Preview and Thread: Arkansas vs Houston

After a successful trip to Portland, the Hogs are back in action with their first true road game of the season. The Hogs and Cougars meet up, and since we’ve already took a deep dive into the matchup here, this won’t go too in depth, but there are a few things to point out.

Projected Starters

The Cougars have switched things around some on their starting 5 but this is their main group. With three seniors and two juniors Kelvin Sampson clearly has an experienced group. The bench also has several upperclassmen as well. The man to watch out for is Rob Gray, who will play a lot like Oklahoma’s Trae Young. He averages 23 points per game, shots 48% from three, and has just under four assists per game.

Arkansas has a huge advangate inside in this one. Breaon Brady is their biggest regular player at 6’8” and 250 lbs. Trey Thompson, Dustin Thomas, and Daniel Gafford will have an advantage in the post and it will be key for the Hogs to take advantage.

3 Key Stats

While two inches doesn’t seem like a lot, when it comes to averages it’s a big difference. The really interesting thing is, despite that difference, Houston has been an excellent offensive rebounding team. The Cougars will go for offensive boards but Arkansas can dictate the pace and get run outs if they can secure defensive rebounds. So far they’ve been +18 in rebound margin this season.