Arkansas Welcomes Fort Wayne For Season Opener
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – The Arkansas men’s basketball team opens its 94th season of play on Friday evening when the Razorbacks welcome Summit League favorite Fort Wayne to Bud Walton Arena.
The Rundown
Tipoff: 7:01 p.m. CT
Tickets: Buy Here
Live Stats: Click Here
TV: SEC Network Plus
Audio: Click Here
WatchESPN: Click Here
The #Fastest40 Facts
• The Razorbacks have won 42 straight home openers, including a 23-0 record in openers inside Bud Walton Arena.
• Arkansas has won 21 consecutive season openers and have opened the year in the win column in 43 of the last 45 seasons.
• Mike Anderson coached teams have never lost a season opener, going 14-0 with an average margin of victory of 17.1 points.
• Arkansas is one of five teams in the SEC to finish .500 of better in the league in each of the last four years.
• Arkansas is picked to finish fifth in the SEC by the media and has finished higher than it was picked each of the last three seasons.
• Arkansas is 46-2 in non-conference games in Bud Walton Arena under head coach Mike Anderson. The two losses came against Syracuse (2012-13) and Akron (2015-16).
• Arkansas is one of 10 schools in the nation returning two players from a year ago who averaged 15.5-plus points per game. The Razorbacks are one of four high-major schools and join the University of Georgia as the only SEC programs.
• The Razorbacks return their top two scorers and rebounders from a year ago and the top four shooters in terms of field goal percentage.
The Non-Conference Slate
• Arkansas is slated to play 13 non-conference games this year, with eight of those picked to finish in the top three of their respective league standings.
• The Razorbacks will open the year Friday with Summit League preseason favorite Fort Wayne, before Sun Belt favorite UT Arlington comes to town a week later.
• Although Texas was picked to finish third in the Big 12, it is ranked in the top 25 of both preseason polls.
• Arkansas will tip it up against four teams ranked in the Mid-Major Top 25 poll, with UT Arlington (6), Fort Wayne (15), Stephen F. Austin (18) and North Dakota State (19) all making an appearance.
What Coach Anderson is Saying
“Fort Wayne is a team that has guys who can shoot the basketball. We really have to be up to par, know where the shooters are and be in position off screen and rolls to keep them off the boards. At the same time, we need to impose our will on them defensively, as well as offensively. Our guys are looking forward to playing someone other than themselves. It’s the opening game so the nerves will be going. There is some excitement with this team here.”
Preseason Accolades
• Moses Kingsley – SEC Preseason Player of the Year
• Moses Kingsley – SEC Preseason first team All-SEC (Coaches)
• Moses Kingsley – Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Award watch list
• Moses Kingsley – Lute Olson Award watch list
• Moses Kingsley – Naismith Trophy watch list
• Dusty Hannahs – Jerry West Award watch list
• Dusty Hannahs – SEC Preseason second team All-SEC (Coaches)
Ticket Packages
Season tickets, mini plans, mobile passes and single-game tickets for the 2016-17 season are available now at the Razorback Ticket Center by calling at 1-800-982-HOGS (4647) and online by clicking here.
For more information on Arkansas men’s basketball, follow @RazorbackMBB on Twitter.
