Outrebounded by 22 and one, respectively, over its first two Southeastern Conference games, Arkansas figures to face another battle on the boards when No. 8 Florida visits Fayetteville on Saturday afternoon.
The Gators (14-1, 1-1 SEC) lead the conference in rebounding and routed top-ranked Tennessee 73-43 on Tuesday behind a plus-19 edge on the glass.
Rueben Chinyelu grabbed 15 rebounds and Alex Condon had 12 to help Florida defeat a No. 1 team in the regular season for the first time in school history. Opponents surely see the duo coming — Chinyelu is a 6-foot-10, 255-pound center, and Condon is a 6-11, 230-pound forward.
“When we both crash, it’s hard to stop both of us,” Condon said. “Rue is a very physical dude.”
Florida coach Todd Golden concurs. A Washington State transfer who averaged 4.7 points and 5 rebounds over 35 games and 12 starts last season, Chinyelu has raised his scoring and rebounding averages to 5.5 and 7.3, respectively, amid continued growth and progression. He contributed eight rebounds in a six-point loss at then-No. 10 Kentucky last Saturday in the Gators’ SEC opener.
“He’s a beast, man,” Golden said. “He’s an absolute physical beast. … It’s disheartening for your opponent when you play a good defensive possession and he just skies over everybody, grabs it, outlet, now we’re out running, putting pressure on you in transition.”
Arkansas (11-4, 0-2) on Saturday hopes to earn a split of a two-game homestand that opened with Wednesday’s 73-66 loss to No. 23 Ole Miss.
To do so, the Razorbacks realize they must channel better balance and depth than what they displayed against the Rebels. Adou Thiero scored a team-high 17 points on 7-for-12 shooting from the field while the rest of the team lumbered to finish 15 of 47.
“We’ve got a good team, but everybody’s got to play well,” Arkansas coach John Calipari said. “All nine got to give us something. They don’t have to play out of their minds, but they can’t play poorly. You can’t have three play poorly, or four, or one not give you anything.”
Johnell Davis (15 points) and Boogie Fland (14) followed Thiero on Wednesday, but Fland has slumped to 28.6 percent shooting from the floor during the team’s second successive 0-2 start in the SEC, including 3-for-17 from deep.
“I feel like we ran good offense,” Davis said. “We just got to be able to knock them down, the shots that we get — the open shots, the layups, free throws, all that.”
Florida stopped Arkansas’ three-game series winning streak last season with a 90-68 home victory. The Gators lead the all-time series 27-15.
Golden said he likes where the Gators are trending in the short term this season, avoiding a setback against Tennessee after losing at Kentucky.
“We played with great toughness physically at Kentucky … but our mental toughness wasn’t where it needed to be to win that game on the road,” Golden said. “I thought (Tuesday) we played with great mental and physical toughness for 40 minutes.”
–Field Level Media
