Arkansas basketball begins a two-game road swing Saturday against Mississippi State. Tipoff is set for 1 p.m. on ESPNU.
The Razorbacks are fresh off a home beatdown vs. top-10 Tennessee. Another loss would put the Razorbacks, who are 7-23 all-time on the road against Mississippi State, under .500 for the first time since February 2016.
Meanwhile, Chris Jans’ Bulldogs have won back-to back games against Georgia and Missouri, and are coming off a mid-week bye. They are 16-8 this season and 5-6 in league games.
Curtis Wilkerson and Scottie Bordelon are back with several things they’ll be watching for when Arkansas meets Mississippi State in The Hump. This is the 4-Point Play:
• How much pride is left in the Hogs?
After their fifth loss by more than 20 points through 11 SEC games, it is fair to wonder if the Razorbacks are nearing the point of completely letting go of the rope this season.
At 12-12 overall and 3-8 within the league, Arkansas has effectively eliminated itself from any NCAA Tournament hopes outside of a highly improbable run at the SEC Tournament next month.
Mississippi State is currently on the right side of the bubble but still has work to do to secure an at-large bid. Taking a Quadrant 3 home loss to Arkansas is not an advisable outcome for the Bulldogs this weekend.
But what do the Hogs have to play for? The answer is simple: Pride.
Can a team that has tucked its tail at adversity all season respond in a hostile environment it has had little success in in the past? Probably not, but it would be a nice change of pace.
— Curtis Wilkerson
• Can Arkansas generate some defensive havoc?
Understandably so, no one cares about a positive from a 29-point home loss.
The Razorbacks, though, tallied a season-high 12 steals Wednesday against Tennessee. Arkansas’ previous high was 10 against Missouri, Oklahoma and Alcorn State.
The issue was that the Razorbacks turned the Vols’ dozen miscues into just 12 points.
A couple of things to monitor Saturday is Arkansas’ turnovers forced and points off those turnovers, because Mississippi State ranks last in the SEC in turnover percentage (18.9%), according to KenPom data. The Bulldogs have turned the ball over at least 9 times in every league game, including 12-plus in 8 of 11 outings.
The Razorbacks have averaged 13.7 points off turnovers in wins this season and 9.4 in losses. Arkansas has to make Mississippi State pay if it gets sloppy at home.
— Scottie Bordelon
• Can the frontcourt bounce back and contain Tolu Smith?
Arkansas’ frontcourt was on a roll prior to being humbled in a big way by Tennessee on Wednesday.
Senior big man Makhi Mitchell was limited to just 1 point and 1 rebound in 11 minutes, and Jalen Graham finished with a respectable 8 points and 7 boards but injured his shoulder. Chandler Lawson also had arguably his worst defensive game as a Razorback.
On Saturday, Arkansas is staring down the challenge of containing one of the best bigs in the SEC in Mississippi State’s Tolu Smith.
The 6-11, 245-pound forward is averaging 16.8 points and 8.3 rebounds per game since returning from a preseason foot injury. He has logged double-doubles in his last two games.
Smith has averaged 12.5 points and 6.3 boards in 4 career games against Arkansas.
— Curtis Wilkerson
• Will the Hogs find a lineup that works?
The answer to this question on Wednesday – and all season, really – was a resounding no.
According to the advanced final box score from the loss to Tennessee, Eric Musselman used 20 lineup combinations. Granted, some were floored in garbage time, but 14 of them did not play more than two minutes together.
The starting lineup is always a crapshoot, and it’s matchup-based. Arkansas has tried 14 in 24 games this season, including 3 in the last 3 games.
Hopefully Musselman is able to identify five players who give the Razorbacks a realistic shot to knock off the Bulldogs in The Hump.
— Scottie Bordelon