Arkansas to Take on In-State Rival, UCA Key Players
By Justin Lee
The Arkansas Razorbacks will be playing Central Arkansas this Saturday at home. The Hogs will look to continue their win streak this weekend, and improve to 6-0 on the regular season.
Arkansas is playing an in-state school during the regular season for the first time since 1950, where they beat Arkansas Tech 50-45. This will be the seventh all-time meeting between UCA and UofA, and the first meeting since 1947. There is not a whole lot of history between the two, besides that Arkansas leads the series 6-0.
While the Razorbacks are 5-0, they could easily slip up at any moment and lose to a low major school like UCA. Especially in college basketball, where anything can happen. But in order to avoid a loss, the hogs will need to keep an eye on these players from UCA.
Key Players on UCA:
Rylan Bergersen, G
The 6’6″ senior from Idaho is probably the Bear’s best player. He can pretty much do it all, and at a high level. He is averaging 17 points a game on 54% from three, where he shoots nearly four a game. The guy can shoot, and he showed it last year as well. Many people might question his shooting when looking at his stats this year because he has only played three games. However, just last season with the Bears he averaged 15 points a game.
Bergersen can also use his size at the guard spot effectively. Much like our own Moses Moody, his 6’6″ frame allows him to pull down rebounds. Bergersen is snagging five boards a game, and averaged around the same last season. He is also pretty good at using his length to create havoc on the perimeter, as he averages two steals a game.
DeAndre Jones, G
Their second best player and scorer is DeAndre Jones. At 5’11”, he leads the team at the point guard spot. Like Bergersen, Jones is also a senior from Boise Idaho. In his three games he has put up some impressive numbers as well. Second on the team in scoring at 13 points a game, and leading the team in assist at four a game.
Jones is not the biggest guy in the world, and the long athletic Arkansas guards should be able to use that to their advantage. Jones is also averaging five turnovers a game, and with a defender like Jalen Tate on him we could see more of the same.
The Hogs have not had the hardest schedule to start their season, but they have capitalized on the games needed. If they can enter conference play undefeated it will already put them at an advantage, as six of the 14 SEC teams have already lost at least one game.
