Friday, November 20th, 8:00 p.m. (et)

FACTS & STATS: Site: Bud Walton Arena (19,200) -- Fayetteville, Arkansas. Television: None. Home Record: Appalachian St. 2-0, Arkansas 1-0. Away Record: Appalachian St. 0-1, Arkansas 0-0. Neutral Record: Appalachian St. 0-0, Arkansas 0-1. Conference Record: Appalachian St. 0-0, Arkansas 0-0. Series Record: Appalachian State leads, 1-0.

GAME NOTES: The Arkansas Razorbacks of the SEC welcome the Appalachian State Mountaineers to Fayetteville for an early-season battle.

Appalachian State has posted victories in two of its three games thus far, including Tuesday's 77-44 triumph over Lees McRae. Clearly, however, the level of competition increases significantly tonight. Buzz Peterson, who led Appalachian State to three Southern Conference regular-season titles and an NCAA Tournament appearance from 1996-2000, returned to serve as the school's coach on April 29th, 2009.

Arkansas opened the season with a dominant 130-68 victory over Alcorn State last Friday. The Razorbacks fell in their next outing, however, to Louisville by a 96-66 final on a neutral court. Obvious, it is hard to get a good read on John Pelphrey's team considering the 62-point win and 30-point loss.

Appalachian State won its only previous meeting with Arkansas, and that game took place two seasons ago.

Isaac Butts was outstanding for Appalachian State in the romp over Lees-McRae last time out, as he connected on 11-of-12 attempts from the floor and finished with 22 points and nine rebounds. Kellen Brand added 10 points for the Mountaineers, who connected on 54.4 percent of their field goal attempts and earned a 44-30 rebounding advantage. Also, Appalachian State forced 19 turnovers and limited its overmatched opponent to 30.5 percent shooting from the field. Through three games, Butts is averaging 13.3 ppg, and his staggering 82.6 percent shooting from the field is sensational. He is ripping down 9.3 rpg as well. Donald Sims adds 13.0 ppg to the mix, and Brand provides 12.7 ppg. The Mountaineers are limiting opponents to 58.0 ppg on 36.8 percent shooting from the floor.

Arkansas connected on only 39.7 percent of its field goal attempts against Louisville, including a 3-of-13 effort from three-point range. The Razorbacks suffered a 47-36 rebounding disadvantage in the clash and suffered six more turnovers than the Cardinals. Rotnei Clarke led the way in defeat with 16 points, while Marshawn Powell posted 15 points and 11 rebounds. The Razorbacks trailed by 17 points at intermission and were unable to get back in the game. In the season-opening win over Alcorn State, Clarke scored a school-record 51 points on an SEC record 13 three-pointers. Arkansas scored 71 points in the first half of that game.

Arkansas is the smart pick in this clash, as Clarke will be too much to handle. Expect the Razorbacks to jump on top early and never look back.

Predicted Outcome

Arkansas 90, Appalachian State 68