Arkansas vs Texas: College basketball game preview, TV schedule

Arkansas and Texas are each looking for an early quality non-conference win to bolster their respective resumes. Who has the edge heading into this one?

Matchup: Arkansas Razorbacks (0-0) at  Texas Longhorns (1-0)

Date and time: Friday, Nov. 9 at 7:00 p.m. ET

TV schedule: ESPN

Location: Fort Bliss in El Paso, Texas – Armed Forces Classic

The Arkansas Razorbacks and Texas Longhorns will lock up in the seventh annual Armed Forces Classic held this year at Fort Bliss in El Paso, TX. Both head coaches were excited about playing in such a nice event that celebrates the service of the men and women in the armed forces.

ESPN Events asked both coaches about this opportunity:

“We’re really excited to be a part of the Armed Forces Classic in November. Our guys will get a phenomenal experience being around our troops and people who protect our country.” Shaka Smart

“Any chance we get to honor our service men and women by playing at a military base is a great opportunity to give back to people who sacrifice so much for our freedom.” Mike Anderson

This will be the Razorbacks first game this year and there will be a lot of new faces. Arkansas lost three of their top players from last years tournament team. Duplicating last years success will be tough for this young group and Texas will be a tough test for them to start the season.

Razorbacks head coach Mike Anderson has done a great job building Arkansas back up to being relevant again, but this year will be tough for him. How quickly will the young guys fit into the team will go a long way in deciding how this season will go for Arkansas. This will be a good test to see if the Razorbacks belong on the big stage and if they might have a punchers chance in the SEC this year.

Texas is coming off a 71-59 win over Eastern Illinois on Tuesday night. In a rather lackluster game, the big news was star player, Andrew Jones, playing for the first time since being diagnosed with leukemia. Jones was leading the team in scoring when his season ended abruptly in January. It was great to see Jones back and he got a nice standing ovation from the home crowd when he was announced.

The Longhorns shot 50% from the field on Tuesday but went just 8-25 from behind the arc. They also shot 11-20 from the free throw line. Those are both areas that Texas will look to improve on against the Razorbacks. Texas did have a good balance in the first game as nine different guys scored. They could be a very deep team this year which allows coach Smart to run his pressure defense that he has become famous for.

This is a tough matchup for the Razorbacks right out of the gate and the Longhorns should be able to come out on the winning end in this one. Look for Arkansas to try and slow down the pace, while the Longhorns will continue to try and pressure them into mistakes. This will be close for a little while until the depth of Texas really comes out in the second half.

Final Prediction: Texas 90 – Arkansas 76