Arkansas and Texas will try to create some separation from each other in the minds of the NCAA Tournament committee when they square off Wednesday in a key Southeastern Conference game in Fayetteville, Ark.
Differentiation is important for both teams because each owns a 16-11 overall record and a 5-9 mark in SEC play.
Arkansas carries a modicum of momentum as it looks for the season sweep of the Longhorns after a 92-85 home win over then-No. 15 Missouri Saturday. Zvonimir Ivisic scored a game-high 20 points while Johnell Davis hit for 18 points and snatched four steals, D.J. Wagner produced 17 points and Karter Knox added 14.
“Every game in this league is ridiculous — let’s see if we can build on this,” Arkansas coach John Calipari said. “Everybody watching this team knows we’re getting better. Now we just gotta finish.”
Razorbacks forward Adou Thiero’s status for the Texas game is in question after he aggravated a back injury late in the second half. Thiero, who scored 11 points against Missouri before being forced from the game, averages 15.6 points, six rebounds, two assists and 1.7 steals per game this season — all career-high marks.
“If Adou doesn’t play, well, then next man up,” Calipari said Monday. “Come on, somebody else. One guy’s misery is another man’s opportunity. That’s how you look at it.”
The Longhorns have dropped four of their past five games, a swoon that started with a 78-70 home loss to Arkansas on Feb. 5 and reached its nadir Saturday with an 84-69 setback at league basement-dweller South Carolina.
Texas, which trailed by 18 points at halftime and never got closer than 11 points after the break, received a game-high 29 points from freshman Tre Johnson.
“You have got to play the game for 40 minutes — you’ve got to play it to the end,” Texas coach Rodney Terry said. “You just have to continue to try to work the game. You know, we had no magic 18-point play coming out (of the second half). We need to come out and get some stops and try to get the game back on our terms.”
Johnson, the SEC’s leading scorer at 20.2 points per contest, has amassed at least 20 points in the six of the Longhorns’ last eight games.
–Field Level Media
