HawgBeat - Arkansas vs. South Carolina: TV details, key players, BetSaracen odds
HawgBeat provides everything you need to know ahead of Thursday's game between Arkansas and South Carolina.
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The 12-seed Arkansas Razorbacks are riding high off an emotional 90-85 overtime win over Vanderbilt in the first round of the SEC Tournament on Wednesday, but they must quickly shift focus to a matchup with the 5-seed South Carolina Gamecocks on Thursday inside Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee.
Arkansas and South Carolina met once during the regular season on Jan. 20, when the Gamecocks picked up a 77-64 win over the Razorbacks inside Bud Walton Arena. B.J. Mack scored 18 for the Gamecocks, while Tramon Mark had 18 points for the Hogs in that game.
"We've done a good job preparing for teams when we play them a second time or a third time," Arkansas head coach Eric Musselman said after the Vanderbilt game. "Hopefully we come up with something slightly different than what happened at Bud Walton. Because if we do what we did in Bud Walton, we will not win the game. Pretty simple."
Arkansas previously lost to Vanderbilt at home in the regular season as well, but the Hogs held on the keep their season alive with any hopes of playing the NCAA Tournament relying solely on an SEC Tournament championship.
RELATED: Battle, Mark, players-only meeting lead Arkansas to wild win over Vandy
South Carolina enters the game with an extra day of rest and a No. 15 ranking next to its name. The Gamecocks won four of their last five regular season games, which included a home win over a ranked Florida team and an impressive road win at Mississippi State.
"How the game unfolds tomorrow, I really don't know," Musselman said. "We had guys play extended minutes, obviously. So we'll dive into the film tonight. We don't have a long time to do prep. Obviously we will not have a shoot around tomorrow and they will not be on their legs in the gym anywhere to walk through anything, so it's going to have to be a really solid walkthrough in a ballroom much like an NBA team might do on back-to-back nights."
Arkansas is averaging 91.2 points per game over its past five contests, while the Gamecocks score just 72.3 points per game (243rd nationally).
"Arkansas has definitely grown since then," South Carolina guard Meechi Johnson told reporters Wednesday. "They played pretty well, I would say, against Alabama a couple of days ago. The talent is there for them."
ALSO READ: Social media reacts to Arkansas’ 90-85 overtime win over Vanderbilt
For those who missed it Wednesday, Arkansas sophomore guard Keyon Menifield did not make the trip to Nashville for the SEC Tournament to work on academics, per a team release.
Here's details on how to watch/listen, betting lines courtesy of BetSaracen and HawgBeat's pick:
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How to Watch/Listen
Who: 12-seed Arkansas Razorbacks (15-16, 6-12 SEC) vs. 5-seed South Carolina Gamecocks (25-6, 13-5 SEC)When: Thursday, March 14 at 2:30 p.m. CT
Where: Nashville, Tenn. — Bridgestone Arena (19,891)
TV/Stream: SEC Network/Watch ESPN
Radio: Learfield Razorback Sports Network (Chuck Barrett and Matt Zimmerman)
Sirius/XM: 160 Sirius / 1901 XM / 971 SXM App
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SPREAD/TOTALS:
Moneyline:
Arkansas: +230South Carolina: -275
Spread:
Arkansas: +6.5 (-110)South Carolina: -6.5 (-110)
Totals:
Total Points:OVER 143.5 (-110)
UNDER 143.5 (-110)
(Alternate lines, spreads, team totals and player props to be made available on the BetSaracen mobile app.)
(Lines and odds are subject to change at any point after the publishing of this story. HawgBeat does not guarantee any bet as a winner or loser. You must be at least 21 years of age to use BetSaracen. If you have a gambling problem, call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit 1800gambler.net)
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HAWGBEAT'S PICK: Over 143.5 total points (-115)
This is basically a copy and paste of the pick from Wednesday’s game against Vanderbilt, which featured 175 total points scored.
The over/under for Arkansas' final game of the regular season at Alabama was set at 173.5 total points. To be fair, the Crimson Tide are the nation's No. 1 scoring offense, but Arkansas' last five games have averaged 182.4 total points.
Two of South Carolina’s three games of the regular season went over 143.5, as well, so this seems to be a safe play.
