Mississippi @ Arkansas preview
Bud Walton Arena
Last Meeting ( Jan 11, 2020 ) Arkansas 76, Mississippi 72
Wednesday night's Southeastern Conference game between Ole Miss and Arkansas in Fayetteville, Ark., features two teams that have used different styles to compile two-game winning streaks.
The Razorbacks (12-4, 4-4 SEC) have gotten it done with big offense during their streak, scoring 75 points against Auburn and 92 against Vanderbilt.
In Saturday's romp against the Commodores, the Hogs shot 57.1 percent from the floor and 42.1 percent from 3-point distance.
"We wanted guys to play with great freedom from a mental standpoint," Arkansas coach Eric Musselman said after the win in Nashville. "We tried not to run a lot of half-court sets. We've added a couple things to our open offense. I thought some guys really got into their comfort zone."
Looking very comfortable were Moses Moody and Jalen Tate who hit for 26 and 25 points, respectively.
The Hogs are also helping each other out as they handed out 22 assists against the Commodores.
"They came out and tried to deny a lot," Musselman said. "And I thought our back-doors and double back-doors played really well into our hands offensively. And we got some easy baskets around the rim."
Ole Miss (8-6, 3-4), meanwhile, used tough defense to secure wins against Mississippi State and Texas A&M. The Rebels gave up just 46 and 50 points respectively in those games.
"For about 25 minutes, that's the best we've been," Rebels coach Kermit Davis said of his defense. "We just got our hands on a ton of balls at the end of the first half, start of the second half."
Ole Miss threw a combination of a 1-3-1 zone and man coverage at the Aggies on Saturday. Both worked.
"Our 1-3-1 defense was terrific," Davis said. "It kind of kept them off balance. It really created some offense with good defense."
Davis said he has challenged his team to play better defense in recent weeks. He told the Rebels they were an elite defensive team against mid-major programs but only average against Power 5 teams. Challenge met, he said.
The Rebels also have some scorers on their roster. They are led by Devontae Shuler (14.9 points per game), Jarkel Joiner (10.9) and Romello White (10.4).
Mississippi has a chance to move to .500 in the conference with a road win Wednesday.
"It's a great opportunity at Arkansas," Davis said. "Really good team, they're playing well. They've won a couple in a row now. I know our guys are looking forward to it."
--Field Level Media