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The Arkansas Razorbacks hit a brief pause on their latest surge in SEC play to rep for the conference versus Oklahoma State Saturday in the SEC/Big12 Challenge. Sitting at 13-4, the Hogs travel to Stillwater riding a 3-game win streak.
Arkansas has faced Oklahoma State twice already in the SEC/Big12 Challenge but this year's matchup will have its own unique intrigue. Facing off for the first time since leaving Montverde together as teammates (and roommates), Cade Cunningham and Moses Moody will have all eyes on them for the midday tipoff.
The two former Rivals top 100 prospects both lead their teams in scoring and are top four in the nation amongst freshmen in scoring.
Cunningham was the No. 1 prospect in the nation coming out of high school and is now also a top-5 NBA draft prospect, averaging 17.8 points per game, 6.2 rebounds and 3.7 assists.
"His court vision, his strength, his size, his ability to shoot the 3-ball," Musselman said Thursday rattling off Cunningham's advantages. "His post-up game. He’s one of the great passers in transition to get the ball to people."
The former 5-star missed the last two games for the Pokes due to COVID-19 protocols and head coach Mike Boynton told the media that he's cleared to play for Saturday.
Moody may not directly guard Cunningham but it's certainly an option after the two spent two years going at each other at one of the nation's premier college prep programs. The young stars were so close at Montverde that their beds almost touched during their junior year at the boarding school.
"The Cade I’ve been playing with is more get other people involved first, because he was the point guard and not needed as the No. 1 scorer all the time and this and that," Moody said, down-playing the potential lotto-pick matchup. "It’s a cool matchup to have, a great game to have on the schedule. But when it comes down to it, we’re in college now. It’s not AAU basketball when it’s the two players matched up, going one on one. It’s more organized. It’s more about the win than the matchup.”
No one man can take down the Razorbacks alone, so the Hogs are focused on a lot more than Cunningham heading into the matchup. The Pokes have just two scoring more than 10 points a game but five more who score 8+ a piece. Cunningham, freshman Rondel Walker and senior Bryce Williams all shoot above 35% from behind the arc and they shoot a lot.
"They’re long, they’re athletic," Musselman said of the Pokes. "They pound the offensive glass. They get loose balls. They create offense through their defense. Really unique matchup-wise with 13 (Isaac) Likekele and Cunningham, No. 2. They’re their two best passers and you look at 13, he leads the team in assists and rebounds. That just doesn’t happen very often."
Oklahoma State is 10-4 and they enter the game with a distinct leg up. The Pokes haven't played since their win over Iowa State on the 25th, giving them much longer to prepare for the Hogs.
Meanwhile, several Arkansas players were banged up in Wednesday's win over Ole Miss but Justin Smith (ankle), Desi Sills (general) and Jalen Tate (mouth) are good to go for Saturday regardless.
The Hogs are ranked better than Oklahoma State in every major ranking, but the Pokes received 49 AP votes this week to Arkansas's zero.
The SEC has only won the SEC/Big12 Challenge once, in 2018. One game of the challenge has already been cancelled with the Kentucky Wildcats bowing out against Texas due to COVID-19 protocols.
Tipoff is slated for 3 p.m. on ESPN2.
