Kentucky vs Arkansas.....A Preview

Lwcat
WT Administrator

Kentucky vs Arkansas 1/17/12 Tuesday 9PM (ESPN)
UK leads the series 24-8

Arkansas Razorbacks

Location: Fayetteville, Ark
Enrollment: 21,406
Arena: 19,200

Head Coach: Mike Anderson
Career Record: 200-97 (67.3%) 9 seasons
1st year at Arkansas

2010-11 Record: 18-13
2010-11 SEC Record: 7-9
Postseason: None

2011-12 Record: 13-4
2011-12 SEC Record: 2-1

Arkansas 83 USC Upstate 63
Arkansas 91 Oakland 68
Houston 87 Arkansas 78
Arkansas 67 Utah Valley 59
Arkansas 86 Grambling St. 44
Arkansas 97 Miss. Valley St. 64
U Conn 75 Arkansas 62
Oklahoma 78 Arkansas 63
Arkansas 62 SE Louisiana 55
Arkansas 71 Eastern Ky. 57
Arkansas 77 Louisiana Tech 63
Arkansas 80 Charlotte 67
Arkansas 77 Texas Southern 49
Arkansas 83 Savannah St. 66
Ole Miss 71 Arkansas 63
Arkansas 98 Miss. St. 88
Arkansas 69 LSU 60

Arkansas Stats

PPG-76.9
FG%-44.0%
3 PT%-34.8%
FT%-69.0%
RPG-37.9 (-0.9)
APG-15.2
TO’s-13.5
SPG-9.3
BPG-6.4

Probable Starting Lineup

Mardracus Wade-G 6’2” Soph………………………..11.0 PPG
Rickey Scott-G 6’3” Soph…………………………….9.8 PPG
Julysses Nobles-G 6’1” Jr……………………………..9.4 PPG
Devonta Aaron-F 6’8” Fr…………………………...…5.9 PPG
Michael Sanchez-F 6’8” Sr……………………………4.6 PPG

Other Key Players

BJ Young-G 6’3” Fr……………………………………15.0 PPG
Hunter Mickelson-F 6’10” Fr…………………………..4.6 PPG
Rashad Madden-G 6’5” Fr………………………...……7.3 PPG
Marvell Waithe-F 6’9” Sr………………………………6.4 PPG

Arkansas fired John Pelphrey after 3 years and a lackluster 25-39 SEC record and zero NCAA appearances. In fairness to Pelphrey, he inherited a bad situation at Arkansas and had a stellar recruiting class coming in…..but, too many empty seats at games along with growing impatience from Razorback fans sealed Pelphrey’s fate.

Not surprisingly, Arkansas turned to one of their own……Mike Anderson who was an assistant under Nolan Richardson from 1985-2002. Anderson then left to coach UAB and did a superb job in coaching UAB to a 89-41 record in 6 years….then has coached Missouri over the past 3 years to a very solid 111-57 record. In 9 years as a head coach
Anderson has taken UAB and Missouri to 6 NCAA’s ….and made it to an Elite 8 once.
Arkansas fans like the uptempo offense and often pressing defense….and the Razorbacks are off to very good start under Anderson.

Arkansas, unfortunately, lost, 6’7 Jr. Marshawn Powell, their best player after just 2 games to a torn ACL. The Razorbacks are led in scoring by freshman BJ Young who often comes off the bench. Young has hit 28-64 perimeter shots for a very solid 43.8%. However, Mardracus Wade has shot even better from the 3 point line hitting 36-73 for a fantastic 49.3%. Julysses Nobles leads the team in assists while rebounding has been done by committee by several players. Hunter Mickelson, 6’10” freshman, comes off the bench and leads the Razorbacks in blocks with 47.

Coach Anderson often goes deep in his bench playing 8-9 players to keep defensive pressure on opponents. The Razorbacks are averaging 9.3 steals PG. There is young talent on Arkansas and coach Anderson has his team playing in a similar manner as his mentor, Nolan Richardson. As Anderson brings in more talented recruits that are very athletic and can press….look for future Razorback teams to be more talented and much better.

UK escaped Knoxville with a hard earned 65-62 win. It was the Cat’s solid defense that kept UK in the game as their offense sputtered. Make no mistake, this was a big win against a solid Tennessee team that played very physical basketball. Once again, MKG and Davis made key plays offensively and defensively. UK’s two best perimeter shooters, Miller and Lamb, were missing in action….in fact, overall team shooting has been disappointing. While UK’s defense is playing well overall, it is exceedingly important for the Cat’s to develop a much more efficient offense and start making more shots….if they want to continue winning on the road. In addition, as coach Cal has pointed out, this UK team must match the physical play of it’s opponents.

Arkansas will be a tough opponent in Rupp arena…..and will force UK to handle the ball against the press. UK should win by 10 points! GO CATS!