After two shaky performances away from home the last two weeks, the Arkansas basketball team will be back in the comfortable confines of Bud Walton Arena to host Abilene Christian on Thursday night at 6 p.m.
Since a 97-83 win over Furman on Dec. 4, Arkansas (7-4) has traveled outside of Northwest Arkansas for it’s last two games – a 79-70 loss to Oklahoma in Tulsa on Dec. 9, and a nearly-disastrous 69-66 win over Lipscomb in North Little Rock on Saturday – after blowing a 20-point second-half lead.
“We’ve got to play better in so many different areas,” Head Coach Eric Musselman said, with his team 3-3 in its last six games. “We’ll keep coaching, and then, hopefully you get some execution on the floor.”
Abilene (5-6) is bringing a two-game win streak to town, following victories over Howard Payne and UTEP. The Wildcats are led by Swedish-born forward Ali Abdou Dibba. The 6-foot-4 junior is averaging 13.8 points and 4.0 rebounds per game.
“They do a great job attacking the rim. They do a great job of high-low,” Musselman said. “Their bigs do a great job of ducking in. Ali Abdou Dibba at the small forward spot does a great job of turning the corner. They’ll run a dribble handoff and he’ll turn the corner. They’ll put a dribble-drive guy on the elbow and let him dribble drive.”
Arkansas is a 15-point favorite, according to the Vegas odds, and will again rely on a pair of transfers, junior Tramon Mark and senior Khalif Battle, the team’s top two scorers. Mark, a 6-foot-6 Houston transfer is averaging 16.1 points and 2.7 rebounds per game, while Battle, a 6-foot-5 Temple transfer, is netting 15.1 points and leading the team with 21 made three-pointers this season.
This will also be the second game the Hogs will have the services of speedy point-guard Keyon Menifield, the sophomore transfer from Washington, who was ruled ineligible during the first semester. Menifield scored two points in 19 minutes against Lipscomb.
This is the second meeting ever between Arkansas and Abilene Christian, with the Razorbacks holding the lone 85-72 win in Bud Walton three years ago. Musselman missed that game due to COVID-19 close contact tracing protocols, so David Patrick served as interim coach.
The Razorbacks will not play again until Dec. 30, as UNC Wilmington comes to Bud Walton. Arkansas will then open SEC play on Jan. 6, hosting Auburn.