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The long wait is over. Basketball is back at the University of Arkansas.
Coach Eric Musselman and the Razorbacks open the regular season at Bud Walton Arena on Tuesday night against Mercer. The game is Arkansas’ first since falling to eventual national champion Baylor in the Elite Eight a year ago.
The Razorbacks were picked by the league’s media to finish third in the SEC. Arkansas finished second last year with a 13-4 conference record. Mercer was picked fourth in the Southern Conference, generally a one-bid league. The Bears did receive a first-place vote.
The No. 15 team in the Ferris Mower Men’s Basketball Coaches Poll, Arkansas returns starters Jaylin Williams in the frontcourt and Devo Davis in the backcourt. Davis was named preseason All-SEC second team, while last year’s sixth-man, guard JD Notae, was a preseason All-SEC first-team selection. The Hogs also return 7-foot-3 center Connor Vanover, who started a majority of Arkansas’ games in the first half of the season.
But this year is more about the newcomers. Transfers Stanley Umude (swingman from South Dakota), Chris Lykes (guard from Miami), Au’Diese Toney (wing from Pittsburgh), Jaxson Robinson (wing from Texas A&M), Kamani Johnson (forward from Little Rock) and Trey Wade (forward from Wichita State) all arrive with potential in the Arkansas rotation.
Felipe Haase, a 6-foot-9, 253-pound forward, is Mercer’s best returner and an All-Southern Conference preseason selection. Haase averaged 12 points and 7.6 rebounds a game last year. Mercer finished seventh last year in the 10-team SoCon.
Tipoff is at 7 p.m. in the Basketball Palace of Mid-America. The game can be seen on SEC Network+ through your cable, satellite or streaming provider.