Razorbacks report

'Unique' seniors get bow

Arkansas guard Jalen Tate runs a play against Auburn during an NCAA college basketball game Wednesday, Jan. 20, 2021, in Fayetteville. (AP Photo/Michael Woods)
Arkansas guard Jalen Tate runs a play against Auburn during an NCAA college basketball game Wednesday, Jan. 20, 2021, in Fayetteville. (AP Photo/Michael Woods)

FAYETTEVILLE -- University of Arkansas seniors Vance Jackson, Justin Smith, Jalen Tate, Khalil Garland and Emeka Obukwelu will be honored with a ceremony after today's game against LSU in Walton Arena.

"It's a unique group," Arkansas Coach Eric Musselman said.

Garland, a highly touted signee from Little Rock Parkview, never got to play for the Razorbacks because of a heart condition that wasn't diagnosed until he came to Arkansas. He has served as a student coach.

"Khalil's become such an integral part of our team," Musselman said. "He gives me a pulse of the team every day."

Jackson, Smith and Tate are graduate transfers who have been instrumental in the Razorbacks' push to sole possession of second place in the SEC.

"Three guys that have been here for a year, but three guys that trusted us at a valuable time in their careers," Musselman said. "Because they only had one more year to play, and they trusted us to come here. They've all made tremendous impacts on the program."

Smith, who transferred from Indiana, said his move has lived up to expectations.

"The reason I came here, honestly, was to win," Smith said. "I felt like this place, out of all of my choices, had the best opportunity for the team and myself to be successful together.

"I'd say so far, it's definitely lived up to the expectations. Winning is always fun. It's been a lot of fun playing here and with this group of guys and playing for Coach Muss."

Smith is first on the team in rebounding (6.7), third in scoring (11.7), fifth in total assists (33) and second among regulars in field goal percentage (50.8%). Tate is fourth in scoring (11.2), fourth in rebounding (3.7) and first in total assists (98). He is the team leader in shooting (51.8%) and is just off Moses Moody's team-best 37.3% three-point shooting at 37%. Jackson averages 4.2 points and 2.4 rebounds. He has 16 assists and shoots 34.4% from three-point range.

Obukwelu, a walk-on, has been a valuable practice player.

"Emeka is kind of an energy guy for us," Musselman said.

A&M game info

Arkansas' rescheduled game against Texas A&M on March 6 in Walton Arena will start at 4 p.m. and be televised on the SEC Network.

Coach Eric Musselman said he doesn't believe the Razorbacks will be able to make up their other postponed game against Texas A&M, which will leave them with 17 SEC games instead of 18.

After today's game against LSU, the Razorbacks play at South Carolina on Tuesday night before hopefully being able to take on Texas A&M.

"We'll take these next two games and then go review the other two preps that we've already done," Musselman said of the previously scrapped games against the Aggies.

Asked whether he thought Texas A&M will actually be able to play at Arkansas considering the Aggies won't have a game in February, Musselman said: "I think we'll just talk about that game as we get closer because, I mean, who knows?"

Davis' defense

LSU Coach Will Wade complimented the defense played by Arkansas freshman guard Davonte Davis.

"Davis has been a real menace defensively," Wade said. "I think he's a tremendous, tremendous defender and one of -- if not the best defender -- in the league. He looks like [former NBA star] Gary Payton out there the way he guards."

No chumps

Coach Eric Musselman said he and his staff began looking into finding a replacement game last Saturday after Texas A&M revealed on Friday the Aggies couldn't host the Razorbacks due to covid-19 issues.

However, Musselman said senior Justin Smith came to him and said the players only wanted to play a marquee game.

"As a group, we kind of decided that if we were going to play a big marquee team that we would be willing to do that because that's always fun ... and it would build our resume," Smith said. "But there's always risks associated. We didn't want to add a game that really didn't mean as much to us and have somebody get injured or maybe have a close contact.

"Anything that can go wrong these days, we really didn't want anything to slow down our progress and our momentum that we had going toward the Alabama game. And we really wanted to win the Alabama game so we really wanted to prepare for that."

Series update

LSU cut its deficit in the all-time series with Arkansas to 37-33 with its 92-76 win at the Maravich Assembly Center on Jan. 13. The Tigers led by as many as 31 points in the first half, at 44-13 with 6:10 remaining, before the Razorbacks closed the gap in the second half.

The teams have played twice every season except two (2013 and 2015) since Arkansas joined the SEC for the 1991-92 season. The Razorbacks own 10 sweeps, including every season between 1992-96, while LSU has six sweeps. There have been 11 season splits, including one in 2019 in which each team won on the other's floor. LSU prevailed 94-88 in overtime at Walton Arena on Jan. 12, 2019, and the Razorbacks upset the No. 19 Tigers 90-89 on Feb. 2, 2019, at Maravich Assembly Center.

The Razorbacks lead 20-8 in games played in Fayetteville, and 33-28 since joining the SEC.

Upcoming Events