Arkansas Basketball: 2019-20 keys for Razorbacks success against Indiana

3. Good production from the bench

Eric Musselman is known for having a “7 and 1/2” man rotation and has not typically gone too much deeper than that in his career.  That is easy enough to get away with if it is the right “7 and 1/2” guys.

Arkansas’s starting lineup of Whitt/Sills/Joe/Jones/Bailey is formidable, and they do a vast majority of the heavy lifting for the Razorbacks.  That is going to have to change at some point and could be critical against a large Indiana team.

Jalen Harris is the first guard off the bench and for all intents and purposes has done a nice job as the 6th man.  He brings starting experience in with the second unit and there is not much drop off when he logs heavy minutes.  After that is where the improvement needs to come.

Sophomore forward Reggie Chaney is the one guy on the Arkansas roster that can match up physically to the Indiana front-line.  Many projected Chaney as a breakout candidate coming into the season that was likely to be a starter at the center spot.

Unfortunately for him and the Hogs, Chaney was suspended the first three games of the season for a violation of team rules and has been working his way back into shape and form.  He has done a nice job on the glass which is a huge area of need for Arkansas, but he is still finding his way offensively.

Grad-transfer Jeantal Cylla was brought in to provide size, versatility, and another threat from the outside.  To this point, he has been virtually ineffective for Arkansas to the point where Musselman has reduced his role to sparse minutes when Bailey or Chaney is in foul trouble.  He matches up well with his Hoosier counterparts and it would be a welcome addition from Arkansas fans if he was able to provide a spark.

Last but not least is former ESPN top-100 prospect Ethan Henderson.  The 6’8 forward brings length, rebounding and shot-blocking ability to the table but is still quite raw offensively.  In a game where Arkansas is out-sized against a team that draws fouls at a high rate, Henderson may be called on in short spurts.  One of he and Cylla will need to carve out a serviceable role to make the workload of everyone else more manageable.

Make no mistake, Indiana poses the greatest challenge Arkansas has faced so far this season.  That being said, they are by no means a juggernaut and have plenty of questions themselves.  This game is a coin flip that could easily go either way and will serve as a nice resume builder for whoever comes out on top.