Arkansas @ Florida preview

Last Meeting ( Mar 14, 2019 ) Arkansas 50, Florida 66

After an emotional 84-66 triumph over Vanderbilt Saturday that featured the halftime unveiling of "Billy Donovan Court" in honor of the school's former head coach, Florida now turns its attention to hosting a meeting with Arkansas on Tuesday. The two schools have the same overall record, but the Gators boast four more SEC wins thanks to a recent surge with victories in four of the last five outings.

"I'm just so glad, on a night the University of Florida and Gator Nation is honoring Billy Donovan that we were able to get a win. Absolutely," Florida coach Mike White told reporters. "This was a big night for our athletic department and Coach's legacy, so for us to win this game was really big. I'm glad we played so well the first 20." The Gators came out strong in the first half against Vanderbilt, opening up a 29-point advantage, and wound up shooting 51.9 percent from the floor for the second straight game and 50 percent from 3-point range. While the Gators are tied with South Carolina for fourth in the SEC, the Razorbacks are floundering and have lost four in a row after coming up short in a last-second 77-76 loss to Mississippi State on Saturday. Arkansas had erased a 17-point, second-half deficit behind Mason Jones' sixth 30-point game of the season.

TIME: 7 p.m. ET. TV: ESPNU

ABOUT ARKANSAS (16-9, 4-8 SEC): Jones not only recorded 38 points against Mississippi State, but he also pulled down six rebounds, his 20th game with at least five boards. The Razorbacks, however, rank dead last in the SEC in total (32.4) and offensive (7.7) rebounds per game after posting just 26 boards against the Bulldogs, the third time in the last four games they failed to reach 30. Jones (20.8 points per game) is one of four players - Isaiah Joe (16.0), Jimmy Whitt Jr. (14.6) and Desi Sills (10.1) - averaging in double figures for a Razorbacks team scoring 74.4 points per game, sixth best in the SEC.

ABOUT FLORIDA (16-9, 8-4): Guard Noah Locke has been on target the last two games, scoring in double figures both outings and, after hitting 6-of-8 shots from deep against Vanderbilt en route to leading the team with 19 points, he improved his 3-point marksmanship in SEC play to 51.4 percent. Point guard Andrew Nembhard played a season-low 19 minutes due to foul trouble against the Commodores and he finished with five points for the second time in three games, but forward Keyontae Johnson had his eighth straight double-digit outing with 11 points. Kerry Blackshear continues to top the Gators in both points (13.6) and rebounds (7.7) but with teams focusing more on him, his 15 points against Vanderbilt equaled his highest point total in 10 games.

BUZZER BEATERS

1. Florida is 7-1 against Arkansas under White with the only loss coming in the 2018 SEC Tournament and the Gators have won 13 straight at home in this series.

2. Locke extended his streak of 3-pointers to 23 straight games and he has hit at least five treys in the last two games.

3. Jones hit 18 free throws against Mississippi State, a single-game team record in an SEC game.

PREDICTION: Florida 77, Arkansas 67