Florida presents Arkansas with new challenge, new opportunity

Arkansas head coach Jimmy Dykes, center, instructs his team during a time out against Texas during the fourth quarter of an NCAA college basketball game in Oklahoma City, Sunday, Dec. 20, 2015. Texas won 61-50. (AP Photo/Alonzo Adams)

FAYETTEVILLE -- One opportunity slipped through the Arkansas women's basketball team's fingers in its last time on the court. But as the Razorbacks put last week's overtime loss to Auburn behind them, another big opportunity to stay in the thick of the Southeastern Conference race presents itself.

Arkansas (9-11, 4-3 SEC) looked within moments of pulling off another big road win at Auburn on Sunday when a Kelsey Brooks 3-pointer briefly gave the Razorbacks a 56-53 lead in regulation. Instead, Auburn tied the game, forced overtime then relied on pressure defense to turn back Arkansas to the tune of a 71-60 Razorbacks setback.

Florida at Arkansas

WHEN 7 p.m.

WHERE Bud Walton Arena

RECORDS Florida 16-4, 4-3 SEC; Arkansas 9-11, 4-3

SERIES Florida leads 24-9

RADIO KABZ-FM 103.7 in Little Rock; KQSM-FM 92.1 in Fayetteville; KFPW-AM 1230 and KFPW-FM 94.5 in Fort Smith; KURM-AM 790 and KURM-FM 100.3 in Rogers.

ONLINE ArkansasRazorbacks.…

TELEVISION SEC Network Plus

PROBABLE STARTING LINEUPS

FLORIDA

POS^NAME^HT.^YR.^PPG^RPG

G^Ronnie Williams^6-0^Jr.^10.8^7.6

G^Carlie Needles^5-6^Sr.^7.1^2.2

G^Cassie Peoples^5-6^Sr.^9.6^1.9

G^Simone Westbrook^5-8^Jr.^7.8^3.3

C^Tyshara Fleming^6-4^Jr..^6.1^4.9

COACH Amanda Butler (169-116 ninth season at Florida)

ARKANSAS

POS^NAME^HT.^YR.^PPG^RPG

G^Kelsey Brooks^5-9^Jr.^6.6^2.2

G^Devin Cosper^5-10^So.^8.7^3.5

F^Jessica Jackson^6-3^Jr.^17.3^6.6

F^Meslissa Wolf^6-0^Sr.^6.2^7.5

P^Alecia Cooley^6-3^Jr.^7.2^5.3

COACH Jimmy Dykes (27-25 in second season at Arkansas)

TEAM COMPARISON

Florida^Arkansas

81.2^Points Scored Per Game^61.0

67.5^Points Allowed Per Game^61.1

45.0^Rebounds Per Game^40.8

22.2^Turnovers Per Game^15.8

.445^FG pct.^.365

.304^3-pt FG pct.^.263

.676^FT pct.^.688

CHALK TALK Jackson ranks third in the SEC with her 17.3 points per game average… Florida is 7-3 in games decided by 10 points or less this season and have won two SEC games on the road this year. … Today’s game is Student Appreciation Night. Students will have a chance to win prizes throughout the game, via social media… All UA faculty and staff receive complimentary admission for two with a valid UA ID… A chance to win a round trip airline ticket anywhere in the continental U.S. will be given away at tonight’s game to one student and one fan.

For Arkansas, the loss was a tough pill to swallow and tough reminder that life in the SEC is a step up from what many Razorbacks players have been used to before.

"We continue to try to make plays that you can make at the high school level that you can't make here," Arkansas coach Jimmy Dykes said. "Trying to go between players and force it, where in high school you can get away with it. And in junior college, Devin Cosper could get away with it.

"We can't do that stuff now. But we've watched film. We've worked on it. And we just have to continue to go through it. And against Auburn, it wasn't the full court press that got us, it was in the half court, and it was all of us."

Handling pressure will again be a key tonight as Arkansas hosts Florida (16-4, 4-3), a team forcing 24.4 turnovers per game.

"Florida's got older players that have been through this league, and they've got a ton of depth," Dykes said. "Amanda (Butler) got 10 or 11 players, and they come at you in waves. All you have to do is turn on the Auburn film and see that we struggled some with pressure, and I'm sure Florida has seen that some. But we've gotten better and we have to pass the test, and if we do, then we'll be in really good shape."

The Gators, ranked in both the AP and coaches poll prior to last week's 79-64 loss at Missouri, have one of the deepest teams in the SEC with 10 players averaging at least 13 minutes per game and nine scoring at least six points per game.

"It's a huge game," Dykes said. "Somebody is going to walk out of that building 5-3, somebody is going to walk out 4-4, so there's a lot at stake and we're trying to stay in this fight and we're trying to protect our home court."

Sports on 01/28/2016