What to Know: Arkansas vs UT Tyler
The 2023-24 Arkansas basketball team will get its first shot at action against an outside opponent Friday evening in an exhibition against UT Tyler at Bud Walton Arena in Fayetteville.
While the exhibition will not be televised, streamed or broadcast on the radio, general admission tickets are available for just $10.
"We've been grinding all summer, competing against each other, going hard every day," Southern Mississippi transfer Denijay Harris said Thursday. "It's going to feel good to play somebody else. You enjoy competing against your teammates, but this is a new opponent. We're prepared and ready."
Led by senior guard Davonte "Devo" Davis and redshirt sophomore forward Trevon Brazile, the Razorbacks are once again a roster with plenty of new faces. Seven transfers and two freshmen have combined with five returning scholarship players to build a roster that will be looking to reach a fourth straight Sweet Sixteen and beyond.
This will mark the seventh preseason exhibition Arkansas has played under fifth-year head coach Eric Musselman. The Razorbacks are 5-1 in the previous six games, with the lone loss being a 90-60 defeat at Texas on Oct. 29, 2022.
"In his eyes, every game is the same, so he is going to coach as hard against any team that he will against any other team," sophomore guard Joseph Pinion said of Musselman. "He’s going to coach hard. He’s going to be intense. He’s going to be really into the game. He might get a technical, but it just shows his passion for the game."
Last season, the Hogs earned an 83-49 win over Rogers State in their first exhibition and then they suffered the Texas loss five days later. Joseph Pinion was the team’s leading scorer with 15 points off the bench (making 4-of-6 from 3-point) and Trevon Brazile was second on the team with 11 points against Rogers State.
Tipoff against UT Tyler is set for 6:30 p.m. CT Friday evening at Bud Walton Arena. As a reminder, the game will not be televised, but you can stay up to date with all of the latest on The Trough premium message board.
Notes
~ BetSaracen is offering a special bet with Arkansas as a 41.5-point favorite over UT Tyler.
~ This will be the first meeting between Arkansas and UT Tyler.
~ Arkansas had a streak of 35 straight exhibition wins prior to that loss. The Hogs are 71-10 all-time in exhibition games. The last home exhibition loss was Nov. 14, 2003, when they suffered a 76-71 setback against the EA Sports Midwest All-Stars.
~ Ranked No. 14 in the Associated Press preseason Top 25 poll, the Razorbacks will also host No. 3 Purdue on Saturday, Oct. 28, for a charity exhibition at Bud Walton Arena.
~ The UT Tyler Patriots are a Division II program in the Lone Star Conference, the same league as in-state program UA-Fort Smith.
~ Last year, the Patriots went 9-17 (5-17) and lost their last eight games of the regular season. Led by first-year head coach Tim Moser, UT Tyler only returns one player from last year's squad in senior guard Terrell Wilson, who averaged 7.7 points in 21 games.
~ Much like Musselman at Arkansas, the Patriots made some key Division I offseason additions from the transfer portal. Those include senior guard Ryan Zambie (Lafayette), senior guard Jonathan Jackson (Liberty), junior big man Kenayo Frederick (UT Arlington) and sophomore guard Nikolas Gustavson (North Alabama).
For Lafeyette, Zambie averaged 2.0 points, 1.1 rebounds and 0.5 assists in three seasons. Jackson averaged 1.8 points, 0.4 rebounds and 0.2 assists in three seasons for Liberty and shot 35.9% from three. In his lone year with North Alabama, Gustavson averaged 3.0 points, 2.0 rebounds and 1.0 assists. Frederick did not record any statistics with UT Arlington.
Arkansas Roster:
#0 - G Khalif Battle - GRAD-SR, 6'5", 185 lbs.
2022 stats (Temple): 32.2 MIN, 17.9 PTS, 3.6 REB, 1.8 AST, 155-378 FG (40.6%), 77-220 3PT (35.0%), 97-108 FT (89.8%)
#1 - G Keyon Menifield Jr. (2023-24 redshirt) - SO, 6'1", 150 lbs.
2022 stats (Washington): 28.7 MIN, 10.0 PTS, 2.9 REB, 3.1 AST, 121-295 FG (41.0%), 35-106 3PT (33.0%), 44-63 FT (69.8%)
#2 - F Trevon Brazile - R-SO, 6'10", 220 lbs.
2022 stats: 27.1 MIN, 11.8 PTS, 6.0 REB, 1.0 AST, 37-77 FG (48.1%), 11-29 3PT (37.9%), 21-31 FT (67.7%)
#3 - G El Ellis - GRAD-SR, 6'3", 180 lbs.
2022 stats (Louisville): 36.0 MIN, 17.7 PTS, 2.6 REB, 4.4 AST, 189-461 FG (41.0%), 59-185 3PT (31.9%), 128-158 FT (81.0%)
#4 - G Davonte Davis - SR, 6'4", 185 lbs.
