The Arkansas Razorbacks and the Oklahoma Sooners meet Tuesday in college basketball action from Lloyd Noble Center in Norman. Here’s an Oklahoma vs Arkansas prediction. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best Oklahoma vs Arkansas pick.
Arkansas Razorbacks Betting Preview
The Razorbacks rolled to a solid 9-3 start through their first 12 outings this year. The only losses in that time came courtesy of Michigan State, Duke and Houston. Arkansas has since gone 6-2 in the last eight outings with wins over James Madison, Tennessee, Ole Miss, South Carolina, Vanderbilt and LSU alongside losses to Auburn and Georgia. Over the first 20 games that gives Arkansas a 15-5 overall run.
In their last outing on Saturday versus LSU, the Razorbacks were sitting in the locker room with a 37-33 deficit. Arkansas woke up in the second half however, bagging a 52-44 run from there on the way to an 85-81 victory. Leading the team in scoring was Darius Acuff with 31 points, six assists and two rebounds. Meleek Thomas added 14 points with three assists and two rebounds in the victory effort.
Oklahoma Sooners betting Preview
Over on the Oklahoma side, they were looking pretty good over their first 14 games but they’ve faltered lately against some tough competition. The Sooners only lost to Gonzaga, Nebraska and Arizona State over those first 14 outings, but since then it’s been a six-game losing streak versus Mississippi State, Texas A&M, Florida, Alabama, South Carolina and Missouri. In the first 20 games of the year that gives Oklahoma an 11-9 record.
Matched up against Missouri last weekend, the Sooners went into the second half sporting a one-point lead 37-36. The Sooners were outscored 45-44 in the second half though, and had to go to overtime. After the extra period, Oklahoma had an 88-87 road loss. Nijel Patrick was the leading team scorer in the losing effort with 25 points, four rebounds and five assists. Xzayvier Brown added 19 points and six assists as well.
Why the Oklahoma Sooners will win
- Arkansas has lost nine of its last 10 January road games as an AP-ranked team.
- The home team has won seven of Arkansas’ last eight games.
- Oklahoma has won the first half in nine of its last 10 games at Lloyd Noble Center.
Why the Arkansas Razorbacks will win
- Arkansas has won each of its last 15 night games as an AP-ranked team against a non-AP-ranked team.
- Oklahoma has lost each of its last six games.
- Arkansas has won the first half in each of its last 13 night games as an AP-ranked team against a non-AP-ranked team.
Oklahoma vs Arkansas Prediction
I’m going to stay with Oklahoma. The Sooners had a pretty good overall offensive effort in a near-miss road loss versus a good Missouri team last weekend. Oklahoma shot 48.1 percent from the field but also got blasted in the paint 40-12. The 38-26 rebounding deficit didn’t help, nor did the 11 turnovers. Sure, the Sooners are sporting a six-game losing streak right now but they’ve played two ranked teams and four road matchups during that time. Oklahoma has given up 83 or more points in five straight, so they’re really going to need to clamp down on defense in this one.
As for Arkansas, they shot a nice 56.7 percent from the field with just eight turnovers in their home win over LSU last weekend. The Razorbacks were atrocious from the line though (7-of-18 for 38.9 percent), and got out-rebounded 32-25 along the way. Arkansas has won consecutive games and three of the last four though, and they’re scoring well these days. We should have a pretty fun matchup on our hands here.