Arkansas basketball closes its two-game road swing Tuesday at Texas A&M. Tipoff is set for 6 p.m. on ESPN.
The Razorbacks (12-13, 3-9 SEC) lost 71-67 at Mississippi State last Saturday and fell under .500 for the first time under Eric Musselman. A loss to the Aggies would ensure Arkansas finishes with double-digit SEC losses for the fourth time in the last six seasons.
Texas A&M has lost back-to-back games since knocking off Tennessee in Reed Arena on Feb. 10. Vanderbilt downed the Aggies on a buzzer beater then Alabama hammered them by 25 behind 18 made threes.
Texas A&M is 15-10 overall and 6-6 in the SEC in Buzz Williams’ fifth season.
Curtis Wilkerson and Scottie Bordelon are back with several things they will be keeping an eye on when the Razorbacks and Aggies meet. This is the 4-Point Play:
• Can the Hogs compete on the backboards?
The most glaring advantage the Aggies will have over Arkansas tonight will be in the rebounding department.
Texas A&M leads the country in offensive rebound percentage (43.6%) and offensive boards per game (18.0) by a wide margin. Meanwhile, the Razorbacks have had well-documented troubles closing out defensive possessions at times this season.
When these teams met last month in Fayetteville, Texas A&M grabbed 19 offensive rebounds and turned them into 25 second-chance points.
For further context, the Aggies were without starting forward Henry Coleman, and the Hogs still had Trevon Brazile.
Heading into Tuesday, not only is that situation flipped, Arkansas could very well be without Jalen Graham as well.
Strong showings from Makhi Mitchell and Chandler Lawson are a must. Will freshman Baye Fall factor in at all? And do the Razorbacks have any answer at all on the glass for Texas A&M power forward Andersson Garcia?
— Curtis Wilkerson
• Will Khalif Battle double down on the road?
If I’ve learned anything covering Musselman the last five years, it’s that every game takes on its own identity. In other words, just because a player had a nice game the last time out, it doesn’t mean he’ll play well – or at all – in the next game.
Battle scored 18 points, his most since December against Abilene Christian, at Mississippi State and played with more juice and swagger and confidence than we’ve seen in quite some time. He shot 7 of 9 inside the arc, drew a team-high 6 fouls and was 4 of 6 at the line.
That’s the Battle that Arkansas has missed most of conference play. Will he double down with another strong showing on the road? The Razorbacks may need it to compete.
It will be interesting to track the guard’s involvement given last Saturday’s performance and the fact he did not see the floor when Arkansas beat Texas A&M in January.
Away from home, you need shot makers and high-volume free throw attempt players on the floor. Battle fits the bill on both fronts.
— Scottie Bordelon
• Will Tramon Mark resume role of alpha at A&M?
The last time Arkansas and Texas A&M met, it was Mark who went blow for blow with Wade Taylor and delivered the game-winning dagger with a sensational 35-point outing.
He attempted 22 free throws that night, a staggering total given Arkansas only got to the stripe 19 times as a team at Mississippi State.
Mark has been far and away the most consistent offensive threat for the Razorbacks, but his last three outings have been nothing to write home about.
In games against Georgia, Tennessee and Mississippi State, Mark averaged just 10.3 points on 10 of 25 shooting with 3 assists and 8 turnovers.
Mark was a no-show against the Bulldogs over the weekend, and Arkansas missed his ability and willingness to take the big shot in crunch time after he fouled out with 3:35 remaining.
Will Mark bounce back and return to form?
— Curtis Wilkerson
• Can the Hogs take away the Aggies’ left hand again?
A critical aspect of Arkansas’ home win over Texas A&M last month was Aggies secondary scoring guard Tyrece Radford being completely taken out of the game.
The lefty had 6 points on 2 of 15 shooting in 37 minutes.
Radford has scored at least 11 points in every other SEC game and 20-plus points 5 times. Without question, he’s talented, but the Razorbacks made him look below average.
Radford enters Tuesday on a scoring tear, averaging 22.8 points in the last five games. In that span, he’s put up 26 on Florida, 27 on Tennessee and been great on twos — 62.7% on 11.8 attempts.
Arkansas, if it hopes to be in the game in crunch time again, can’t afford to have Taylor and Radford cooking at the same time.
— Scottie Bordelon