FAYETTEVILLE -- Two of the SEC's most offensively challenged women's basketball teams square off tonight.
Arkansas (11-8, 1-6 SEC), which is tied for the worst field-goal shooting percentage in conference games, hosts Auburn (9-10, 0-7), the conference's lowest-scoring team with an average of 60.1 points per game, at 7 p.m. at Walton Arena.
First-year Arkansas Coach Jimmy Dykes said his team hasn't given up, even coming off a first half in Sunday's 72-58 loss at Florida that he described as the team's poorest play of the season.
Arkansas women vs. Auburn
WHEN 7 tonight
WHERE Walton Arena, Fayetteville
RECORDS Auburn 9-11, 0-7 SEC; Arkansas 11-8, 1-6
SERIES Auburn leads 20-12
RADIO KABZ-FM, 103.7, in Little Rock; KQSM-FM, 92.1, in Fayetteville; KFPW-AM, 1230, and KFPW-FM, 94.5, in Fort Smith; and KURM-AM, 790, and KURM-FM, 100.3, in Rogers
PROBABLE STARTING LINEUPS
AUBURN
POS. NAME, HT., YR. PPG RPG G Brandy Montgomery, 5-10, So. 11.0 4.3 G Khady Dieng, 5-10, So. 5.8 2.3 G Kiani Parker, 5-9, Sr. 2.7 2.0 G/F Katie Frerking, 6-1, So. 6.2 5.7 F/C Tra’Cee Tanner, 6-3, Jr. 12.1 5.8 COACH Terri Williams-Flournoy (47-41 in third year at Auburn, 190-149 in 11th year overall)
ARKANSAS
POS. NAME, HT., YR. PPG RPG G Calli Berna, 5-10, Sr. 5.5 5.3 G Kelsey Brooks, 5-9, So. 16.3 5.5 G Melissa Wolff, 6-0, Jr. 9.1 8.5 F Jessica Jackson, 6-3, So. 13.5 5.7 F Jhasmin Bowen, 6-1, Sr. 10.8 6.8 COACH Jimmy Dykes (11-8 in first season at Arkansas and overall)
TEAM COMPARISON
Auburn Arkansas
60.1 Points for 64.3
55.3 Points against 57.1
+1.8 Rebound margin +8.9
+2.6 Turnover margin -0.9
41.2 FG pct. 38.2
28.2 3-pt pct. 29.9
58.1 FT pct. 65.8
CHALK TALK Arkansas is tied for 12th in the SEC in overall field-goal percentage (38.2) and tied for 13th in SEC games (34.1) with Missouri. ... Auburn is last in scoring (60.7 points per game) and free-throw percentage (57.1) in the SEC. ... The Razorbacks hit 4 of 22 three-pointers in their 72-58 loss at Florida on Sunday.... Auburn’s average margin of defeat in its 0-7 SEC start is 11.7 points per game.
"I think our morale is still really good," Dykes said. "I think we're all still believing that we're a good basketball team. We've just hit a hard stretch right now."
The Razorbacks are shooting 34.1 percent in SEC play, dragging their overall shooting accuracy down to 37.6 percent to rank 13th in the 14-team conference.
"We just need to have one of those games where the ball goes in again and maybe things go our way," Dykes said. "They deserve to win games. It just hasn't happened for us as much as I want."
Dykes likened Arkansas' improvement from the free-throw line -- the Razorbacks are third in free-throw shooting in SEC games at 71.8 percent, although they rank eighth in all games at 65.8 percent -- as a contagious act that also could spread to shooting from the field.
Auburn is struggling to put the ball through the hoop, but so do the Tigers' opponents. Auburn is fifth in the SEC in scoring defense, allowing 55.3 points per game.
"You go back and watch their last three or four games and teams aren't having much success at all scoring on them in the true half-court," Dykes said. "You've got to get some turnovers against them and get to the free-throw line and offensive rebound because their 3-2 zone is really good.
"It's no secret that we don't shoot the ball that great, so it's going to be a real challenge, a real test for us."
The Tigers are second in the SEC in steals per game (11.7) and third in blocked shots (4.9). Auburn will play without senior Hasina Muhammad, whose 26 points against South Carolina represent a league high in conference games. Muhammad, who averages 13.2 points per game in conference, will sit out the second game of her two-game suspension for throwing a punch in a loss to Alabama last week.
Arkansas sophomore Kelsey Brooks leads the SEC in scoring at 16.3 points per game, while sophomore Jessica Jackson is 10th with 13.5 points per game.
Dykes said his team cannot be suckered by Auburn's record.
"I've talked to a couple of other head coaches in this league who have played against them this year, and they said the same thing that I see: Don't let that zero mark in the win column fool you, because defensively they are very, very good," Dykes said. "They've got good athletes, and they can really make it hard for you to score in the half-court."
Sports on 01/29/2015