Hogs' No. 1 Task Against Texas: Stop SEC's Leading Scorer

Former Razorback will be among Longhorns' best playmakers in Wednesday's tilt

Texas Longhorns guard Tre Johnson attacks the paint against LSU's Dji Bailey at Pete Maravich Assembly Center. on Saturday. The 'Horns outscored the Tigers by 25 points in the second half to win 89-58. | Stephen Lew-Imagn Images

Stop Tre Johnson and that'll stop the Longhorns. Maybe. Arkansas is about to find out if it can even slow him down and if that'll be enough to steal a victory on Texas' home court Wednesday night.

Johnson isn't Texas' only talented player -- not by a long shot -- but he is the leading scorer in the Southeastern Conference. He'll test the Razorbacks' defense that was outstanding in spurts during Saturday's 89-79 upset road win against the then-No. 12 Kentucky Wildcats that grabbed the attention of the college basketball world.

Arkansas' 6-foot-4 guard D.J. Wagner might be the Hogs' primary defender against Johnson. Wagner is the do-everything sophomore, a consensus 5-star pick and ranked as high as the No. 4 recruit in the country by ESPN and 247Sports. Wagner lit up Kentucky for 17 second-half points to go with a game-high eight assists.

Johnson is a 6-foot-6 freshman guard, a natural scorer who was a consensus 5-star recruit and the No. 4 player in ESPN's Top 100. NBA Draft Room predicts he'll be the fourth player taken in this year's draft.

Johnson has lived up to the hype in what should be his first and last season of wearing Texas' burnt orange. A Texas kid whose dad played for Baylor, he had trouble deciding between the Bears and 'Horns while playing last season at Link Academy in Branson, Missouri. Arkansas was among his six final school choices that included Kansas, Alabama and Kentucky.

Johnson scored a season-high 30 points on just 18 shots -- he made 4-of-10 from deep and all 10 free throws -- to fuel an epic Texas comeback at home three games ago against archrival Texas A&M. The 'Horns were without second-leading scorer Arthur Kaluma and trailed 51-29 before coach Rodney Perry helped get his team on track.

Announcers in this video called Johnson a "super freshman" with "parking-lot range and efficient from the middie." Watch to the end to see his versatility and the game-winning shot by former Razorback Tramon Mark.

In the Longhorn's most recent game at LSU, they blitzed the Tigers by 25 points in the second half to win 89-58. Johnson and Mark led the way with 18 points each, followed Kadin Shedrick with 16 and Kaluma with 10.

Top five scoring averages on the season for the 'Horns are Johnson (19.0), Kaluma (13.6), Pope (11.6), Mark (9.6) and Shedrick (8.4). The Razorbacks are led by Adou Thiero (16.4), Wagner (10.5), Johnell "Nelly" Davis (9.4) and Zvonimir Ivisic (7.8) and Karter Knox (6.9).

All five of those Hogs were in double figures against Kentucky as Arkansas controlled the game throughout the second half in coach John Calipari's return to the school where he coached the last 15 years.

Arkansas improved to 13-8 overall and 2-6 in the SEC and hopes to ride that momentum to another road victory. Texas is 15-7, 4-5 and winner of three of its last four, the loss coming by three at Ole Miss.

The Longhorns started 0-3 in the SEC with a road loss (80-60) at A&M followed by close home setbacks against No. 1 Auburn (87-82) and No. 4 Tennessee (74-70). The other league loss was 84-60 at No. 6 Florida.

Opening tip between the Hogs and 'Horns on Wednesday is at 8 p.m. ESPN2 will televise from UT's Moody Center, which opened two seasons ago and seats 10,000.

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