FAYETTEVILLE — Arkansas is asking four freshmen to play key roles on a team with nine scholarship players.
Size and rebounding remain key issues for coach Mike Anderson’s guard-oriented roster. And Arkansas continues to adjust to life without leading scorer Marshawn Powell, who is out for the season after suffering a season-ending knee injury last month.
But when it was suggested to Arkansas’ Hunter Mickelson the Razorbacks might not be ready for the daunting task during their first road trip of the season, the freshman said it didn’t matter.
“It’s going to happen either way,” Mickelson said.
Ready or not, the Razorbacks (5-1) face an enormous challenge when they play No. 8 Connecticut (6-1) in Hartford’s XL Center today at 2:15. The national champions are loaded with size, depth and talent, leaving no doubt they’re an overwhelming favorite to rough up the Razorbacks in the Big East/SEC Challenge.
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
The matchup was set up as part of the 12-game conference challenge. Arkansas has been guaranteed a home game against a Big East team next season. But Anderson’s immediate concern is making sure his young team is prepared for Connecticut today.
“We’ll find out a little bit more about ourselves,” Anderson said. “I know we’re not where we want to be.
“When you’ve talking about you’ve played six games into your schedule with a band new basketball team playing a totally new style that guys are just now getting an opportunity to play in. So I’m going to gauge it for what I think it would help us. Because we’re going to face some teams that are just as good or with the same type of players as Connecticut has.”
Arkansas has raced out to a 5-1 record, winning its past three games against Utah Valley, Grambling State and Mississippi Valley State. Connecticut is the first ranked opponent on Arkansas’ schedule and there’s no doubt the level of competition will be much different.
Connecticut boasts one of the nation’s most talented rosters even though its 2010-11 leading scorer during the title run — Kemba Walker — is now in the NBA.
But Arkansas said it is eager for the big test.
“I’m optimistic,” forward Marvell Waithe said. “I always believe in myself and the team. … I don’t think anybody has reason to be fearful of anybody.
One thing is certain: Connecticut will have a distinct size advantage against the Razorbacks.
The Huskies’ roster includes seven players who stand 6-foot-8 or more, including 6-10 center Andre Drummond. The freshman was regarded as one of the best high school players in the country last year and is averaging 8.1 points and 7.0 rebounds in seven games.
“It’s the same thing we work on in every practice,” forward Michael Sanchez said when asked what it will take to beat UConn’s big men. “Rebounding, blocking out, staying aggressive inside, keeping people off the board. I think now more than ever with this game We have to be more aggressive than we ever have been.”
Anderson and the Razorbacks intend to crank up the pressure, too, against a Connecticut team that has been sloppy with the basketball through seven games.
The Huskies are averaging 15.7 turnovers a game after committing 11.4 during the title year. So Arkansas’ aggressive defense will be key as the Razorbacks try to keep pace with a program it has never beaten (0-2).
“I think you’ve got to counter that possibly with the style of play,” Anderson said of Connecticut’s strength in the frontcourt. “We’ve got to be unpredictable. We’ve got to be a team that is going to play defense as a team, the ultimate team.”
Arkansas’ guards won’t have an easy time, either.
Connecticut is loaded with talent at the guard positions, too. The starting backcourt of sophomores Jeremy Lamb and Shabazz Napier is averaging 39 points a game. Freshman Ryan Boatright, who didn’t play during Connecticut’s first six games, scored 14 points in his Huskies debut against Florida State on Nov. 26.
“They run, but I think we run a little more and we get up and down the floor,” Waithe said about any contrast in styles between the teams. “We’re not going to change what we do and they’re not going to change what they do. Somebody is going to come out the victor.”
Anderson was realistic Thursday, saying his team is the “underdog for obvious reasons” against the Huskies. But he’s also confident the young Razorbacks will be “fired up” because “guys look forward to playing in these kind of games in these kind of venues.”
“It’s an opportunity for us to grow,” Anderson said. “We’ve had an opportunity to play games at home in front of our fans. Now it’s an opportunity to go out on a national scene and play against a great basketball team and a great coach like (UConn’s) Jim Calhoun.”