After obliterating No. 24 Marquette 96-73 Wednesday night in Bloomington, IU men's basketball soars into a Sunday matinee in Fayetteville, Arkansas, against the Arkansas Razorbacks with renewed expectations.
The Marquette victory confirmed the perceived depth this IU roster has. The date with the Razorbacks is about withstanding the gale-force winds of energy that any road team experiences when landing at Bud Walton Arena.
Since head coach Mike Anderson took over in 2011, the Razorbacks have won 110 home games – that ranks sixth in the NCAA over that span. Further, Anderson has never overseen a losing season in his 17-year head-coaching career. The only other coaches with more than 15 years of head coaching experience to do the same are Roy Williams at North Carolina, Tom Izzo at Michigan State and Mark Few at Gonzaga, which isn't bad company to have.
On the court, Arkansas will go as far as sophomore forward Daniel Gafford takes them. Last year, Gafford became the first freshman in program history to record 400 points, 200 rebounds and 70 blocks in a season.
He is averaging 16 points, and eight rebounds after games against Texas and University of California-Davis. Gafford was particularly dominant in the season-opening loss to the Longhorns, totaling 20 points and 12 rebounds.
Where the Razorbacks were particularly devastated by losses is in the backcourt. Anton Beard, Daryl Macon and Jaylen Barford are all gone. That trio combined for 44.2 points, 9.4 rebounds and 9.4 assists per game last season.
In their places is a plethora of inexperienced guards. Jalen Harris, a transfer from New Mexico, and senior Adrio Bailey have started Arkansas’ first two games and should do so again on Sunday. Bailey is also averaging 14 points per game and gives his squad some leadership quality as the only scholarship upperclassmen on the roster.
Freshman guard Isaiah Joe is also worth watching on the offensive end. Joe, the reigning Gatorade Player of the Year in Arkansas, hit five threes and scored 17 points in his college debut against Texas.
Sophomore guard Mason Jones is another intriguing piece to the Razorbacks’ puzzle. The 13th-ranked junior college prospect comes to Fayetteville by way of Connors State College. He’s averaging 16 points, seven rebounds and 2.5 assists per game.
At 6 feet 5 inches and 207 pounds, he should draw the attention of IU sophomore forward Justin Smith and freshman guard Romeo Langford Sunday.
Expect Coach Archie Miller’s bunch to come out flying on the defensive end in an attempt to fluster the Razorbacks squad that welcomes seven freshman into the fold.
Further, against Texas Coach Shaka Smart’s “Havock” defense, Arkansas mustered just 63 points in regulation. That bodes well for the Hoosiers given the defensive propensity they’ve displayed in the early going.
Fresh off arguably the biggest win in Miller’s tenure, complacency could be a concern for the Hoosiers.
That said, IU has a chance to cement itself as a Big Ten contender against what should be a fringe NCAA tournament team on the road.
Tipoff is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. EST The game will broadcast on ESPN with Karl Ravech and Dalen Cuff on the call.
