Border Battle Basketball: A Look at Arkansas-Texas

Arkansas Razorbacks at Texas Longhorns, Frank Erwin Special Events Center, Austin, TX
Tuesday, January 4, 2011, 9:00 pm Eastern, TV: ESPNU
Opening Line: Texas -11
Current Line: Texas -10
Opening Total: 139
Current Total: 143
Money Line: Texas -600 / Arkansas +475

Jordan Hamilton and the Texas Longhorns take on the Arkansas razorbacks in Austin. The Longhorns are 10 point favorites.

The 10-2 Arkansas Razorbacks face their toughest road game of the season as they take on the #12 11-2 Texas Longhorns in Austin. Arkansas is 1-2 in 3 road/neutral site games. They lost at Alabama-Birmingham, beat Seton Hall in Louisville, and lost in Dallas to Texas A&M. The Razorbacks also have a win over Oklahoma at home. The schedule hasn’t been that difficult so far. Texas has losses to Pittsburgh in New York and at USC. Texas has wins over Illinois, Michigan St and North Carolina. Arkansas holds an 86-66 advantage in the series against their former Southwest Conference rival. Texas has won 2 of the last 3 though including a 96-85 win last year in Fayetteville. This is the last meeting in a 4 game series that began in 2006. Texas is 22-11 ATS in non-conference games the last three years. They are also 1-8 in home games against teams allowing 64 points or fewer a game in the same span.

Arkansas is outscoring opponents 76-62 on the season. The Razorbacks are shooting 45.0% from the field and 36.3% from 3-point range. The Razorbacks are holding opponents to 37.4% shooting from the field. Arkansas makes 67.8% of their free throws. Junior Guard Rotnei Clarke leads the Razorbacks in scoring with 14.3 ppg. Delvon Johnson leads the Razorbacks in rebounds with 8.8 a game and blocks with 4.1 a game. He is also scoring 10.3 ppg. Guard Julysses Nobles leads the team in assists with 3.3 a game and steals with 1.7 a game. Nobles averages 9.5 ppg but si shooting 48.3% from 3-point range. The Razorbacks average 36.8 rebounds a game and have a rebounding margin of -1.2. They average 14.3 assists and 14.0 turnovers a game. They force 18.3 turnovers a game on defense. They average 9.9 steals and 7.8 blocks a game.

Texas is outscoring opponents 78-63. They shoot 44.8% from the field and 35.8% from 3-point range. The Longhorns are holding opponents to 36.5% shooting from the field. Texas shoots 65.8% from the free throw line. Guard/forward Jordan Hamilton leads the Longhorns in scoring with 19.8 ppg. He also averages 7.2 rebounds and 2.4 assists a game while shooting 41.2% from 3-point range. Forward Tristan Thompson scores 12.0 ppg,and also averages 8.1 rebounds and 2 blocks a game to lead the team in both categories. He also averages 1.2 assists and 1.2 steals a game. Forward Gary Johnson averages 11.7 ppg and 7.3 rebounds a game. Freshman point guard averages 11.7 ppg, 3.8 rebounds, 3.1 assists to lead the team, and 1.1 steals a game. Texas averages 43.1 rebounds a game and has rebounding margin of +7.9. They average 14.4 assists and 12.9 turnovers a game. Texas forces 14.3 turnovers a game on defense. They average 4.9 blocks and 6.0 steals a game.

Texas has the decided advantage in rebounding. Both of these teams play really good defense, and this game could be played in the high 60’s or low 70’s. Both teams force a lot of turnovers on defense. Neither team shoots free throws very well which could be a factor if the game is close. Texas has a 27 game home winning streak against non-conference foes.