Mississippi @ Arkansas preview

Last Meeting ( Jan 19, 2019 ) Arkansas 67, Mississippi 84

Mississippi has a chance to reach 20 victories for the eighth time in the last 10 seasons when it visits Arkansas on Saturday afternoon in an Southeastern Conference matchup. The Rebels will look to rebound from a last-second home loss to No. 7 Tennessee and complete a sweep of the Razorbacks for the first time since the 2011-12 season.

Ole Miss, among four teams tied for fourth place in the SEC, had a chance to solidify its NCAA Tournament hopes but a controversial charging call on its final possession sealed the 73-71 loss to Tennessee. "We've got work to do, everybody in college basketball has work to do," coach Kermit Davis said. "We have a big game at Arkansas on Saturday. I want our guys to feel, act, and carry ourselves like we are an NCAA Tournament team." The Rebels posted their largest margin of victory in conference play on Jan. 19 with an 84-67 victory over the Razorbacks, who are mired in a six-game losing streak. Arkansas, which is coming off a 70-66 loss at No. 4 Kentucky on Tuesday, will honor the school's 1994 NCAA championship team on Saturday.

TV: 1 p.m. ET, SEC Network

ABOUT MISSISSIPPI (19-9, 9-6 SEC): Davis called the first matchup against Arkansas "probably our best win of the year" after Ole Miss scored the first seven points of the game and were never headed, getting 22 points from Breein Tyree and 18 from Terence Davis. The team's second-leading scorer at 15.6 points per game, Davis also collected nine rebounds, seven assists and five steals in the January meeting and has had two huge games at Arkansas' Bud Walton Arena, scoring 24 points in 2017 and pouring in 30 points last season. Tyree is averaging 20.6 points over the last 10 games.

ABOUT ARKANSAS (14-14, 5-10): Freshman Isaiah Joe needs five 3-pointers to eclipse the single-season school record held by Scotty Thurman (102), an assistant coach with the Razorbacks and a key member of the '94 championship team. "When I was young and playing, that was a big deal for me," Thurman said. "But now that my playing career is over, I hope he breaks every record I ever set because that means I'm doing my job and helping him get better." Leading scorer Daniel Gafford, the SEC leader in field goal percentage (.655), rebounding (8.9), had nine points in the first meeeting.

TIP-INS

1. Ole Miss C Dominik Olejniczak and F Bruce Stevens combined for 27 points and 12 boards in the first meeting.

2. Arkansas freshman G Desi Sills scored a season-high 15 points at Kentucky.

3. The Rebels are shooting an SEC-best 77.4 percent from the free-throw line.

PREDICTION: Arkansas 70, Mississippi 68