Arkansas Basketball: 2021 keys for Razorbacks to beat Alabama Crimson Tide

1. Take advantage of the Tide’s injuries

As great as the victory was over Kentucky earlier this week, it came at a heavy cost. First, Herb Jones, who averages 12.5 ppg and a team-leading 6.3 rpg, went down with a hand injury and is considered day-to-day.

Who isn’t is Jordan Bruner, who also went down in the game against the Wildcats with a meniscus injury. The Yale grad transfer big man and starter all season was averaging 7.8 ppg and 5.3 rpg but more importantly, was the team’s best interior defender insider. This likely leaves Alabama without its starting frontcourt and overall depth from inside.

That leaves things wide-open for Cal transfer big man Connor Vanover. He’s been up and down this season, having just two games of double-digit scoring in his last 10. The 7’3 center has also just played 11 total minutes in the past week, as Coach Eric Musselman has opted to use smaller lineups.

Will Arkansas use Vanover and freshman center Jaylin Williams in this game? They almost have to try and take advantage of the situation, although they’re defensive liabilities as well. If Coach Musselman doesn’t trust Vanover to be enough of an offensive threat, then the Tide may be okay in this matchup on the inside.

However, this does open up room for the perimeter players for the Razorbacks to drive and slash as much as they want, with little resistance. So rather than looking for the bigs to go off, expect a big performance from the guards without the shot blockers inside.