The University of Evansville men's basketball team will look to end another long drought on Tuesday.
Three days after topping Murray State for the first time since 1991, the Aces (7-1) will visit Arkansas (3-4) hoping to knock off a Power 5 conference opponent for the first time since beating Purdue on Dec. 3, 2005.
The Razorbacks will attack UE with their trademark pressing style. Head coach Mike Anderson is a prot?g? of Nolan Richardson, the former Arkansas coach who popularized the "40 minutes of hell" moniker.
Under Anderson, the Razorbacks have toned down the slogan to "the fastest 40 minutes in basketball." But the plan remains the same.
"They'll trap you at any time," Evansville junior Blake Simmons said. "They're going to try to get their hand on a ball; they're going to try to get easy transition layups.
"Even when you cross half court and you think they'll drop into a normal man (defense), they'll just come and run and jump. They're just wreaking havoc all over."
Arkansas steals the ball on 5.6 percent of opponents' possessions, the sixth-highest rate in NCAA Division I, according to kenpom.com.
"They're fast, they're quick, they're very long," Evansville coach Marty Simmons said. "You have to be sharp in every area to have a chance because offensively and defensively they constantly put pressure on you."
Junior guard Duane Gibson, who returned from a knee injury Saturday, should help UE with ball-handling duties. Gibson sparked the Aces with eight points and two steals in the win over Murray State.
"If I can play then I'm 100 percent," Gibson said. "The coaches told me to make sure I stayed locked in in practice and didn't fall behind, so I was just paying attention to the little details."
Another key for Evansville will be limiting Arkansas' second-chance opportunities. The Razorbacks average 14.3 offensive rebounds per game, with 6-foot-10 forward Moses Kingsley averaging 4.4 offensive boards.
Kingsley (16.4 points, 9.7 rebounds per game) will test his skills against Evansville's Egidijus Mockevicius, the No. 2 rebounder in the nation. The 6-foot-10 Mockevicius is tallying 17.5 points and 13.5 rebounds per contest.
"Offensive glass is a huge thing for them and they don't mess around in transition," Marty Simmons said. "Every coach in America goes in there thinking to keep them off the glass and stop them with transition defense, but it's just constant pressure and then you take into it that they've got two kids who can really shoot it from deep."
Guards Dusty Hannahs and Anthlon Bell have each hit 20 3-pointers this season. The rest of the Razorbacks have combined for four 3s.
Three days after topping Murray State for the first time since 1991, the Aces (7-1) will visit Arkansas (3-4) hoping to knock off a Power 5 conference opponent for the first time since beating Purdue on Dec. 3, 2005.
The Razorbacks will attack UE with their trademark pressing style. Head coach Mike Anderson is a prot?g? of Nolan Richardson, the former Arkansas coach who popularized the "40 minutes of hell" moniker.
Under Anderson, the Razorbacks have toned down the slogan to "the fastest 40 minutes in basketball." But the plan remains the same.
"They'll trap you at any time," Evansville junior Blake Simmons said. "They're going to try to get their hand on a ball; they're going to try to get easy transition layups.
"Even when you cross half court and you think they'll drop into a normal man (defense), they'll just come and run and jump. They're just wreaking havoc all over."
Arkansas steals the ball on 5.6 percent of opponents' possessions, the sixth-highest rate in NCAA Division I, according to kenpom.com.
"They're fast, they're quick, they're very long," Evansville coach Marty Simmons said. "You have to be sharp in every area to have a chance because offensively and defensively they constantly put pressure on you."
Junior guard Duane Gibson, who returned from a knee injury Saturday, should help UE with ball-handling duties. Gibson sparked the Aces with eight points and two steals in the win over Murray State.
"If I can play then I'm 100 percent," Gibson said. "The coaches told me to make sure I stayed locked in in practice and didn't fall behind, so I was just paying attention to the little details."
Another key for Evansville will be limiting Arkansas' second-chance opportunities. The Razorbacks average 14.3 offensive rebounds per game, with 6-foot-10 forward Moses Kingsley averaging 4.4 offensive boards.
Kingsley (16.4 points, 9.7 rebounds per game) will test his skills against Evansville's Egidijus Mockevicius, the No. 2 rebounder in the nation. The 6-foot-10 Mockevicius is tallying 17.5 points and 13.5 rebounds per contest.
"Offensive glass is a huge thing for them and they don't mess around in transition," Marty Simmons said. "Every coach in America goes in there thinking to keep them off the glass and stop them with transition defense, but it's just constant pressure and then you take into it that they've got two kids who can really shoot it from deep."
Guards Dusty Hannahs and Anthlon Bell have each hit 20 3-pointers this season. The rest of the Razorbacks have combined for four 3s.
