FAYETTEVILLE — Missouri State’s arena is newer than Arkansas’ basketball team.

The Razorbacks, who start three freshmen and have seven newcomers, will help the Bears open JQH Arena tonight in Springfield, Mo.

It will be the first road game for Arkansas (2-0 ) and the debut for Missouri State (1-1 ) in its new $ 67 million home.

A sellout crowd of 11, 000 is expected for the Razorbacks ’ visit. The arena is named for Missouri State alumnus and hotel developer John Q. Hammons, who donated $ 30 million toward its construction.

“It’s definitely going to be exciting, with a lot of extra energy that wouldn’t normally be there,” Bears senior guard Spencer Laurie said of tonight’s game. “We just have to use that to our advantage.

“ We know Arkansas is a good team, and we’ll have to be at our best.”

Arkansas also was the first opponent in the Bears’ previous home at the Hammons Student Center, when the Razorbacks beat what then was known as Southwest Missouri State 72-71 on Dec. 1, 1976.

Those Razorbacks featured the “Triplets” — Sidney Moncrief, Ron Brewer and Marvin Delph — and went on to win the 1977 Southwest Conference title at 16-0 to finish 26-2.

Questions abound regarding this season’s Razorbacks, who are relying heavily on newcomers.

“As much as I’d like to stop talking about our youth and how different this team is from one year to the next, all this stuff is new,” Razorbacks Coach John Pelphrey said. “I’m very interested to see how we’ll respond on the road.”

Arkansas beat California-Davis 68-59 Thursday night in a game the Razorbacks led 48-44 with 13 minutes left before holding off the Aggies down the stretch.

Pelphrey said it won’t be easy preparing for the Bears in one day after what he called a tough game physically and mentally against UC-Davis.

“It’s another huge challenge for this basketball team,” Pelphrey said. “I’m sure we’re going to get their best shot.

“ Unfortunately for our guys, they’re going to find out that when Arkansas goes on the road, we’re going to get everybody’s best shot.”

Junior guard Stefan Welsh said the Razorbacks celebrated their victory over UC-Davis on the court and in the locker room, then immediately turned their attention to Missouri State.

“We understand what’s at stake,” Welsh said. “We understand that any time we come into a town, it’s going to be a big draw.

“ We understand they have a new coach and it’s their first game at their new arena. We’re aware of all that.

“ But we still feel like if we come in and play our game, execute the game plan the coaches put in, that we’ll be OK.”

Cuonzo Martin, 37, is in his first season as Missouri State’s coach. He was a Purdue assistant the previous eight years.

“It’s always a concern as a coach when you have other stuff going on,” Martin said of the hoopla surrounding tonight’s game. “But we have to keep our guys focused on the task at hand.”

Arkansas freshman forward Michael Sanchez, who had 12 points and 12 rebounds against UC-Davis said he’s expecting a “crazy” atmosphere tonight.

“They’re going to go wild there,” Sanchez said. “Like Coach Pelphrey says, we’ve got to come in and be 10 points better than the other team to win.”

Martin said he’s impressed by the Razorbacks and isn’t paying attention to their lack of experience.

“I don’t know how young they are or how old they are, but they have plenty of talent,” Martin said. “The way they play, it’s always tough to go out and match up against them.”

Missouri State lost its opener at Auburn 75-60, then won 60-57 at Central Michigan on Monday night.

When the Bears had their first practice in JQH Arena this week, construction workers were still hammering and drilling as they put the finishing touches on the new building.

“The first day I was on campus, it was just a big dirt hole,” Missouri State redshirt freshman forward Kyle Weems said. “Now it’s finally done and it’s great.”

Pelphrey said the Razorbacks need “to be oblivious” to the atmosphere tonight and focus on what’s happening on the court.

“We’ve got to be able to play and not lose our minds,” Pelphrey said. “We’ve got to stick to the game plan; we’ve got to be tough.

“ We’ve got to understand that on the road, you can’t go through stretches where you don’t score or don’t stop them.”