College Basketball Preview: Razorbacks take on Delaware State
By Ryan Wright
Dec 22, 2012; North Little Rock, AR, USA; Arkansas Razorbacks forward Marshawn Powell (33) will help led the Hogs against Delaware State University on Saturday in Fayetteville.
Fayetteville, Ark. – The Arkansas Razorbacks men’s basketball team wraps up their non-conference schedule on Saturday against Delaware State University.
The Hogs (8-4) take on their eighth team of the 2012-2013 in Fayetteville having posted a 7-1 home record with their only loss coming to Syracuse 91-82.
Delaware State (6-8, 1-0), members of the Mid-Eastern Conference, is coming off a big win over Marshall on Wednesday night squeezing out a 53-51 victory.
The Hogs enter the game as the No. 5 scoring team in the nation averaging 82.7 points per outing. The Hornets scoring average dropped from 63.4 points per game to 62.6 with the low scoring win over Marshall good for the No. 280 in the nation.
Sophomore guard Tahj Tate is the leading scorer for the Hornets averaging 15.7 points per game. Sophomore forward Tyshawn Bell and junior forward Casey Walker round out the scoring opportunities for Delaware State averaging 8.8 and 8.1 points per game respectively. Bell is the main long distance threat averaging .462 percent from behind the arc.
Senior forward Marques Oliver is the defensive specialist for the Hornets with 24 steals and 24 blocks in 13 games played.
The Hornets are not the best shooting team out there only knocking down .301 percent from behind the arc and as a team shot .675 percent from the free throw line. Rebounding is not a strong suit either pulling down 32.6 boards per game but allows opponents to secure 36.4 per game.
The Hogs are led by BJ Young’s 17.5 and Marshawn Powell’s 15.8 points per game. Powell is the leading rebounder for the Hogs grabbing 5.8 per game.
The Razorbacks are rebounding at a pace of 38 boards per game and have filled the passing lanes creating 116 steals to their opponents 66.
Look for the Hogs to wear down the Hornets with their overall depth going 13 deep in quality minutes.
Game time is 7 p.m. CT at Bud Walton Arena in Fayetteville. The next game for the Hogs comes against Texas A&M in College Station on Wednesday Jan. 9, at 8 p.m.