Arkansas Basketball: 3 intriguing non-conference matchups
By Max Hoover
Arkansas Basketball Intriguing Matchup #2: Bradley (at Simmons Bank Arena in North Little Rock)
Bradley is 99th in the 2023 T-Rank college basketball projections. While that may not worry most Arkansas basketball fans, maybe it should.
You see, Hofstra was 112th in those rankings last year. That Hofstra team beat the Razorbacks in North Little Rock last year. Arkansas struggled with the 168th Valparaiso in the 2019-2020 season.
Are you sensing the pattern yet?
Arkansas basketball has struggled in its games at Simmons Bank Arena in North Little Rock. What makes things worse is Bradley might be the best team the Hogs have faced there in recent memory, at least according to the Barttorvik rankings.
What might make matters worse is that the game against Bradley comes a week after playing an Oklahoma team that is projected to be very good (33rd in Barttorvik) in Tulsa.
This is the kind of game that Arkansas basketball’s caliber teams need to win and must do so convincingly. So keep this game circled as a potential trap for Musselman’s squad before conference play starts.