Kelvin Sampson Breaks Down What Stands Out About Arkansas
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The Houston Cougars get set for another test this weekend after they continued to cruise through the nonconference portion of their schedule. The Cougars picked up their tenth win of the season last Saturday after taking care of the New Orleans Privateers 99-57.
This Saturday, the Coogs should have a much different matchup in terms of difficulty, as they take on the SEC's Arkansas Razorbacks as part of the Never Forget Tribute Classic at the Prudential Center in Newark, N.J., on Dec. 20.
The Coogs head up north with a 10-1 record with their only loss coming to another SEC team in the Tennessee Volunteers, while the Razorbacks head into the matchup with a 9-2 record with losses to Michigan State and Duke.
Kelvin Sampson talks about Arkansas Strengths
At a press conference on Wednesday, Kelvin Sampson spoke about the matchup against the Razorbacks at the end of the week, highlighting Arkansas's three-point shooting ability and deep scoring talent.
"Arkansas doesn't have a lot of weaknesses because of the way they're shooting the ball from the outside," Sampson said. "When you're able to bring Meleek Thomas and Billy Richmond III off the bench with [Malique] Ewin, that speaks volumes about your talent level because all three of those guys would start for most power conference teams."
As a team, the Razorbacks are shooting nearly 40 percent from three-point range, with three different players shooting at that benchmark. Arkansas has also been efficient elsewhere, shooting near 50 percent from the field and close to 80 percent from the free-throw line.
Sampson added to the Razorbacks' scoring ability can come from multiple sources, being one of the toughest challenges when facing Arkansas.
"They've got so many scoring threats that you have to be on your toes, no matter who's coming in or who's coming out," Sampson said. "They're always going to have a major scoring threats on the floor together, which is what makes them so unique."
The Razorbacks are led by guard Darius Acuff Jr., who leads the team in scoring and assists as the freshman heads into the matchup against the Coogs, averaging 18.2 points per game while shooting nearly 50 percent from the field, alongside 6.1 assists, 3.1 rebounds, and about a steal.
As a whole, Arkansas has three players currently averaging over double-digit points per game, with Acuff Jr. as well as forward Trevon Brazile, who's averaging 15.1 points, and guard Meleek Thomas, who totals 14.8 points per game.
Elsewhere, the Razorbacks have four different players who are hovering about double-digit points per game. Guard Karter Knox is the closest with 9.8 points; both guards, Billy Richmond III and D.J. Wagner, are averaging eight points per game. And forward Malique Ewin averages 7.5 points per game off the bench.
