Arkansas at Kentucky: 2022-23 college basketball game preview, TV schedule
By Joey Loose
With ramifications in conference and for the NCAA Tournament, the battle between the Razorbacks and Wildcats should be quite the matchup; but who will take charge?
TV schedule: Tuesday, February 7, 9:00 pm ET. ESPN
Arena: Rupp Arena in Lexington, Kentucky
Arkansas (16-7) fell out of the rankings due to a 4-game losing streak in early January, but these Razorbacks are still a solid basketball team. An Elite Eight squad the last two seasons, Eric Musselmen’s team started 11-1 before struggling early in SEC play. Now, the Razorbacks have won four straight conference games and look for more with a tough road test ahead.
The Razorbacks certainly miss both Trevon Brazile and Nick Smith, who both average greater than 11 points per game, but have gotten a solid season from junior guard Ricky Council IV (17.0 ppg, 3.2 rpg), the transfer from Wichita State. Freshman guard Anthony Black (12.5 ppg, 5.3 rpg) has been a welcomed addition while fellow freshman Jordan Walsh (7.3 ppg, 4.0 rpg) is playing an important role in the frontcourt with those injuries.
Arkansas nears reentry into the rankings, sitting 27th in KenPom, and 29th in the NET. The Razorbacks are 13th in the nation in defensive efficiency, recently limiting LSU to just 40 points in a victory. They’ve had significant success in recent weeks in their interior defense, though Tuesday’s opponent will pose quite the challenge down low.
Kentucky (16-7) is surprisingly a bubble team this season, with their only truly impressive win being a road shocker at Tennessee three weeks ago. John Calipari’s squad has played significantly better in recent weeks, winning six straight conference games, sandwiched around a tough loss to Kansas. Can they keep rolling at home?
The clear player to keep an eye on is senior forward Oscar Tshiebwe (15.9 ppg, 13.6 rpg), who was last year’s national player of the year and leads the nation in rebounding this season. Another important piece of the puzzle is freshman guard Cason Wallace (11.7 ppg, 3.5 apg), who had 20 points in this weekend’s win over Florida. Other impactful pieces on this roster include senior guard Antonio Reeves (13.0 ppg), a talented scorer who was one of the best players in the MVC last year.
Kentucky has also been out of the rankings for a few weeks, though their recent hot streak has them up to 33rd in KenPom and 31st in the NET rankings. The Wildcats sit 19th in offensive efficiency and are one of the nation’s best rebounding teams, especially on the offensive side. Tshiebwe himself had 7 offensive rebounds in their most recent win.
This is clearly a matchup of talent against talent, with a highly-ranked offense defending its home court against a highly-ranked defense. The Razorbacks have done great work in recent weeks, but the challenge of Tshiebwe is a little more difficult than some of their recent matchups. Kentucky has also been shooting the ball better during their own recent hot streak; the offense has not been coming from Tshiebwe, but that doesn’t mean he’s not a threat.
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With recent home losses to South Carolina and Kansas, you can bet that the Wildcats are going to come out full force to defend their home court again. This Arkansas squad is fit to prove they belong back in the national spotlight, especially if Smith can return very soon. Anticipate Kentucky holding its ground, especially if it can control the tempo of this game.