2022 stats: 33.1 MIN, 10.9 PTS, 4.4 REB, 2.5 AST, 144-347 FG (41.5%), 47-136 3PT (34.6%), 46-64 FT (71.9%)
#5 - G Joseph Pinion - SO, 6'5", 195 lbs.
2022 stats: 5.7 MIN, 2.4 PTS, 0.6 REB, 0.1 AST, 21-47 FG (44.7%), 13-34 3PT (38.2%), 7-7 FT (100%)
#6 - G Layden Blocker - FR, 6'2", 175 lbs.
HS Rankings: Four-star, #24 OVR, #7 PG
#7 - F Denijay Harris - GRAD-SR, 6'7", 200 lbs.
2022 stats (Southen Miss): 24.1 MIN, 8.9 PTS, 5.6 REB, 0.6 AST, 105-186 FG (56.5%), 0-1 3PT (0%), 40-59 FT (67.8%)
#8 - F Chandler Lawson - GRAD-SR, 6'8", 210 lbs.
2022 stats (Memphis): 19.5 MIN, 5.0 PTS, 4.5 REB, 0.8 AST, 68-120 FG (56.7%), 7-14 3PT (50%), 32-52 FT (61.5%)
#10 - F Baye Fall - FR, 6'11", 200 lbs.
HS Rankings: Four-star, #36 OVR, #4 C
#11 - F Jalen Graham - 5th YR SR, 6'10", 220 lbs.
2022 stats: 9.4 MIN, 5.2 PTS, 2.3 REB, 0.5 AST, 74-113 FG (65.5%), 0-3 3PT (0%), 13-35 FT (37.1%)
#12 - G Tramon Mark - JR, 6'6", 185 lbs.
2022 stats (Houston): 29.4 MIN, 10.1 PTS, 4.9 REB, 1.8 AST, 128-328 FG (39.0%), 39-119 3PT (32.8%), 80-102 FT (78.4%)
#15 - F Makhi Mitchell - 5th YR SR, 6'10", 240 lbs.
2022 stats: 20.1 MIN, 7.0 PTS, 5.3 REB, 1.1 AST, 104-157 FG (66.2%), 1-1 3PT (100%), 43-66 FT (65.2%)
#21 - G Cade Arbogast - GRAD-SR, 6'3", 175 lbs.
2022 stats: 1.3 MIN, 0.3 PTS, 0.1 REB, 0.0 AST, 1-4 FG (25%), 1-4 3PT (25%), 0-0 FT
#24 - G Jeremiah Davenport - GRAD-SR, 6'6", 215 lbs.
2022 stats (Cincinnati): 25.6 MIN, 9.1 PTS, 4.2 REB, 1.5 AST, 105-299 FG (35.1%), 72-218 3PT (33.0%), 44-53 FT (83.0%)
#45 - F Lawson Blake - JR, 6'10", 240 lbs.
2022 stats: 1.3 MIN, 0.3 PTS, 0.4 REB, 0.0 AST, 1-4 FG (25%), 0-0 3PT, 1-3 FT (33.3%)
UT Tyler Roster
#0 - G Bryce Roberts - JR, 6'1", 180 lbs.
#1 - F David Ayala - JR, 6'7", 210 lbs.
#2 - G Ryan Zambie - GRAD-SR, 6'3", 195 lbs.
#3 - G Ikechi Chantilou - JR, 6'3", 170 lbs.
#4 - F David Vuckovic - FR, 6'9", 215 lbs.
#5 - G John Barbee - JR, 6'3", 185 lbs.
#6 - F Alec Zambie - JR, 6'6", 200 lbs.
#10 - G Terrell Wilson - R-SR, 5'11", 185 lbs.
#11 - G Jonathan Jackson - GRAD-SR, 6'4", 205 lbs.
#12 - G Khalik Gardner - FR, 6'2", 185 lbs.
#13 - G Donta Dawson Jr. - JR, 6'4", 210 lbs.
#14 - F Jesse Fuller - FR, 6'6", 195 lbs.
#15 - F Juan Pablo Camargo - JR, 6'9", 220 lbs.
#20 - F Kenayo Frederick - JR, 7'0", 220 lbs.
#21 - G Nikolas Gustavson - R-SO, 6'5", 210 lbs.
#22 - G Michel Loftin - R-FR, 6'2", 185 lbs.
#23 - F Andre Skelin - FR, 6'8", 225 lbs.
#24 - G Mate Kapanadze - FR, 6'1", 185 lbs.
#32 - G Lathan Wigington - R-FR, 5'9", 160 lbs.
#33 - G Ryan Swan - JR, 6'3", 195 lbs.
G Aiden Schnurr - FR, 6'1", 180 lbs.