Youth will factor into this game on Sunday afternoon between the Indiana Hoosiers and the Arkansas Razorbacks as Arkansas hosts Indiana at the Bud Walton Arena.
In the early going, it’s been smooth sailing for Indiana who already has a statement win under its belt and has shown quite a bit of maturity already. Archie Miller has the team playing well, knocking on the door of the top-25 already.
Can the Hoosiers keep things rolling against the Razorbacks or will their first road game of the season cause them issues, opening the door for Arkansas to have their own statement victory in this game? Either way, you can get involved in this one by taking part in the live betting opportunities available at BookMaker.eu.
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Indiana Hoosiers at Arkansas Razorbacks
Date and Time: Sunday, November 18, 2018, 3:30 p.m. ET
Location: Bud Walton Arena, Fayetteville, Arkansas
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Hoosiers at Razorbacks TV Coverage: ESPN
We’re still quite early in the college basketball season with just two games for the Razorbacks and three for Indiana up to this point.
Arkansas is a young, inexperienced team. They’re going to have their ups and downs and we’ve already seen that to an extent on the young season as they narrowly fell to Texas in the Armed Forces Classic, 73-71, but bounced back to win their home opener against UC Davis in commanding fashion, 81-58.
In the win, the Hogs got impressive work from Adrio Bailey and Mason Jones in particularly. Bailey shot 5-for-8 from the floor and sunk nine of 11 free throws for 20 points. He scored more than Daniel Gafford in front though Gafford was the leader of the front court with four blocks, serving as a presence inside the paint.
As for Jones, the guard shot 6-for-10 including going 4-for-7 from beyond the arc for a team leading 21 points. He also led the team in minutes with 31.
The team shot very well in the game, particularly from the outside, sinking 40-percent of their shots from three-point range.
They actually shot reasonably well in the loss to Texas, too, though the Longhorns did provide better defense and put them in less favorable positions to sink their shots. Still, they shot reasonably well. They also kept the Longhorns to 31.3-percent shooting from the floor. Texas, however, managed to take more shots, win the battle of the boards—despite 12 rebounds for Gafford—and do much better at the free-throw line.
In total, inexperience is the biggest downside for the Razorbacks. Arkansas isn’t as strong a team as they were last year, but they’re still a solid, SEC team. Jalen Harris and Mason Jones gives the team talent in the wings while Gafford is a good leader in the front court. If Bailey can replicate his success against UC Davis, that’ll go a long way, too.
On the other side of the hardwood in this one, Indiana has looked impressive in their first three games. They weren’t exactly tested in their first two against Chicago State and Montana State. They won both handily, scoring a combined 184 points across the two contests and holding the opposition to a meager 90 combined.
The more impressive win, however, was a 96-73 victory against Marquette on Wednesday. The Hoosiers toppled the Golden Eagles, giving them an early win against a top-25.
In the win, Romeo Langford dominated the floor, scoring 22 points while nabbing five rebounds, two blocks and a pair of assists. Juwan Morgan was a couple rebounds from a double-double as one of five players with at least a dozen points in the effort.
As a team, they shot 63.6-percent from the floor and 45-percent from three, including going 4-for-8 in the second half. Evan Fitzner was 4-for-4 from three off the bench, scoring 16 points in 18 minutes of action.
In the first three games of the year, Indiana has five players averaging double-digit points. Morgan already has 27 rebounds while Rob Phinisee leads the team with 14 assist. De’Ron Davis hasn’t played much so far as they ease him in, but he’s looked good in the minutes he’s played.
As a whole, the team is outscoring the opposition by 39 PPG, shooting 58.6-percent from the floor and 35.5-percent from three. Those are all rather impressive numbers, even in a small sample size.
Live Betting
Indiana can be a bit overlooked in a stacked Big Ten. It’s a tough conference in college hoops and the Hoosiers failed to make the NCAA Tournament last year. Still, this team is sneaky good. They’re returning Juwan Morgan from last year and we’ve already seen how Langford can impact a game in the early going against a strong opponent like Marquette.
This Hoosiers team is young, but they’re good, and they’ve shown themselves better—and more consistent—than an equally inexperienced Razorback squad.
The Razorbacks may be able to keep this one close for a bit if they’re able to shoot well early. Keep an eye on that, but in the end, look for plenty of points on the board by a strong offensive club in Indiana. This Hoosiers team is deeper in talent than the Razorbacks and does have a bit more top-level experience than Arkansas to boot. Look for Arkansas to keep it close in the first half, but the Hogs to lose ground in the second half as Indiana takes home the win and covers the spread at BookMaker.eu.
Key Player
It’s not really a surprise, but given the youth on the team, Daniel Gafford, is key to this game for Arkansas.
The Hoosiers have a deeper roster. They’re young, too, but do have some good experience inside with Juwan Morgan an on the perimeter in Aljami Durham who, although just sophomore, has stepped into a leadership role on the outside. The freshman have also shown big with Langford and Phinisee, in particular, breaking out in a big way.
Unlike the youngsters for Indiana, Arkansas’s youth has been spotty in the early going. The talent is there, but it’s taking time to find their way and the results have inconsistent. That’s where Gafford comes in. The Hogs need the forward to take care of business in the front court against the likes of Morgan. Indiana has been shooting the ball incredibly well, too, so Gafford needs to be a bit of a road block on the inside to help push the shots out and give the Hoosiers some lower percentage shots to help stall the offense a bit.
Hoosiers at Razorbacks Live Betting
The Hoosier should win this game rather handily. They had a coming out party of sorts in their last game by beating Marquette. That should serve as a confidence builder heading into this game. Don’t look for a letdown either as Arkansas isn’t traditionally a push over team.
While the Hogs are at home in this one, giving them a bit of an edge there. Arkansas does have an aggressive press, but the Hoosiers are—simply put—the better team. They’ve got talent inside and out with a deeper bench. It’s still really early in the college hoops betting season, but we’ve already seen more consistency from Indiana on offense and defense. They’ve shot better, defended better and have been able to dominate their opposition both inside the paint and on the perimeter. Arkansas, on the other hand, still seems to be finding themselves a bit.
Check out all of the live betting at BookMaker.eu for Monday’s college basketball.
NCAA Basketball Score Prediction: Indiana 84, Arkansas 69
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