Texas basketball to host Arkansas in charity exhibition game
The 2022-23 college basketball season is fast approaching and on Tuesday Texas announced it will host Arkansas in a charity exhibition game on Oct. 29 as part of its preseason.
The two programs will meet at Texas for a 4 p.m. ET tip, with tickets going for $25 for reserved seating. All proceeds will be donated to a pair of organizations supporting social justice equity and educational opportunities to youth in Central Texas communities, according to a Texas press release.
Both teams are projected to be among the best in the country, making the Arkansas-Texas charity exhibition game one of the more unique preseason events.
ESPN’s Way-Too-Early Top 25 rankings for college basketball in 2022-23 have Arkansas ranked No. 9 nationally, while Texas checks in at No. 11.
Both teams reached the NCAA Tournament last season and won at least one game in the Big Dance; Arkansas advanced to the Elite Eight before losing to Duke, while Texas reached the Round of 32 before falling to Purdue.
Early scouting reports for Arkansas-Texas charity exhibition game
ESPN’s Way-Too-Early Top 25 includes some scouting reports for each ranked team. Here is what the popular sports publication had to say about each team.
Arkansas:
“If anyone was hoping to glean some rotation intel about Arkansas’ 11 newcomers from the Razorbacks’ four-game trip to Spain and Italy earlier this month, good luck: Eric Musselman used four different starting lineups in four games. But Nick Smith and Trevon Brazile were the standouts from the trip.
“Brazile, who has been generating buzz all offseason, was consistently dominant — including a 28-point performance against the Bakken Bears, when he shot 13-for-15 from the field. Smith led the team in scoring in three of four games, shot 43% from 3 and shouldered some of the playmaking responsibilities as well. Kamani Johnson was something of a surprise. After the former Arkansas-Little Rock transfer played sparingly last season for the Razorbacks, he led the team in rebounding in all four games.”
Texas:
“Among Texas’ incoming group of freshmen and transfers, one player to fly under the radar thus far is New Mexico State transfer Sir’Jabari Rice. For a team that struggled to consistently score at times during the second half of last season, Rice’s size and shooting ability should be an asset. He’s also perhaps the only Texas guard who is more comfortable off the ball than on. (Marcus Carr, Tyrese Hunter, Arterio Morris and Rowan Brumbaugh have all been the primary playmakers or ball handlers throughout their careers.)
“Rice actually became much more of a combo guard last season, mostly out of necessity, leading the Aggies in assists. But he should be able to focus on scoring in Austin, after averaging double figures in each of the past three seasons — and shooting 35.7% from 3 over that span.”