The Arkansas Razorbacks (14-8, 3-6 SEC) are looking to extend their winning streak against the No. 3 Alabama Crimson Tide (19-3, 8-1 SEC) on Saturday at Bud Walton Arena.
Led by sixth-year head coach Nate Oats, the Crimson Tide are off to a stellar start to SEC play in the 2024-25 season. So far, Alabama owns wins over Oklahoma, South Carolina, Texas A&M, Kentucky, Vanderbilt, LSU, Mississippi State and Georgia, with its only loss coming to Ole Miss.
In non-conference play, Alabama lost close matchups against Purdue and Oregon but defeated Illinois, Houston, Rutgers, North Carolina, Creighton and others.
Arkansas validated its upset win over Kentucky with another road victory over Texas, with Johnell Davis (24 points), Adou Thiero (14 points) and Big Z (nine points, 12 rebounds) leading the way.
In their last two contests, the Razorbacks shot a combined 54-of-108 (50.0%) from the field and 20-of-42 (47.6%) from beyond the arc.
"So, we’re kind of settled in right now with what we have, the eight guys that are playing," Coleman said. "Coach Cal has done an unbelievable job with changing our style of play, right. Our style of play is a little different now because this is a different team."
A key storyline to watch in this game is the clashing of play styles between both programs. Alabama thrives on a fast-pace offense that gets shots up, whereas Arkansas has found success slowing things down playing a half-court game.
"I like to call it NASCAR, Formula One offense the way that (Alabama) moves," Coleman said. "Quick ins. Whoever’s closest to the ball, whether it’s a guard, whether it’s a big, gets it out and gets it up quick on mades and/or misses. Very similar to Michigan in a way when we played them. Michigan was playing at a breakneck pace. And so by understanding that transition defense is going to be a premium.
"Now, the thing for us though with transition defense, we’ve got to throw some punches like we’ve been doing the last few games and they’ve got to get the ball out of the net instead of missing shots or live-ball turnovers and keep them out of transition."
Here's a closer comparison of Arkansas' and Alabama's stats, efficiency ratings, projected lineup for the Crimson Tide and more ahead of Saturday's game, which is set to tip off at 7:30 p.m. CT on ESPN:
