Preview and Gamethread: Texas State vs. Arkansas

Time: 1 p.m. CT

TV: SEC Network

KenPom Prediction: 76-67 Arkansas

Location: Bud Walton Arena

The Hogs are in need of a bounce back in the worst way and will take on a tricky Texas State team before Christmas. Arkansas should win this one but don’t expect the Bobcats to just lay down.

Jaylen Shead is their stud, averaging almost 20 points per game. He’s hitting nearly 50% of his threes this year so the guards will need to be aware of that. The Bobcats also don’t have anyone on the bench near the size of Eric Terry, so Daniel Gafford and Reggie Chaney should bounce back in this one, especially on the boards after they were pretty soundly beaten by Georgia Tech’s big men.

Texas State’s record looks nice but it’s been bolstered by one of the weakest schedules in D1 so far. This the first game against a power conference school they face this year, and it’s the first school within the top-150 of the KemPom rankings this year. Their strong outside shooting gives them a pretty good effective field goal percentage and they force turnovers at a very similar rate that the Hogs do, even at a slower pace most of the time.