Arkansas @ Mississippi preview

Last Meeting ( Mar 2, 2019 ) Mississippi 73, Arkansas 74

Arkansas tries to bounce back from its first loss since early December when it visits conference rival Ole Miss for an SEC contest on Saturday. The Razorbacks fell at LSU on Wednesday for their first conference loss - snapping a four-game winning streak - while the Rebels have lost two in a row, including a road loss to Texas A&M in their conference opener Tuesday.

Junior guard Mason Jones has been a one-man wrecking crew for the Razorbacks this season, leading the team in scoring (19.8 points), rebounding (6.1), assists (37) and steals (1.9). That's not to say that Jones is Arkansas' only offensive threat, as guards Isaiah Joe and Jimmy Whitt Jr. are averaging 17.1 and 14 points, respectively, with Joe connecting on 52 3-pointers this season to rank second in the SEC. The Rebels have their own dynamic scorer in senior guard Breein Tyree, who is putting up 17.1 points this season and averaged 21 points in two contests against Arkansas last season. Junior guard Devontae Shuler has been making his presence felt on both ends of the floor, averaging 10.9 points and a team-high 4.3 assists on the offensive end, and recording 1.6 steals per game on the other end.

TIME: 6 p.m. ET. TV: SEC Network

ABOUT ARKANSAS (12-2, 1-1 SEC): Coach Eric Musselman is searching for some answers up front after the Razorbacks were outrebounded 53-24 in the loss to LSU, which grabbed 23 offensive boards that resulted in 26 second-chance points. Senior forward Adrio Bailey is the team's leading frontcourt rebounder with 4.8 per game, and he led the team with seven caroms against the Tigers. But 6-8 sophomore Reggie Chaney had no rebounds in seven minutes of playing time and 6-8 sophomore Ethan Henderson played just two minutes with no boards, leaving Musselman to go with a five-guard lineup that seemed to rebound the best.

ABOUT OLE MISS (9-5, 0-1): Inconsistency on offense has hurt the Rebels often this season, and that was evident again in their conference-opening loss to Texas A&M. After taking a 10-point lead into halftime by shooting 40.7 percent from the field, Ole Miss couldn't shoot well at all after the break, connecting on just 21.2 percent of its shots - including 2-of-13 accuracy from 3-point range. Tyree had 21 points in the first half, but managed just five in the final 20 minutes as the Aggies came back for a 10-point win - holding the Rebels to 47 points, the third time this season and second game in a row they've failed to reach 55 points.

BUZZER BEATERS

1. Arkansas leads the nation in three-point percentage defense, allowing opponents to shoot just 22.6 percent from beyond the arc.

2. Ole Miss ranks second in the SEC in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.2) and third in assists per game (15.6).

3. Whitt played all 40 minutes in the loss to LSU, the first Razorbacks player to play every minute of a regulation game since Julysses Nobles in November 2009.

PREDICTION: Arkansas 69, Ole Miss 62