College Basketball

Arkansas vs North Dakota State University Preview

Updated Mar. 4, 2020 6:31 p.m. ET

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Fansided, Chris Jackson/FanSided via Razorbackers

The Arkansas men’s basketball is coming back home from their first road win to take on North Dakota State University.

Arkansas got their first road win in a neutral site matchup against a solid Longhorns team this past Saturday. We as Hog fans really needed to see a win on the road but there were some moments Arkansas looked regressed. The important thing is that they found a way to come back and get the crucial victory.

Heading back home to play the 8-4 NDSU Bison should be a good opportunity for the Hogs to work on some of the issues they had against Texas. Well, not only Texas but issues they’ve had most games. In his Monday press conference reviewing Texas and previewing the Bison, Mike Anderson addressed some of these issues.

The Hogs Need Some Evapo Rust

There’s no doubt that the Razorbacks did look a little off and out of rhythm that could be described as rusty but there was also some of the same problems they’ve been having. Anderson acknowledged this saying that he wanted to see more intensity on defense from the start. Arkansas seems to struggle in the first half against most teams and it would be nice to see them play quality basketball for a full 40 minutes.

If the Texas game was the Evapo Rust of the schedule to remove the rust, then the game against the Bison should be the lubricant to make Arkansas a well-oiled machine with one game left before SEC play.

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I know I harp on it in every single article but a primary cog in the engine for the Fastest40 right now is Moses Kingsley. The preseason SEC Player of the Year has not had a great season thus far. To be quite honest, he’s actually been subpar. Anderson stated that Kingsley’s offense is coming and it’s just a matter of him getting used to the guys around him. I swear I have heard that somewhere before. Could it be in every basketball article I have written this season?

The truth is, however, that this is a totally different type of team from last year with a lot of new guys Kingsley has to learn to play with. The important thing, like Anderson said, is that he is still rebounding and stepping up defensively. As long as he continues to maintain his defensive prowess, I think they can leave the buckets to the array of weapons the Hogs have. In the words of Mike Anderson, “He’s fine.”

What to Look For in NDSU

According to Anderson, the Bison are a mid-tempo team but they are a quality team. NDSU began their season with a win over Arkansas State who is currently directly under Arkansas in the RPI rankings at 27. North Dakota State’s RPI ranking, however, is 129. Thus, Arkansas needs to win and win big over the Bison.

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If we have learned anything as college hoops fans, it’s to not look at the name on the jersey. A little no name school according to most fans had a guy named Dallas Moore hang 34 points on the Hogs. Luckily, though, the Bison don’t have a Dallas Moore on their squad. They do have Paul Miller, Dexter Werner, and Khy Kabellis who lead the team in scoring averaging 10 or more points per game. Werner is their main shot blocker along with A.J. Jacobson but you shouldn’t expect them to go full Moses.

Anderson noted that they like to dribble drive but also shoot threes. Only one player is above .500 in three-pointers made while the rest are ranging from .357 to .255. As a team, they shoot .319 from beyond the arc.

The key for their offense is drawing the foul and getting to the line. Jacobson, who also leads in three-point percentage, leads in the efficiency at the line. They have six players shooting .600 or above from the foul line while three others are hitting .450 or above. Overall they’re making .647 from the foul line.

Closing

The spread, according to Oddsshark.com, is Arkansas -15.5. I would love to say go take the kid’s college fund and bet the Hogs to cover but I am starting to be of the mindset that Arkansas plays down to their opponents in some cases. This could be one of those times that, even though the Razorbacks should win this game easily, they very well could struggle to cover. I still take the Hogs to win outright and move to 10-1. Woo pig!

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