FAYETTEVILLE — An old Southwest Conference foe will arrive at Bud Walton Arena on Tuesday.
Arkansas (6-1) will host Houston (6-1) – the nation’s top 3-point shooting team at 46.7 percent – in a 6 p.m. game that will be televised by the SEC Network.
“For fans, you couldn't ask for a better matchup,” Arkansas coach Mike Anderson said. “You just think about the Phi Slamma Jamma days and just the Houston-Arkansas series. It's always been a game where you've got athletes going out there making plays. So hopefully we make more plays than they do.
“It should be a great game, great atmosphere, televised game, so we want to see Bud Walton Arena rocking.”
Arkansas leads the all-time series 21-17, but Houston won the last matchup 87-78 in North Little Rock in 2011.
The Cougars are led by former Oklahoma and Indiana coach Kelvin Sampson and they are coming off a 105-61 home win over Prairie View A&M.
Sampson is 4-1 against Arkansas in his coaching career while Anderson – who has never faced Sampson - is 5-0 against Houston with all those wins coming while he was at UAB.
“It’s a team that has great guard play,” Anderson said. “They can score. They are very athletic and can rebound the basketball. They have one of the higher field goal percentage teams in the country and 3-point shooting teams.
“So we are really going to have to be playing some outstanding defense against a perimeter shooting team and a team that can attack off the dribble. They love to get to the free throw line.
“And Kelvin’s teams are always going to be hard-nosed defensively. So probably one of the better teams we have played up until this point. Minnesota was a very good basketball team but I think this team is just as good or maybe even better.”
The Cougars have won five games by more than 25 points this season and boast four scorers who are averaging double figures.
Redshirt junior guard Rob Gray (6-2, 185 pounds) is averaging 19.4 points, while Damyean Dotson (6-5, 210) chips in 13.9 per game and junior college transfer forward Devin Davis (6-7, 230) contributes 12.7 points and 7.4 rebounds.
The fourth Houston player averaging in double figures is 6-10 senior forward Danrad “Chicken” Knowles (10.1). All four are shooting over 50 percent from the field.
“The key is I think we've got to defend,” Anderson said. “We've got to defend and we've got to keep them off the boards. I think that's going to be a big key.
“Those guys can go off big numbers when you talk about Rob Gray and Dotson. They can go off with some big-scoring episodes, so we've got to make sure those guys coming off the bench don't kill us. The Davis kid has had some big games for them as well.”
Houston hit 11 of 18 3-pointers in Saturday’s win and have connected on 59 of 129 attempts this season. The Cougars made 14 3-pointers earlier this season against Vermont.
“Number one is their primary guys are shooting at a high clip,” Anderson said. “Then of course their role guys are shooting at a high clip, as well. They’re getting good shots. That means they’re attacking the basket.
“Obviously when you’re attacking the basket, it opens it up for the perimeter guys and they’re knocking those shots down. They have some guys that can put it in the hole. That’s a big key.”
Houston’s only loss this season was at LSU, 84-65.
“I think any time you go on the road, you want to play better the next time you go out,” Anderson said. “You find out a little bit more about yourself.
“It's much like when we went to Minnesota. We found out a little bit more about ourselves. We found out we weren't not as good as we thought we were. So we had a chance to go home and address some things, and I'm sure Kelvin did the same thing with his team
“I thought LSU played their best game. I got a chance to watch some of that game, and they shot the ball, they dominated on the boards, and they did a good job on their scorers, making those guys really work.
“I'm sure they'll come here with a little bit more confidence because they've played some games since then. And like all teams, you're getting better…So I look for a team that's going to come out and really try to deliver a punch.
“They know we're going to probably try to press them, get after them, so they're going to attack us. With those kind of guards, some older guards, it makes a big difference.”
Arkansas junior guard Daryl Macon suffered an ankle/calf injury in Saturday’s 99-62 win over Austin Peay. He is expected to play against Houston.
"He’s doing better," Anderson said. " It ended up being like a sprain, whether it be a sprain of his ankle or his calf. He dunked a ball and watching the tape he came down on it. So it kind of twisted his foot. So he didn’t practice yesterday.
"He went rouge and did some limited stuff. But I expect him to be on the floor."