Gameday Live: Arkansas vs Austin Peay
The Razorbacks will play Austin Peay on Tuesday night inside Bud Walton Arena, and they may be without their leading scorer for the second game in a row.
Junior guard Mason Jones missed Arkansas’ latest game against Northern Kentucky. The Hogs managed to outlast the Norse, 66-60, but the scoring didn’t come easy. The Razorbacks only shot 41.8 percent from the field. In six games this season, Jones is averaging a team-high 18.5 points per game. Additionally, the DeSoto (Texas) native leads the team with 16 steals and is bringing down 5.7 boards per game.
“Mason, we got together this morning between his classes. He’s going to try to practice today,” Razorback head coach Eric Musselman said Monday. “Probably not do any contact stuff. Right now, it’s not bothering him shooting. It’s bothering him a defensively a little bit when he puts his arm a certain way. The good thing is if he plays we need his shooting more than we need his defense. So, I think it will be a game-time decision but he is going to go through noncontact stuff today.”
The Razorbacks are 7-0 to start the Musselman era. Arkansas leads the NCAA in 3-point defense this season, as opposing teams are only making 17.9 percent of their trifectas. On the flip side, the Hogs are only making 25.6 percent of their 3-point attempts.
“As far as shooting the ball, we feel like we’re getting pretty good looks,” Musselman said. “If we start clicking from three, I think we’ll be that much harder. If we keep clanking them we’ve got to be really good defensively.”
WHO: Arkansas Razorbacks (7-0) vs. Austin Peay (3-3)
WHEN: Tuesday, Dec. 3 at 7 p.m. (CST)
WHERE: Bud Walton Arena in Fayetteville (Ark.)
The Governers have gone 3-3 this season and have won two straight. They beat South Carolina State in their latest contest last Monday, 92-66.
The Governers are coached by Matt Figger. Last season, Austine Peay finished the year with a record of 22-11. Figger’s squad won 13 games in the Ohio Valley Conference play and lost five.
“I think they're well-coached. Like I said, when you look at a team that is 17th in the NCAA in offensive rebounds, I think if you're an offensive rebounding team you're probably a pretty physical rebounding team,” Musselman said. “They have a high free throw rate. They're 16th in the country in free throw rate. And they score the ball. This is the 26th best scoring team in the country, so our transition defense has to be good. They shoot high-percentage shots and their two stars get a bulk of the shot attempts for them.”
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