Alabama Basketball G17 vs Kentucky
Alabama guard Ricky Tarrant (2) gets through during Alabama's SEC basketball game with no. 1 Kentucky, Saturday, Jan. 17, 2015, at Coleman Coliseum in Tuscaloosa, Ala. Vasha Hunt/vhunt@al.com
(VASHA HUNT)
WHAT: Alabama (12-5, 2-2 SEC) at Arkansas (13-4, 2-2)
WHERE: Bud Walton Arena (19,200), Fayetteville, Ark.
WHEN: Thursday, Jan. 21, 6 p.m. CT
TV: ESPN2 with Joe Tessitore and Sean Farnham on the call
PROJECTED STARTING LINEUPS
ALABAMA: G Ricky Tarrant (Jr., 6-2, 190, 12.8 ppg), G Levi Randolph (Sr., 6-5, 208, 15 ppg, 4.6 rpg, 2.7 apg), G Rodney Cooper (Sr., 6-6, 215, 10.6 ppg, 4.0 rpg), F Michael Kessens (So., 6-9, 215, 7.3 ppg, 5.5 rpg) F Jimmie Taylor (So., 6-10, 240, 4.7 ppg, 5.0 rpg)
ARKANSAS: G Rashad Madden (Sr., 6-5, 182, 10 ppg, 5.2 apg), G Jabril Durham (Jr., 6-1, 185, 2.4 ppg), G Michael Qualls (Jr., 6-6, 205, 16.1 ppg, 5.2 rpg), F Moses Kingsley (So., 6-10, 230, 4.8 ppg, 2.6 rpg), F Bobby Portis (So., 6-11, 242, 18.3 ppg, 8.1 rpg)
PLAYER TO WATCH
ALABAMA: Look for Rodney Cooper to have a big game, especially if Alabama plays to Arkansas' tempo and takes the open shots early in the shot clock. Cooper should get plenty of good looks and has scored well when he's been aggressive in games.
ARKANSAS: Bobby Portis is the obvious choice, but Arkansas has more. Michael Qualls, a 6-foot-6 junior guard, is scoring 16.1 ppg. Alabama's Levi Randolph seems to be the obvious choice to guard Qualls if Alabama plays a man defense.
OFF THE BENCH
ALABAMA: The Crimson Tide need more offensively from sophomore forward Shannon Hale, an all-freshman selection last year in the SEC. He's still fourth on the team in scoring at 7.6 rpg and is coming off a 5-point, 4-rebound performance against Kentucky.
ARKANSAS: The Razorbacks have plenty of weapons off the bench, but watch for junior guard Anthlon Bell, who is fourth on the team in scoring at 9.2 ppg and is hitting two 3-pointers per game. Fun stat, courtesy Arkansas media relations - Arkansas is 16-3 all-time when he reaches double figures.
WHY IT MATTERS: Alabama needs a quality win against a team where it's the underdog, and this is a prime opportunity. Arkansas opened as an 8-point favorite, but the line fell by a point or so as of late Wednesday night. Arkansas was ranked in the top 25, but fell out after two losses last week. This also matters because both teams are on two-game losing streaks.
PREDICTION: Arkansas 72, Alabama 67