Preview - No. 16 Arkansas @ Missouri

Mario Bravante February 3, 2021

INFO
Date: Thursday, Feb. 4
Time: 7 p.m.
Opponent: Mizzou
Location: Mizzou Arena
TV: SEC Network+

LAST TIME OUT

Arkansas made it two straight on Sunday afternoon, notching a 77-67 win over Auburn inside Bud Walton Arena.
It was smooth sailing for the Hogs after the first quarter, as Arkansas dominated the Tigers 68-49 from the second quarter until the final horn.
Arkansas guard Amber Ramirez did her thing against the Tigers, tallying a game-high 19 points thanks to five three-pointers in the game. She also chipped in with four rebounds and three assists.
The Razorbacks’ big three was firing on all cylinders in this one, as Chelsea Dungee and Destiny Slocum also came up big for the Hogs, going for 16 and 14 points, respectively.
Auburn’s full-court press defense forced some early turnovers, and the Razorbacks had their lowest-scoring first quarter of the season.
Arkansas worked past the Tiger defense in the second quarter, though, guided by the steady hand of Jailyn Mason, who hit two jumpers from deep in the frame. The Razorbacks ended the half on a 22-4 tear, erasing a 13-point deficit to secure a 33-28 halftime edge.
The Hogs spread the floor well in the second half, as four Razorbacks went for seven or more points in the final two frames.
The visiting Tigers stayed in the fight in large part due to a dominant performance in the paint by forward Unique Thompson, who notched 18 points and 19 rebounds. However the monster performance wasn’t enough, as Arkansas was able to make winning plays late.
For the second straight game, Ramirez hit five or more threes. It was her third such performance this season.
Senior forward Taylah Thomas met the task of working against Auburn’s frontcourt, snatching nine rebounds while also collecting a block in the win.
Thomas was +17 for the second straight game.
Dungee continued her double-digit scoring streak, which now stands at 23 games in a row.
Mason was solid in her return off the bench, going for eight points, five rebounds, four assists and two steals.

STORYLINES

No. 16 Arkansas put together its best week of the season last week, as Arkansas went 2-0, with wins over No. 3 UConn and Auburn.
With the wins, the Hogs moved up in the AP Poll, from 19 to 16, and in the Coaches Poll, from 18 to 15.
In a year where games played is at a premium, Arkansas leads the country in the category, playing in 19 games so far this season.
Of those 19 games, eight of them have been played against teams currently in the AP Top 25.
They have also played five of the teams in the top-10, going 2-3 in those games.
Redshirt senior guard Chelsea Dungee was the talk of the women’s college basketball world after her masterful performance against UConn, as she was named National Player of the Week by both ESPN and the US Basketball Writer’s Association.
She was also the SEC Player of the Week for the second time this season.
The team was recognized for the UConn victory as well, as the Hogs were the USBWA’s team of the week. Coach Neighbors was also named ESPN’s National Coach of the Week for the second time.
As she often is, senior forward Taylah Thomas was the unsung hero in Arkansas’ win over UConn.
In her 30 minutes played, Thomas was a game-high +17.
She held UConn’s two bigs to just eight points and eight rebounds combined, while pulling down a team-high seven boards herself.
Because of her effort on the glass, Arkansas only lost the rebounding battle to the Huskies, who were the much taller team, by six. On average, UConn out-rebounds its opponents by 12.1 boards a game.
Thomas has had several other big moments this season as well, including a big double-double against Florida Gulf Coast (11 pts, 10 rebs), to help Arkansas narrowly win that game.
She also had nine points and eight boards in the Hogs’ narrow win over Florida.

MORE INFORMATION

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