
#10 - F Myles Stute - Jr., 6'7", 215 lbs.
2022 Stats per game: 27.9 min, 10.1 points, 5.5 rebounds, 0.5 assists, 0.6 steals, 1.8 turnovers, 0.1 blocks, 41.0 fg%, 43.3 3fg%
#1 - F Colin Smith - Fr., 6'8", 215 lbs.
2022 Stats per game: 16.7 min, 4.5 points, 3.4 rebounds, 1.0 assists, 0.2 steals, 0.6 turnovers, 0.1 blocks, 32.8 fg%, 31.0 3fg%
#42 - F Quentin Millora-Brown - 5th-Sr., 6'10”, 245 lbs.
2022 Stats per game: 16.0 min, 3.5 points, 3.5 rebounds, 0.7 assists, 0.4 steals, 0.6 turnovers, 0.5 blocks, 51.2 fg%
Vegas odds:
Vegas: Arkansas is a -5.5-point favorite (BetSaracen)
ESPN: Arkansas has 69.3% chance to win
Headlines
(some information courtesy of Arkansas and Vanderbilt Communications)