Razorback Men's Basketball Returns To BWA On Saturday

AT A GLANCE
Part of a three-way tie for second place in the SEC, Arkansas will look to build off a 20-point win on Tuesday night when it hosts Mississippi State on Saturday at a sold out Bud Walton Arena. Saturday is the first of two meetings between the programs over the next two weeks. The Razorbacks snapped a streak of four straight games decided by five points or less with the win over South Carolina while the Bulldogs picked up their second straight win on the road at Tennessee.

• Arkansas (No. 22) is one of five SEC teams in the ESPN RPI Top 50.
• Arkansas is one of five teams in the nation with two top 30 RPI road wins.
• Arkansas leads the SEC in five categories, including scoring (80.2) & offensive rebounds (13.7).
• BOBBY PORTIS (17.7) & MICHAEL QUALLS (15.7) are the top SEC scoring duo.
• Portis is averaging a double-double (19.0 & 10.1) in SEC play.

#RAZORFACT
For the first time in program history in SEC play, Arkansas has held four straight opponents to 65 points or less. The last four opponents are averaging 59 points and shooting 36 percent.

 

GAMEDAY #RAZORFACTS

GAME

 ARKANSAS (17-5, 6-3) VS. MISSISSIPPI STATE (11-11, 4-5)

DATE | TIME

Saturday, February 7, 2015

SITE | ARENA

Fayetteville, Ark. | Bud Walton Arena (19,200)

TV | VIDEO

SEC Network | ESPN3 | WatchESPN App

TALENT

Matt Stewart (PBP), Jon Sundvold (Analyst)

AUDIO

Razorback/IMG Sports Network

TALENT

Chuck Barrett (P-B-P) & Scotty Thurman (Analyst)

LIVE STATS

www.ArkansasRazorbacks.com

SOCIAL

Twitter | Facebook | Instagram

HASHTAGS

#Fastest40 | #BeatState

STREAK

W1

LAST 5

4-1

AT BUD WALTON ARENA

13-1

STREAK

W3

VS. MISSISSIPPI STATE

30-25

STREAK

W2

 

@RAZORBACKMBB FAST BREAK FACTS
• Part of a three-way tie for second place in the SEC at 6-3.
• A win would mark the program’s best start through the first 10 SEC games since 1997-98 (9-1).
• Currently No. 22 in the ESPN RPI with seven wins over the top 100.
• One of five teams (Duke, Kansas, Providence, Virginia) with two top 30 RPI road wins – Georgia (No. 24) & SMU (No. 28).
• No. 6 seed in the East Region in Joe Lunardi’s most recent Bracketology released on Feb. 5 that included six SEC teams.
• Rank in the top 20 nationally in points (80.2/11th), offensive rebounds (13.7/19th), assists (17.0/9th), assist/turnover ratio (1.4/16th) and turnover margin (+4.0/14th).
• Own a 4-2 record in SEC games decided by five points or less and have won three conference games after trailing at the half.
• Won 23 straight games when leading at the half.
• Own a 14-0 record when forcing 15+ turnovers.
• Committed 15+ turnovers four times while opponents have done so 14 times.

TURNING UP THE HEAT
Arkansas enters Saturday with a streak of five straight halves in which it has held its opponent under 30 points. The defensive effort has resulted in four straight games of holding an SEC foe to less than 65 points, a first in program history and the first time the feat has been accomplished in league play since 1988 in Southwest Conference action.

COACHING MATCHUP
@RazorbackMBB
Head Coach: Mike Anderson (Tulsa ‘82)
Record at Arkansas: 76-44 (4th Season)
Overall Record: 276-142 (13th Season)
Vs. Mississippi State: 4-4

Mississippi State
Head Coach: Rick Ray (Grand View College ‘94)
Record at Mississippi State: 35-52 (3rd Season)
Overall Record: Same
Vs. Arkansas: 0-2

SERIES HISTORY
After meeting twice over the last two seasons, Arkansas and Mississippi State will square off against each other twice of the next two weeks. The Razorbacks have won three of the last four meetings to take a 30-25 edge in the all-time series that dates back to the 1951-52 campaign. Arkansas is 16-4 against the Bulldogs at Bud Walton Arena, taking 11 straight in the building after it opened in 1993-94. Last year, Arkansas ended a 12-game losing streak at Humphrey Coliseum.

STARTING 5 QUICK 5 HITS
#31 | Anton BEARD (G)
• Started the last two games, averaging 30.5 minutes.
• Averaging 9.0 points & shooting 8-of-20 from three the last five games.
• Reached double figures four times in SEC play after once in non-conf.
• Set season-bests for points (12) and three-pointers (3) at Tennessee.
• Has taken a team-high 12 charges.
#00 | Rashad MADDEN (G)
• Just the second Razorback in the last five seasons with 100+ assists.
• Eighth all-time in assists (311), just eight behind Todd Day.
• Team leader with a plus/minus rating of +194 on the year.
• Second in the SEC in assists (4.8) and free throw percentage (.892).
• 23 points shy of 1,000 for his career.
#05 | Anthlon BELL (G)
• Scored a team-high 19 points in 17 minutes last year at Mississippi State.
• Averaging 14 points off the bench in two career games vs. Mississippi State.
• Fourth on the team in scoring at 8.1 points per game.
• Arkansas is 16-3 all-time when he reaches double figures
• Arkansas is 15-3 all-time when he hits 3+ three-pointers in a game.
#02 | Alandise HARRIS (F)
• Returned to the starting lineup five games (4-1) ago.
• Had back-to-back double figure performances at Mizzou & vs. Tennessee.
• Scored 1,100 points over his career at Arkansas and Houston.
• Went 7-for-8 from the field for 15 points during SEC road win at Georgia.
• Out of his 19 double figure outings at Arkansas, 12 have come off the bench.
#10 | Bobby PORTIS (F)
• Averaging a double-double (19.0 & 10.1) in SEC play.
• Seven of his team-leading nine double-doubles have come in the SEC.
• One of three high-major players averaging 17.5 points and 8.5 rebounds.
• Leads the SEC in scoring (17.7) and field goal percentage (.562).
• Career-best 17 straight games in double figures.