The rematch is on. Sixth-seeded Arkansas (22-10, 10-8 SEC) takes on third-seeded Florida (20-11, 11-7) in the SEC Tournament quarterfinals Friday at 9. The Razorbacks earned a shot against the Gators — who defeated the Hogs 88-73 on Jan. 17 — by taking down South Carolina 69-64 Thursday night in the second round of the bracket.
Led by senior guards Jaylen Barford and Daryl Macon as well as freshman forward Daniel Gafford, the Razorbacks’ up-tempo offense leads the SEC in three-point shooting. Arkansas is also 4-1 against ranked teams in 2017-18, including victories over No. 16 Auburn and No. 13 Tennessee, the top-two SEC seeds in the tournament, respectively.
Alligator sports editor Dylan Dixon is joined by assistant sports editor Jake Dreilinger and sports writers Ethan Bauer, Andrew Huang and Benjamin Brandt as they preview UF's expectations ahead of the 2018 SEC Men's Basketball Tournament.
Player Spotlight
Jaylen Barford: The senior guard led Arkansas with 17 points and three steals against the Gamecocks on Thursday. The Razorbacks’ leading scorer ranks fourth in the conference with 17.9 points per game. His 12 games of scoring 20 or more points and .433 three-point shooting percentage — good for second in the SEC — helped earn Barford a spot on the All-SEC First Team on Tuesday.
Daryl Macon: Macon is second to Barford with 17.0 points per game this year and is the SEC’s third-most accurate three-point shooter, converting 42.6 percent of his attempts. The 6-foot-3 guard leads Arkansas with 4.0 assists per game and put together seven straight 20-point outings from Jan. 20 to Feb. 10.
Daniel Gafford: At 6-foot-11, Gafford stands taller than any of his teammates. He leads the Razorbacks with 6.1 rebounds in his first year, and his 11.9 points per game trail just Barford and Macon. Gafford also makes an impact defensively, blocking 2.3 shots per game. That number ranks third in the league, and the 234-pound forward recorded a career-high seven blocks against Auburn on Feb. 27.
Coach’s corner
In his seventh season in Fayetteville, Mike Anderson has guided Arkansas to its fourth 20-win campaign in its last five seasons. Anderson is 190-84 coaching the Razorbacks. He previously spent five years at the helm of Missouri, going 111-57. He went 89-41 at UAB in his first four years as a head coach.
Numbers of interest
Arkansas ranks at or near the top of the SEC in several offensive categories, including scoring (81.6, second), field goal percentage (.480, first) and three-point percentage (.400, first). It ranks 12th in rebounding (34.8 per game) but plays very clean with 11.2 turnovers a game (second).
Follow Andrew Huang on Twitter @AndrewJHuang and contact him at ahuang@alligator.org.
Arkansas guard Jaylen Barford is averaging 17.9 points per game, good for fourth in the SEC.
