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FAYETTEVILLE — The roster makeup of Arkansas and Missouri couldn’t be more different, with Eric Musselman describing the groups as “polar opposites.”
While the Razorbacks overhauled their team with an influx of talent, via the transfer portal and recruiting, the Tigers have almost their entire team back. Missouri returned its top seven scorers from a year ago and 87.6 percent of its total offensive production, compared to just 15.3 percent for Arkansas.
Both routes seem to be working early on, as the teams that tied for 10th in the SEC standings at 7-11 last year are among the most impressive teams in the conference so far.
The Razorbacks are 9-0 for the first time in 27 years, with their most recent win being an impressive 12-point victory at Auburn, while the Tigers’ veteran group picked up non-conference wins over Oregon, Wichita State and Illinois to vault into the AP rankings at No. 12.
Although Missouri lost its SEC opener against Tennessee by 20 points on Wednesday, Musselman said he anticipates a tough game when it visits Bud Walton Arena at 11 a.m. CT Saturday for a game that will be televised on CBS.
“Missouri is a really, really good team,” Musselman said. “I know they’re really, really well coached. I know they’re tough-minded. They believe in their coach and they’re really experienced, so it makes them really dangerous.”
One of the keys to Missouri’s 6-1 start - after going 15-16 last season - has been getting Mark Smith and Jeremiah Tilmon at full strength, as both missed time last year because of injuries.
Smith is the Tigers’ second-leading scorer at 12.7 points per game, while Tilmon is contributing 8.3 points and a team-high 7.3 rebounds. Another big part of Missouri’s success has been Xavier Pinson, who leads the team in scoring (13.9 ppg) and assists (3.1 apg).
“From a defensive standpoint we’ve got to have great transition defense,” Musselman said. “We’ve got to locate Pinson when he’s got the basketball in transition.
“We’ve got to get to Mark Smith at the three-point line. We can’t let Tilmon get deep post position. We can’t give him an angle to score inside.”
Musselman also said Dru Smith is a “catalyst” on both ends of the floor. Not only is he averaging 12.1 points, but he has a team-high 14 steals, as well.
As for the Razorbacks, they might be down a starter for the showdown with the Tigers. Justin Smith, Arkansas’ athletic 6-foot-7 graduate transfer from Indiana, suffered an ankle injury in the win at Auburn and is questionable for Saturday’s game.
Smith would be a critical loss for the Razorbacks, as he’s started all nine games and is second on the team in rebounding, averaging 7.1 per game. He also has a team-high 31 offensive rebounds.
However, with nine different players who have scored in double figures so far this season, Arkansas has more depth to sustain such an injury if need be.
“We’re playing a ranked team in the top 15 on CBS national television - this is a big game,” Musselman said. “You certainly want to try to have everybody available, but if you don’t, you play with what you’ve got.”
