Game Preview: Arkansas Razorbacks vs Wake Forest Demon Deacons

The 2015 Arkansas Razorbacks Basketball season is quickly heating up. Already we have had some tremendous performances that make us excited for the year. On the other hand, we have also witnessed our Hogs get their butts handed to them in the most Arkansas way possible.

The Hogs traveled to Brooklyn for the NIT Season Tip-Off tournament, only to be disappointed…twice. The first matchup against Georgia Tech was a bust, as the Hogs couldn’t answer to a highly talented Yellowjacket team, falling 83-73. Then they blew a 17 point lead late in the game to lose to the Stanford Cardinal in the consolation game, thus heading back to Fayetteville with their heads low.

But a bounce back came quick for the Hogs, as they pulled off a 117-78 blowout over Northwestern State on Tuesday. Now the Hogs look to keep the momentum going against Wake Forest on Friday. Arkansas is traveling to the Demon Deacons’ home court to face off against easily the best opponent of the season thus far. Wake Forest is looking at this game as a revenge match, as they remember the 83-53 loss they suffered to Arkansas in 2014. To remember the good times, here’s a video of the game below.

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Sadly, the Hogs aren’t the same team that they were last year. In the game you just watched, only one Arkansas starter on the 2015 squad started in the game last season, and that would be Anthlon Bell. Keaton Miles, Moses Kingsley, and Jabril Durham were the only other notables in last year’s matchup, but it was the bench that took up most of their game. But in 2015, these guys are finally making their mark at becoming great Arkansas basketball players. Besides the losses, this fresh group of starters and bench players are becoming their own.

On the other hand, Wake Forest is a team with many returning players, and their seniority could very well rule the Hogs on Thursday. the Demon Deacons have 3 of their five key starters returning from last year, and they have proved to be solid so far. So who are the big players to watch on each side?

Players to Watch: Arkansas Razorbacks

• Dusty Hannahs- Dusty Hannahs is easily the most exuberant players on the Arkansas Razorbacks squad right now. After having three separate 21 point games, Dusty leads the team in points per game (18.0), free throw percentage (.958), and, most excitingly, three point percentage(.515). After breaking the world record for three pointers in a minute this fall, we are quickly seeing the hype for this kid is not overestimated.
• Moses Kingsley- Kingsley is looking to prove himself as Arkansas’ leader for 2015. After watching him perform fantastically off the bench last year, he still continues to exceed our expectations. Moses follows Hannahs in PPG (16.7), but he is dominating the game down low. He’s averaging 10.2 rebounds per game with as well as 2.0 blocks per game. Along with the second best field goal percentage on the team, it is easy to say that Moses Kingsley is a beast and we can’t wait to watch him play on Thursday. His four double-doubles on the year only help his cause.
• Anthlon Bell- One thing has been huge with Anthlon Bell this year, CONSISTENCY. He’s averaging 16.2 PPG, and has made a total of 19 threes this year, leading the Hogs. Like Kingsley, Bell was looking for a leadership position this year. Being the only returning member of the team that started games in 2014, fans have really grasped towards him. He’s not disappointing either, and I don’t think he will for the rest of the season.

Players to Watch: Wake Forest Demon Deacons

• Devin Thomas- Let’s talk about the big man. Thomas is easily one of the hottest players in the ACC at this point in the year. He’s coming off of a stellar game against Rutgers on Sunday, where he collected 23 points and 17 rebounds. Nevertheless he leads the Demon Deacons in PPG (18.4) and rebounds (11.3) by a great margin. Coming in at 6’9, 255 pounds, Thomas should be the decider for this game.
• Bryant Crawford- This is a player that’s going to be either hot or not. Crawford was definitely hot at the beginning of the season, having two 20+ point games. But when the team traveled to Maui recently, Crawford suffered an illness and later came back having the worst performance of his young freshman career at Wake Forest. Having Crawford keep his struggles is very vital to Arkansas, as he his stats are mostly second to Devin Thomas.

Wake Forest hasn’t had an easy season either. The only difference between them and us is that they’ve just pulled out more wins. They’ve already had to face off against two ranked teams on the year, Vanderbilt and Indiana. The Demon Deacons lost to 19th ranked Vanderbilt and beat the 13th ranked Indiana. Now coming out of the Maui invitational, Wake Forest sits at 5-2 on the year. All of Wake Forest’s wins have been by single digits. Whatever the case may be, this game will be a fun one to watch.

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This matchup will be a true test for our Arkansas Razorbacks. Will we be able to pull out a win against a talented team? Wake forest is our first true road game, and as we’ve seen, Arkansas is steadily improving with away matchups. What we would all love to see is the Hogs actually figuring out themselves, and who they are as a team. Northwestern State gave us a momentum boost, now it’s our opportunity to keep it rolling.