Arkansas @ Valparaiso preview

Arkansas looks to earn its 10th win of the season when it takes on Valparaiso in a home game of sorts at North Little Rock, Ark., on Saturday. The Razorbacks bounced back from their first loss of the season when they routed Tulsa last Saturday, while the Crusaders have won three of their last five, including a win at High Point on Wednesday.

Sophomore guard Javon Freeman-Liberty has been the leader for Valparaiso this season, pacing the team in scoring (21.8 points), rebounding (5.8) and steals (2.3) while hitting a team-best 27 3-pointers. Unfortunately, Freeman-Liberty has had to do it all for the Crusaders, as forward Ryan Fazekas (13 points per game) has been out since the second game of the season and no other Valparaiso player scores as many as nine points per contest. Eric Musselman has brought defense to the Razorbacks program in his first season as head coach, with Arkansas ranking second in the nation in 3-point defense, holding opponents to 20.8 percent shooting. Junior guard Mason Jones leads four double-figure scorers for the Razorbacks with 19.6 points per game, while sophomore guard Isaiah Joe is averaging 16.4 points, 3.4 3-pointers, 2.6 assists and 1.9 steals.

TV: 8 p.m. ET, No TV.

ABOUT VALPARAISO (7-5): Playing a great defensive team isn't fun when you have only one primary scorer to turn to, but it's even worse when that team has a great individual defensive player like Arkansas has in senior Jimmy Whitt Jr. Whitt will certainly be matched up with Freeman-Liberty for much of Saturday's contest, trying to keep him from getting any easy shots and keeping the Crusaders in the game. To that end, Valparaiso must find some secondary scorers to take some pressure off Freeman-Liberty, with junior guard Eron Gordon being looked to after he hit six 3-pointers and scored a career-high 20 points in the Crusaders' win over High Point.

ABOUT ARKANSAS (9-1): The Razorbacks have been quite opportunistic this season defensively, ranking No. 1 in the Southeastern Conference and 10th nationally with 10.2 steals per game. Arkansas is also leading the conference with a plus-5.8 turnover margin and 19 forced turnovers per game, leading to easy baskets on the other end of the floor. Jones has been leading the charge, pacing the conference with 2.22 steals per game, though he hasn't been alone, as the Razorbacks have seven players averaging over a steal per game this season.

TIP-INS

1. Valparaiso G Daniel Sackey had a career-high nine assists with no turnovers in the Crusaders' win over High Point.

2. Arkansas ranks 313th in the country in 3-point shooting, hitting just 28.9 percent of its attempts from beyond the arc, though four other SEC teams are shooting worse.

3. Whitt is fifth in the SEC in field-goal percentage, connecting on 52.9 percent of his shots from the floor.

PREDICTION: Arkansas 89, Valparaiso 64