Arkansas heads to Colorado State

Arkansas is 5-1 to start the 2018-19 men’s basketball season, but all five wins were home cooked at Bud Walton Arena in Fayetteville.

Coach Mike Anderson’s Razorbacks will venture away from Arkansas tonight for the first time tonight since a season-opening 73-71 overtime loss to the Texas Longhorns (5-2) in the Armed Forces Classic at Fort Bliss Army base in El Paso Texas. The road game against the Colorado State Rams (4-4) will be televised at 8 p.m. on the CBS Sports Network (Resort Channel 32) from Moby Arena in Fort Collins, Colo.

“It’s the first true road game for us,” Anderson said. “I’m anxious to see how we respond going to a place where we don’t sleep in our own bed and we are playing in a different venue.

“As coach you, want to see if your game will travel. Will your defense travel? Will your offense execute the things we’ve been working on. Will that travel? Rebounding is going to be a big key in this game here. Can we continue to get the productivity off our bench?”

Arkansas trounced Colorado State, 92-66, last season at Bud Walton, but the team’s scoring leaders are no longer Razorbacks. Guard Jaylen Barford scored 19 points, but he has since graduated, and reserve guard C.J. Jones, also adding 19 points, transferred to Middle Tennessee State in the offseason.

Prentiss Nixon led the Rams with 31 points, but he transferred to Iowa State after Larry Eustachy resigned following the team’s 11-21 campaign. New head coach Niko Medved led Drake to a 16-16 record last season.

“Colorado State, I think, is much improved from last season,” Anderson said. “They have a new coach and I think they’ve got some really good players. They’ve got five guys scoring in double figures. They have a lot of new players just like we have a lot of new players.”

Freshman starting point guard has dished out 22 assists and averages

11.3 points per game. Kris Martin, a 6-4 guard redshirt last season from Oral Roberts, leads Colorado State with 15.7 points off of the bench in three games after a five-game suspension to start the season. Freshman Adam Thistlewood (6-6) also plays off of the bench.

Key Colorado State holdovers include guards Anthony Masington-Bonner, 15.4 points; J.D. Paige, 15.1 points; former 6-7 junior Razorback forward Lorenzo “Doobie” Jenkins, 9.3 points; and 6-11 center Nick Caravacho, who is averaging a double-double at 12 points and 10.4 rebound.

Jenkins signed with Arkansas late out of Naples, Fla., before the Hogs went 16-16 in 2015-16. The 27-9 2014-15 team needed additional players between graduating seniors, losing two transfers, and Bobby Portis and Michael Qualls turned pro early.

Jenkins only played one game for Arkansas and redshirted after transferring to Colorado State. He played every game last season for the Rams with one start and has started all eight games this year.

“Doobie is a good player,” Anderson said. “We signed him late and, obviously, it didn’t work out and now he’s found a home. I’m sure he’s excited to be playing against the Razorbacks.”

Anderson has expressed excitement about the Hogs’ defense and continued to recognize sophomore star center Daniel Gafford as their meal ticket on offense. Sophomore point guard Jalen Harris had 10 assists during the team’s 121-89 home win on Saturday against Florida International (7-2) as freshman Isaiah Joe scored a career-high 34 points on 10-for-13 shooting from deep to earn Southeastern Conference Player of the Week.

The young bench, a detriment when Arkansas lost its opener to Texas

(5-2) has started to get more production from freshmen Desi Sills, Reggie Chaney, Keyshawn Embery-Simpson and sophomore Gabe Osabuohien.

“We’ve got some guys that are starting really to figure out their roles and that continues to make us a better basketball team,” Anderson said.

All of the development has come within the comforts of home. Tonight’s game is the team’s lone remaining trip out of Arkansas before the Razorbacks open SEC play.

“Will it travel?” Anderson asked.