Preview – No. 18 Arkansas vs. Ole Miss

After a brief postponement, Arkansas and Ole Miss are set to square off Friday night in the Palace.

INFO
Date: Friday, Feb. 19
Time: 6 p.m.
Opponent: Ole Miss
Location: Bud Walton Arena
Tickets: Click HERE
Game Program: Click HERE

LAST TIME OUT

• Arkansas earned a big conference win inside Bud Walton Arena on Thursday night, as Head Coach Mike Neighbors’ Hogs took down Mississippi State, 86-80.
• It was the first win for Neighbors over the Bulldogs in his four-year tenure with the Razorbacks, and his Hogs have now beaten every SEC team at least once since he took over the program.
• Arkansas is heating up at the right time, as they have won four of five with the victory.
• Arkansas’ senior stars shined once again Thursday night, as guards Destiny Slocum and Chelsea Dungee stole the show, propelling the Hogs passed MSU.
• Slocum scored her most points as a Razorback against the Bulldogs, pouring in 26 on 11-15 shooting from the field. Despite suffering a hand injury in the second half, Slocum remained in the game, and continued to keep the Hogs on track offensively.
• Dungee, meanwhile, tallied 22 points in the effort, including 15 in the second half, not missing a single shot after the intermission.
• The Hogs got off to a fast start, grabbing a double-digit lead in the first quarter after Slocum exploded for 12 points in the opening frame.
• The Razorbacks continued to keep the pressure on throughout the first half and gained a big edge at the free throw line, making all 11 attempts at the stripe in the first half while only allowing one MSU free throw attempt.
• Arkansas came out of the locker room flat in the second half, as Mississippi State cut a 15-point deficit down to just two in the closing seconds of the third quarter.
• But the Hogs answered the call in the fourth quarter, with Slocum and Dungee combining for 17 points in the game’s crucial moments. It was Arkansas’s two leading scorers who notched the last eight points for the Hogs down the stretch.
• Sophomore guard Makayla Daniels notched three steals, a team-high.
• Amber Ramirez stayed hot, scoring 12 points on 5-7 shooting, including a perfect 2-2 mark from deep.
• The Hogs shot 58 percent from the field as a team against the Bulldogs, the best mark for the Razorbacks in an SEC game since they shot a blistering 64 percent against Ole Miss last season (2-16-20).

STORYLINES

• No. 18 Arkansas won its lone game of the week, beating Mississippi State at home, 86-80.
• The Hogs are trending up at the right time, as they have won four of their last five.
• Arkansas remained idle in the AP Poll this week, staying put at 18, while moving down to 18 in the Coaches Poll.
• In a year where games played is at a premium, Arkansas is second in the NCAA, playing in 22 games so far this season. Only Rider (23) has played more.
• Of those 22 games, nine of them have been played against teams currently in the AP Top 25.
• They have also played five of the teams in the top-10, going 2-4 in those six games.
• Arkansas has a chance to do more damage down the stretch, as none of the final four teams on the schedule are ranked in the AP Top 25.
• That said, the remaining games for the Hogs will be no cake walk, especially this week.
• Ole Miss has won two straight, beating quality opponents in Alabama and No. 17 Kentcuky last week. They are currently 33 in the NET rankings.
• LSU is currently 6-6 in the SEC with wins over Texas A&M, Tennessee and Georgia.
• Redshirt senior guard Chelsea Dungee joined an exclusive club on Thursday night against Mississippi State, scoring her 2,000th career point.
• Dungee now joins Ladyback legend Bettye Fiscus as the only players ever to play at the University of Arkansas to score 2,000 points in a career.
• The Sapulpa, Okla. native is the only active player in the SEC to have scored 2,000 career points.
• It took Dungee 123 career games to get past the 2K mark, and she averaged 16.3 points per game over that span.
• Though it will not be recognized as a program record because not all of her points will be scored at Arkansas, Dungee needs just 70 more points to pass Fiscus’ collegiate total of 2,073 points.
• Dungee has scored 1,760 points at Arkansas, the fifth-most in school history.

SCOUTING OLE MISS

• Ole Miss set a new program record with eight SEC weekly honors in 2020-21 from Madison Scott (Freshman, 5x), Snudda Collins (Freshman, 2x) and Shakira Austin (Co-Player of the Week).
• Against three ranked teams in 2020-21, sophomore Donnetta Johnson is averaging 18.7 points per game and is shooting 48.1 percent overall.
• Freshman Snudda Collins ranks third nationally among freshmen in three-point shooting at her season percentage of 44.4 (32-of-72), and she leads all SEC freshmen in threes per game (2.0).
• Shakira Austin is one of six active SEC players with 900 career points and 650 career rebounds, and one of two with 900, 600 and 150 blocks. Austin currently has 949 points, 676 rebounds and 154 blocks.
• Five-time SEC Freshman of the Week Madison Scott recorded the most rebounds by a Rebel since 2015 at LSU with 16 boards, which is also the most in an SEC game since 2014 and by a freshman since 2011.

MORE INFORMATION

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