As former conference foes going back decades, there’s a lot of history between Texas Tech and Arkansas. But more recent memories are important to both programs as they prepare to collide in an engaging neutral-site game this weekend.
The 16th-ranked Red Raiders (7-2) and the 17th-ranked Razorbacks (7-2) tangle Saturday at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, nine months after a memorable showdown in the NCAA Sweet 16 tournament.
Texas Tech left the field in San Francisco that night with an 85-83 victory after erasing a 16-point second-half deficit that ended Arkansas’ attempt to pull off a deep Cinderella run.
The Razorbacks insisted this week that revenge was their only motivation, but they also remember that night and the heartbreaking feelings that followed.
“It’s a consistent game for us,” Arkansas guard Karter Knox said. He scored 20 points against the Red Raiders in the last meeting, supported by four 3-pointers. “It’s a game we have to get – a really big game for us. They beat us last year, but it’s not a revenge game. I feel like this game we’re going to make a statement.”
There are plenty of new faces for both teams, but there are enough players who played in this thriller and both coaches don’t need much prodding to remember how the 80th meeting between the old Southwest Conference rivals went.
For preparation purposes, Razorbacks coach John Calipari broke a trend and went back and watched video of the heartbreaking loss and found himself mad again.
“I had to do it this year because we’re going to play them again,” Calipari said this week on his weekly radio show. “Now I’m even angrier that we lost that game after watching it. How? Every time I stop the tape, how the hell did we lose that?”
Two of the biggest reasons Arkansas lost came down to the Red Raiders, who squandered an equally large lead two days later against Florida in the Elite Eight.
JT Toppin tormented the Hogs with 20 points, 10 rebounds and a career-best five blocked shots, while Christian Anderson scored a career-high 22 points at that point.
Both decided to return this season and are once again the cornerstone of a Texas Tech team looking for a signature win after losing its only two games to ranked opponents this season – No. 14 Illinois and No. 1 Purdue.
Toppin is averaging 20.8 points and a Big 12 Conference-best 11.5 rebounds this season, while Anderson is providing 19.1 points per game and leads the Red Raiders with 65 assists.
As good as this duo is, defense has been a big key to Texas Tech’s success and that will take center stage on Saturday. The Razorbacks are averaging 87.6 points per game and have produced 79 or more in every win — including 89 last week in a win at then-6th-ranked Louisville.
Arkansas’ guard tandem of Darius Acuff Jr. and Meleek Thomas lead the way with 17.4 and 16.9 points per game, respectively.
“We know we have to play great defense against an Arkansas team that is offensively prolific,” said Red Raider coach Grant McCasland, whose team allows 70 points per game. “They’re big, they’re fast, they’re aggressive and those two guards together are as good as any we’ve faced so far.”
Texas Tech has relied heavily on the 3-point shot this season and is coming off a day where they connected on 13 of 27 in a neutral site win over LSU.
In this tuneup for the Hogs, the Red Raiders put together one of their best performances of the season in an 82-58 game by holding the Tigers to 33.3 percent shooting and dominating the glass 45-32. Anderson scored 27 points and eight assists to help his team hand LSU its first loss.
–Field level media
