FAYETTEVILLE -- Oklahoma State Coach Mike Boynton is no stranger to the Arkansas Razorbacks or Walton Arena.
Today's game between the Cowboys and Razorbacks is part of the Big 12-SEC Challenge and will be the first time Boynton has faced the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville as the head coach, but the 11th time overall.
Boynton, 35, played point guard for South Carolina from the 2001-02 through 2003-04 seasons and was an assistant coach for the Gamecocks assistant coach from the 2008-09 through 2012-13 seasons.
The Gamecocks went 3-2 against the Razorbacks when Boynton was a player and 3-2 when he was an assistant coach. He had 2-1 records in Walton Arena as a player and as an assistant coach.
Today's game is a sellout and Boynton said he expects the raucous Arkansas crowd he remembers from his time at South Carolina.
"They've got tremendous fans," Boyton said. "I know how rowdy they can get. They actually traveled pretty well to Stillwater last year."
Boynton was an Oklahoma State assistant last season when the Cowboys beat Arkansas 99-71 in Gallagher-Iba Arena. He was promoted to head coach when Brad Underwood left for Illinois.
"Arkansas has got a great fan base, and obviously their team performs at a very high level at home," Boynton said. "So I expect it to be a great atmosphere. Fortunately for us, playing in the Big 12 we see that pretty often."
In Boynton's final game against Arkansas as a player, he scored 32 points to lead the Gamecocks to a 91-81 victory in the 2004 SEC Tournament in Atlanta.
Big block
Senior forward Trey Thompson made a game-saving play in Arkansas' 80-77 at Georgia when he blocked a shot by Yante Maten with 2.2 seconds left in the second overtime and the Razorbacks leading 78-77.
"I don't know where that ranks on the plays that I've made," Thompson said. "It's up there, though.
"It was nice to have a little game-saving block. But I just did what I could do to help my team win."
Thompson has been bothered a hamstring injury, but he played 29 minutes off the bench at Georgia.
"It's solid," Thompson said when asked how his hamstring is feeling. "It's getting there. I ain't 100 percent. but I'm all right."
Don't get stagnant
At times this season the Razorbacks haven't had good ball movement on offense.
If Arkansas struggles with that today against Oklahoma State, it figures to be a major problem because of the way the Cowboys play defense.
"They play extremely hard on defense," said Iowa State Coach Steve Prohm, whose Cyclones lost at Oklahoma State 96-87 in overtime three weeks ago. "They really make it tough for you to just run your offense.
"It's more of a game where you've got to spread the floor and put the ball in your best playmakers' hands and then really make good decisions. If you can do that, then you've got a chance to be successful against them.
"But you just can't get stagnant against them. That'll lead to bad offense for you and good offense for them."
Remember Lanny?
The last time Arkansas beat Oklahoma State, Lanny Van Eman was in his first season as the Razorbacks' coach.
Yeah, it's been a while.
The Razorbacks' last beat the Cowboys 90-76 on Dec. 13, 1971 in Fayetteville.
Oklahoma State has won five in a row over Arkansas since then and is 10-1 in the teams' previous 11 games dating back to a 50-43 victory in Memphis during the 1966-67 season.
The Cowboys are 1-0 in Walton Arena, where they won 73-58 under Coach Eddie Sutton during the 2003-04 season.
Sutton led Arkansas to a 260-75 record in 11 seasons from 1975-85, including NCAA Tournament appearances the final nine seasons. Two years ago Sutton was honored in Walton Arena with a banner being hung from the ceiling.
Sutton's son, Scott, is an Oklahoma State assistant coach.
In the Challenge
Arkansas is 1-2 in Big-12 SEC Challenge games. The Razorbacks lost 95-77 at Iowa State during the 2014-15 season, beat Texas Tech 75-68 in overtime in Walton Arena during the 2015-16 season and lost 99-71 at Oklahoma State last season.
Oklahoma State is 3-1 in Challenge games.
Sports on 01/27/2018