GAME NOTES: SEC foes will collide in Fayetteville this afternoon, as the Arkansas Razorbacks play host to the Alabama Crimson Tide. Alabama has lost two of its last three games to fall to 11-5 overall. The Tide were most recently in action on Tuesday, as they lost the SEC opener to Florida by a 90-83 final. They have played just two true road games to date, winning one of those contests. As for Arkansas, it has won its last three games and owns an impressive 12-3 overall record. The Razorbacks opened SEC play at Auburn on Thursday and managed to escape with a 76-70 triumph. They figure to play with a great deal of confidence today, as all eight of their home tilts to date have resulted in victory. Arkansas owns a 24-20 series lead over Alabama.

There is not a great deal of depth and balance on the Alabama roster, as just three players are netting more than 6.9 ppg. Still, those three individuals are all capable of taking over a game at the offensive end. It seems fair to say that the best player for the Tide is junior forward Richard Hendrix, as he is netting 19.4 ppg on 63.1 percent shooting from the floor. Hendrix is also ripping down 10.5 rpg to go along with 33 blocks, and he has 28 assists to his credit. Alonzo Gee is second in scoring with 16.9 ppg, and his 8.3 rpg are impressive as well. Rounding out the talented trio is Mykal Riley with 13.6 ppg on the strength of his 44.1 percent shooting from three-point range. Hendrix racked up 24 points and 16 rebounds against Florida, and even he was overshadowed a bit by Gee's 32-point performance. Riley finished with 12 points, but once against those players got little help from the supporting cast.

Arkansas is scoring 74.7 ppg while limiting opponents to 63.1 ppg. Like Alabama, the Razorbacks have been strong on the boards, as they are outrebounding the opposition by 6.9 rpg. Patrick Beverley is the top scorer on the roster with 12.7 ppg, and he can do a little bit of everything on the floor. Sonny Weems is close behind with 12.4 ppg, and Darian Townes is contributing 11.7 ppg and 5.7 rpg. The fourth and final double-digit scorer is Charles Thomas with 10.3 ppg. Weems and Beverley scored 17 points apiece to lead the way in the win over Auburn earlier this week. Thomas pitched in 14 points for the Razorbacks, who connected on 57.7 percent of their field goal attempts to overcome a horrendous 7-of-17 effort from the foul line. It also helped that they finished with 21 assists against a mere 12 turnovers.

Expect this game to go down to the wire, as Alabama and Arkansas are evenly matched. Although the Razorbacks are unbeaten at home, give a narrow edge to the Crimson Tide, who may possess the three best players in this matchup.