The Arkansas Razorbacks (16-11, 5-9 SEC) will rematch the Texas Longhorns (16-11, 5-9 SEC) on Wednesday evening at Bud Walton Arena.
Led by third-year head coach Rodney Terry, the Longhorns were defeated by the Hogs, 78-70, on Feb. 5 at the Moody Center. Texas has accumulated a 1-3 record since then, with the lone victory coming over Kentucky.
"(The Longhorns have) changed their lineup up a little bit the last few games," assistant coach Chuck Martin said Tuesday. "Point Guard, they kind of flipped the kid that was coming off the bench is now starting. So, they're playing the same way in some ways. Obviously, [Tramon] Mark is a guy that, when he plays well, they have a tendency to win.
"[Tre] Johnson is one of the better guards in the SEC, one of the better guards in the country. When he gets going, he's a handful. So, they're trying to get the ball to those two guys and give them opportunities to score the ball at a high percentage."
Arkansas is coming off a home upset over the then-No. 15 Missouri Tigers, as five Razorbacks scored in double figures with big man Zvonimir Ivisic leading the charge (20 points). Freshman wing Karter Knox — who's shooting 64.5% from three and 78.1% from the field in his last four games — scored 14 points on 5-of-7 shooting against the Tigers.
Another major contributor was Adou Thiero (11 points), who suffered a back injury late in the second half.
"(Thiero has) been taking it day by day, taking it slowly," Martin said. "Trying to make sure that we put him in the best possible position to continue to improve."
Texas last played SEC dungeon-dweller South Carolina on the road Saturday. Despite the Gamecocks being 0-12 in the SEC at the time, they stood firm on their own home court to defeat the Longhorns, 84-69. The only Burnt Orange player to score double figures was freshman guard Tre Johnson, who finished with 29 points.
Johnson also scored 25 points against the Razorbacks when the teams last played, but he did so on 6-of-22 shooting.
"(Johnson is) a good player, man," Martin said. "He’s dangerous. He’s super talented. He can score the ball against anyone in the country. We just don’t want to give him any open looks. We want to identify him in transition. We want to be all over him on OB side-outs, half court actions that they run.
"If he makes tough shots, then we’ll live with the tough shots as long as we’re defending the way we’re capable and forcing him, as well as the other guys on the team at Texas, to take tough shots."
Here's a closer comparison of Arkansas' and Texas' stats, efficiency ratings, projected lineup for the Longhorns and more ahead of Wednesday's game, which is set to tip off at 8 p.m. CT on ESPN2:
