In a surprising battle of ranked opponents, Missouri looks to remain unbeaten in SEC play, taking on the Arkansas Razorbacks.
TV schedule: Wednesday, January 4th, 8:30 pm ET. SEC Network
Arena: Bud Walton Arena in Fayetteville, Arkansas
The SEC has five teams currently ranked in the latest AP top-25 poll, with none of them being Kentucky. Instead, it’s the team that defeated them last week in Missouri (12-1, 1-0). The Tigers defeated the Wildcats, 89-75, led by 30 points and six rebounds from forward Kobe Brown. D’Moi Hodge, a breakout star who leads the team in scoring overall, had 15 points, while both Sean East and DeAndre Gholston each had 12 off the bench.
Add the win over Illinois earlier and you have one of the biggest overachievers on the season compared to preseason expectations. Missouri has the third-highest-scoring offense with 88.9 ppg, with five double-digit scorers overall. They’ll be tested against one of the top team defenses in the SEC in Arkansas (11-2, 0-1). The team lost its first game in league play, falling 60-57 to LSU. Davonte Davis led the team with 16 points, while both Jordan Walsh and Ricky Council both had 13, although Council needed 19 shot attempts to do so.
The most glaring takeaway from that game for the Razorbacks is that three players (Council, Davis, and Anthony Black) played all 40 minutes in that game. With forward Trevon Brazile out for the season and freshman guard Nick Smith out for the foreseeable future, the depth advantage that Coach Eric Musselman was supposed to have has evaporated. How that works going forward will be interesting, especially against a Missouri roster that has it, despite many of its players coming from either the JUCO or mid-major level this offseason.
Missouri has played just one true road game on the season (88-84 OT win over Wichita State) but has all the momentum in the world. Arkansas, on the other hand, has struggled and without Smith may have a different outlook on the season. A Tigers win could have big ramifications on both sides but at some point, a defense is going to slow them down. With their backs somewhat against the wall, I think the Razorbacks will find a way to pull this out at home.
Prediction: Arkansas 70, Missouri 65