Following a tough 90-87 loss to No. 10 Creighton on Tuesday night, Arkansas basketball has another quick turnaround. They’re in action later tonight to play No. 17 San Diego State in the 3rd place game of the Maui Invitational.
Last night’s loss was the first of the season for the Hogs, and it came against a very experienced and veteran-led Creighton team. While officiating was the major focus following the game, it’s important to remember that Arkansas has 11 newcomers and was without one of the best players in the country, Nick Smith.
The effort shown in spite of the inexperience and officiating is a great sign moving forward because Arkansas will continue you get better as the season goes on.
Tonight’s test against San Diego State is going to be similar to last night, as the Aztecs are a senior-laden team that is very good defensively. They return all but three rotation players from last year’s team, which lost in overtime to Creighton in the NCAA Tournament. They also added guard Darrion Trammell and forward Jaedon LeDee through the transfer portal, and the two have led the team in scoring this season.
The Aztecs are really solid defensively and love to share the ball on offense, which presents the same problems for this young Razorback team that Creighton did last night.
Arkansas is going to be in for another tough challenge, but win or lose, this team is still getting valuable experience that should pay off in March.
Here’s more on how you can catch all of tonight’s action.