Razorbacks face imposing Longhorns in El Paso

FAYETTEVILLE — Arkansas’ greatest eventual ally for this 201819 men’s basketball season becomes its enemy for the campaign’s outset starting with Friday’s season-opener against Texas.

Coach Mike Anderson’s Razorbacks officially tip off their season against the Big 12’s Texas Longhorns at 6 p.m. Friday on ESPN at the Fort Bliss Army base in El Paso, Texas.

Time ticks in Arkansas’ favor prepping for its SEC season, starting Jan. 5 at Texas A&M. But expect during this time, as these young Razorbacks learn to play together, that they will pay an experience is a harsh teacher price for a tough nonconference November/December. It starts with the Longhorns returning four starters from last year’s NCAA Tournament team.

Arkansas returns one great starter, sophomore preseason All-SEC center Daniel Gafford, and a parttime starter, junior forward Adrio Bailey, who started 16 games for last season’s 23-12 Hogs. Otherwise, only sophomore reserve forward Gabe Osabuohien returns among Arkansas’ 2017-18 scholarship lettermen.

Arkansas’ 96-47 and 100-63 exhibition game victories over Division II small colleges Tusculum and Southwest Baptist certainly don’t alter the experience gap awaiting in El Paso. Or that, like Anderson’s Razorbacks, Shaka Smart’s Longhorns also have a highly touted class of new recruits.

“Texas obviously is going to be an athletic team with probably more size than we have,” Anderson said. “They have a big guy (6-9, 250 Dylan Osetowski) inside. They have some tremendous, outstanding guard play. It’s a team that likes to play uptempo. They’ll pressure and get after us, too.”

One of Texas’ main guards, Kerwin Roach, is suspended from the Longhorns’ Tuesday night opener in Austin against Eastern Illinois, because of a “violation of team rules,” that occurred “last year,” Roach posted on social media.

Roach’s suspension included Texas’ two exhibition scrimmages, but the suspension apparently does not include Friday night’s game against Arkansas.

Off flashes from the two exhibition games, Arkansas displayed talent that could give most any opposition fits for awhile.

However, those games also exposed severe inconsistencies that experienced opposition can exploit.

It was easy for Arkansas with surging second halves to overcome lackluster first halves, downright dreadful vs. Tusculum, with Arkansas committing 13 first-half turnovers, against small college opposition.

It would be another overcoming a terrible 20 minutes against Texas, Indiana, Western Kentucky and Georgia Tech, among others.

“Unforced turnovers and missed free throws,” Anderson said of maladies “killing them” in the Razorbacks’ first two first halves.

Gafford avoiding foul trouble, he fell into that immediately against Tusculum, and not clanking free throws, he hit but one of his first seven against Southwest Baptist, obviously must be addressed before the Razorbacks ride into El Paso.

Rebounding concerns. Even with Gafford’s dozen boards, Arkansas only outrebounded Southwest Baptist, 39-35.

Anderson did extol against Southwest Baptist the all-round play of freshman guard Isaiah Joe, 19 points, four rebounds, an assist and two steals, and sophomore junior college transfer guard Mason Jones, 17 points, three rebounds and four steals.