FAYETTEVILLE — The University of Arkansas and North Texas basketball teams proved they could rain down three-pointers on Mississippi Valley State.
Now the Razorbacks and Mean Green will see how they do against each other.
Arkansas (1-0) and North Texas (1-0), which opened the season by combining to hit 41 of 63 three-point baskets in pounding Mississippi Valley State, meet at 5 p.m. today in Walton Arena.
The Razorbacks were 20 of 40 from beyond the arc in their 142-62 victory over the Delta Devils in Walton Arena on Wednesday night.
More from WholeHogSports
https://www.wholeho…">Arkansas vs. North Texas: How to watch and listen, notables, team comparisons
That was one three-point basket shy of a school record by the Razorbacks, surpassed only by Arkansas hitting 21 of 37 in its 137-70 victory over Troy on Dec. 10, 1996.
North Texas did the Razorbacks one better from three-point range. The Mean Green hit a school-record 21 three-pointers in 33 attempts in their 116-62 victory over Mississippi Valley State on Thursday night in Denton, Texas.
North Texas broke the school record of 19 three-pointers, which had been done three times, most recently in a 76-53 victory over the University of Arkansas at Little Rock last season when the Mean Green were 19 of 35.
The Mean Green and Razorbacks have the two highest three-point totals in the nation, and each had eight players hit at least one three-pointer in their openers.
Arkansas’ three-point shooting was led by 7-3 sophomore Connor Vanover (4 of 5), 6-9 senior Vance Jackson (4 of 6) and 6-0 freshman Khalen Robinson (3 of 5).
Mardrez McBride, a 6-2 junior-college transfer, hit 6 of 7 three-pointers for North Texas, and 6-4 seniors James Reese and Javion Hamlet hit 5 of 7 and 2 of 4, respectively.
“These guys practice, and they practice a lot,” North Texas Coach Grant McCasland said. “That’s how you get good. These balls don’t go in by accident or by chance. They really repped and prepared for this.
“We talk to them all the time about getting in the gym and how important it is, and they live it. They do it, they love it.”
Arkansas Coach Eric Musselman expressed concern about the Razorbacks’ three-point defense in his opening comments after Wednesday night’s game.
“Really disappointed in our inability to guard the three-point shot,” Musselman said. “That’s been a problem since we’ve gotten together with the new group. Last year, that was our biggest strength.”
Arkansas led the nation in three-point defense at 27.2% (164 of 602) last season, but junior Desi Sills is the only perimeter defender who is back. The Razorbacks have nine healthy scholarship newcomers.
“We’re teaching it the same way, but we’re not guarding it,” Musselman said. “The threes [by the Delta Devils], way too many.”
Mississippi Valley State hit 13 of 39 three-pointers against the Razorbacks.
“We definitely have to get better at defending the three,” Musselman said. “That will be a point of emphasis between now and Saturday when we play.”
Jackson said what stuck out to him most about the game was how many three-point baskets the Delta Devils made.
“My focus wasn’t really on us on the offensive side, because I know we’re so talented we’re going to go on a run,” Jackson said. “We’ve just got to execute the defensive game plan and try to get stops.”
McCasland said Vanover’s size represents a rare challenge when guarding him on the perimeter.
“It’s like anybody else that can really shoot it, you better close out on him and be there at the catch,” McCasland said. “The unfortunate thing for our guys is I don’t know if it’ll matter if you’re there on the catch, because he’s got such great size and length.”
Mississippi Valley State hit 11 of 33 three-pointers against North Texas.
“Defensively, I thought our energy was good after the initial kind of lackadaisical close-outs honestly,” said McCasland, who coached Arkansas State to a 20-12 record in the 2016-17 season. “We had a few lazy close-outs where they got some rhythm threes. We cannot do that to start games.
“But then we settled in and really got after it. Got some deflections, had good rotations.”
McCasland said the most impressive thing about the Razorbacks against Mississippi Valley State was their passing, which included 27 assists compared to seven turnovers.
“When I watched the game on film, I was really impressed with Arkansas’ movement, more so than I was even their three-point shooting,” he said. “I just thought their pace of play was really impressive, and the way they shared the basketball was impressive.
“Coach Muss is doing an awesome job with that group. I’m really concerned about their energy level and how fast they play the game.”
The Mean Green had 28 assists and 17 turnovers on Thursday night.
“We talked to them about playing the right way, which is easy to do on paper and in film,” McCasland said. “But when you get out there and you get some open looks and you have to turn them down to get maybe a better look, that was the name of the game all night long.
“It was like, ‘How do we turn down maybe a good look to get a great look?’ We put the emphasis on sharing the basketball. When we shared it, we got good shots. When we didn’t, we turned it over. We had too many turnovers.”