TODAY’S GAMES

Saturday, December 22, 2012

— Arkansas men vs. Alabama A&M

WHEN 7 p.m. WHERE Verizon Arena, North Little Rock RECORDS Arkansas 6-4; Alabama A&M 2-6 SERIES First meeting TELEVISION RSN telecast: KATV, Channel 7, Little Rock; KFTA, Channel 24, Fayetteville; KAIT, Channel 8, Jonesboro RADIO Razorback Sports Network

CHALK TALK Arkansas guard Ky Madden has 9 starts this season, but he sustained an ankle injury in practice earlier this week and played just 4 minutes in Arkansas’ 79-74 victory over Robert Morris on Thursday night. Coach Mike Anderson said he expects Madden to play tonight, but if he isn’t ready, Rickey Scott or Fred Gulley could start in his place.

UALR men at South Alabama

WHEN 2:05 p.m. Central WHERE Mitchell Center, Mobile, Ala.

RECORDS UALR 8-5, 2-0 Sun Belt; South Alabama 5-5, 2-0 SERIES South Alabama leads 23-14 RADIO KBAZ-FM, 103.7, in Little Rock INTERNET ualrtrojans.com

CHALK TALK South Alabama will be playing its first game under interim coach Jeff Price. He takes over for Ronnie Arrow, who announced his retirement Wednesday after six seasons with a 211-161 record in Mobile.

Arkansas State men at Kent State

WHEN 6 p.m. Central WHERE MAC Center, Kent, Ohio RECORDS ASU 6-4; Kent State 6-5 RADIO KFIN-FM, 107.9, Jonesboro SERIES Tied 1-1 INTERNET astateredwolves.com

CHALK TALK Arkansas State hung close with midmajor darling Murray State before losing Wednesday to end a three-game run at the Convocation Center, where they are 4-1 this season. Points off turnovers and second-chance scoring could be the difference.

UCA men at Mississippi State

WHEN 2 p.m. Central WHERE Mississippi Coliseum, Jackson, Miss. RECORDS Central Arkansas 4-4, Mississippi State 3-6 SERIES Mississippi State leads 1-0 RADIO KUCA-FM, 91.3, in Conway INTERNET ucasports.com

CHALK TALK Central Arkansas senior center Anthony Borden returns today after missing the first eight games because of academic ineligibility. Mississippi State has won 11 consecutive games in Jackson, with its last loss coming in 1980 against Southern Mississippi.

UAPB men at Texas-El Paso

WHEN 7 p.m. Central WHERE Don Haskins Center, El Paso, Texas RECORDS UAPB 1-9, UTEP 4-5

CHALK TALK Arkansas-Pine Bluff will play its final two nonconference games this weekend. The Golden Lions will play either Central Michigan or Nebraska on Sunday. All-SWAC forward Daniel Broughton returned Dec. 5 from a knee injury, but he’s struggled to find a rythm in his two games.

UALR women at South Alabama

WHEN Noon Central WHERE Mitchell Center, Mobile, Ala. RECORDS UALR: 9-1, 2-0 Sun Belt Conference; South Alabama 7-4, 0-2 SERIES South Alabama leads 11-7 RADIO KARN-AM, 920, in Little Rock

CHALK TALK UALR re-enters its Sun Belt Conference schedule on an eight-game winning streak, the past seven of which have come by 12 points or more. South Alabama, eliminated from the Sun Belt Conference Tournament by UALR in each of the past two seasons, blew an 18-point lead in Wednesday’s loss at Central Florida and have lost three of its past five games.

Arkansas State vs. Louisiana-Lafayette

WHEN 7:05 p.m. WHERE Convocation Center, Jonesboro RECORDS ASU 4-7, 1-1 Sun Belt Conference; Louisiana-Lafayette 6-5, 0-2 RADIO KNEA-AM, 970, Jonesboro SERIES ASU leads 43-12 INTERNET astateredwolves.com

CHALK TALK Arkansas State has won two consecutive at home, and welcome in a Ragin’ Cajuns squad that has also struggled on the road. Jalen O’Brien has been inserted into the lineup, and ASU is getting balanced scoring to aid Jane Morrill.

UCA women at Southern Miss

WHEN Noon Central WHERE Reed Green Coliseum, Hattiesburg, Miss. RECORDS Central Arkansas 6-3, Southern Mississippi 5-5 SERIES First meeting RADIO KUCA-FM, 91.3, in Conway INTERNET ucasports.com

CHALK TALK Southern Miss will be Central Arkansas’ final nonconference Division I opponent before the Sugar Bears begin Southland Conference play Jan. 3 at Nicholls State. (UCA hosts NAIA Philander Smith on Dec. 29.) After missing a game because of a knee injury, UCA’s Micah Rice returned Thursday and scored 12 points and had four assists in the Sugar Bears’ 62-49 victory at Louisiana-Monroe.

Sports, Pages 24 on 12/22/2012