BEVO BEAT Men's Basketball
Men’s preview: Texas vs. Arkansas
Posted December 16th, 2016
Time: 1:30 p.m. Saturday
Where: Toyota Center (capacity 18,055)
TV/Radio: ESPNU/104.9 FM The Horn
Series history: Arkansas leads the all-time series 86-67. The two teams met annually during the Southwest Conference era. However, they have not played each other since Texas won 79-46 on Jan. 4, 2011, in Austin.
| TEXAS (5-4 overall) | |||||||
| No. | Pos. | Player | Class | Ht. | Wt. | PPG | RPG |
| 12 | G | Kerwin Roach Jr. | Soph. | 6-4 | 175 | 11.3 | 3.0* |
| 1 | G | Andrew Jones | Fr. | 6-4 | 190 | 8.3 | 3.7 |
| 0 | G/F | Tevin Mack | Soph. | 6-7 | 220 | 15.5 | 4.3 |
| 31 | F | Jarrett Allen | Fr. | 6-11 | 235 | 9.3 | 6.3 |
| 32 | F | Shaq Cleare | Sr. | 6-8 | 275 | 6.0 | 4.7 |
| Coach: Shaka Smart (25-17, 2nd season at Texas; 188-73, 8th season overall) | |||||||
| *-indicates assists per game | |||||||
About the Longhorns: From a historical perspective, neutral-site games weren’t always to Texas’ advantage in this series. The Razorbacks have a decided 16-3 edge in that department, the majority of which coming in the old Southwest Conference tournament. Arkansas also has a 5-1 all-time edge in games played in Houston. … Tevin Mack and Kerwin Roach Jr. are putting up solid numbers, but the Horns could use more production inside from F Jarrett Allen. Teams have clamped down with double teams when the ball goes inside, forcing UT’s big men to throw it back out. … This is Texas’ first trip to the Toyota Center since Dec. 20, 2008, a 67-63 loss to No. 19 Michigan State. The Horns are 3-1 at the home of the NBA’s Houston Rockets.
| ARKANSAS (8-1 overall) | |||||||
| No. | Pos. | Player | Class | Ht. | Wt. | PPG | RPG |
| 0 | G | Jaylen Barford | Jr. | 6-3 | 202 | 10.8 | 3.3 |
| 4 | G | Daryl Macon | Jr. | 6-3 | 185 | 11.6 | 2.9* |
| 21 | G | Manuale Watkins | Sr. | 6-3 | 222 | 6.4 | 4.2 |
| 13 | F | Dustin Thomas | Jr. | 6-8 | 225 | 8.1 | 4.2 |
| 33 | F | Moses Kingsley | Sr. | 6-10 | 230 | 11.1 | 8.2 |
| Coach: Mike Anderson (110-65, 6th season at Arkansas; 310-163, 15th season overall) | |||||||
| *-indicates assists per game | |||||||
About the Razorbacks: This isn’t the Arkansas of old. The program hasn’t been in the Associated Press Top 15 rankings since 2000. In today’s social-media driven society, Arkansas doesn’t call its defense “40 minutes of hell” like the old days, either. Now, it’s dubbed the #Fastest40. Coach Mike Anderson’s club has scored more than 20 fast-break points in four of nine games this season. … F Moses Kingsley has 26 blocks and 64 deflections this season. Later this season, he should become the 40th player in school history with 1,000 career points. … The Hogs are 27-2 in the last five years under Anderson when the opponent turns the ball over 20 times. … G Dusty Hannah has made 25 consecutive free throws and hit 55 of 59 in his last 12 games.
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