Nick Smith Jr., shown here driving against Rogers State in an October Bud Walton game, said today on Instagram that he intends to play in Arkansas' home stand against Mississippi State Saturday night.

By Otis Kirk

FAYETTEVILLE -- Arkansas is one of the hottest teams in the nation and they put their SEC winning streak on the line Saturday evening when Mississippi State rolls into Bud Walton Arena.

Arkansas started SEC play 1-5, but now stands at 6-5 following an 88-73 win in Lexington over Kentucky Tuesday night. Arkansas is 11-1 in Bud Walton Arena and may be getting some help beginning Saturday. True freshman Nick Smith Jr. has started practicing again this week and could return to play on Saturday. Smith has played in five games this season due to knee pain management, but his return is nearing. Eric Musselman provided the update on Smith.

"Nick has practiced the last few days with us," Musselman said. "Obviously he did not go on the road trip so he could continue to stay back here and work on his conditioning. We’re optimistic and hopeful that Nick will be able to play some time here in the near future."

Smith is averaging 12.8 points and 1.8 rebound per game in his limited action. The 2023 NBA Mock Drafts have him projected going between No. 4-6 in the first round. Musselman was asked Wednesday if he's concerned with Arkansas not being completely focused following such an impressive win at Kentucky.

"I think the good thing is that it was a Tuesday [game]," Musselman said. "We still have Wednesday where they’re really not doing anything. Thursday we’ll have a good practice. Friday we should have a good practice. Because the tip's at five, we’ll be able to have a shoot-around on Saturday.

"I think there’s plenty of time to get over [the big win]. It’s not just that we won the game at Kentucky, it’s also the fact we have a winning streak going [in SEC play]. Just like Kentucky had a winning streak going. Once you get over four, five wins, you just can never get comfortable with that. You have to understand how hard it is to win.

"And there’s a really good chance that Mississippi State is going to come in here on their own winning streak. They won their Big 12 Challenge game against a really, really good team (TCU). They’ve got a couple wins in league. They play a home game tonight (vs. LSU). So they’re going to come in here with a great deal of momentum as well."

Musselman was right in that the Bulldogs defeated LSU 64-53 on Wednesday night in Starkville. They beat TCU in the SEC-Big 12 Challenge and also have SEC wins against Missouri and South Carolina. So the Bulldogs bring a four-game winning streak into Fayetteville.

"The biggest thing with Mississippi State is you’ve got to be prepared for physicality," Musselman said. "This is a team that loves to create steals. They average 10 steals a game. It’s a high-gamble team defensively. They jump in passing lanes. The pace of play, they try to control the pace of play. It’s a paint game. You’ve got to be able to defensively defend the paint, starting with Tolu Smith inside, who’s averaging 15 points a game on the year and 13 in conference play. 

"Perimeter wise they have Dashawn Davis, No. 10, an Oregon State transfer who can make threes. A high-assist player. Then Shakeel Moore, an NC State transfer, lefty, who can shoot the ball and is playing really well of late. Then they have some really athletic wings with great size in Cam Matthews, No. 4 and Tyler Stevenson, No. 14, and D.J. Jeffries, No. 0. Then two big guys inside in Tolu Smith, No. 1, and (Will) McNair, who played at New Mexico State last year and we played against him in the NCAA Tournament, No. 13. So boxing out, keeping them off the offensive glass, getting a shot on goal, not allowing their steal game or their defensive anticipation to get out and create transition baskets for them. Those will be some of the keys to Saturday’s game."

Smith leads the Bulldogs with 14.7 points per game, 8.3 rebounds and 0.8 blocks per game. Davis is tops in assists with 3.5 per game and Moore 2.1 steals each outing. Mississippi State (16-8, 4-7) has seemingly experiencing success following a slow start with its new coach Chris Jans.

"I think all the new coaches in our league we're seeing a style and identity start to be formed," Musselman said. "It's hard to do it in your first year, but Coach Jans, they were incredible in non-conference play, and much like us there was a little bit of a struggle early in conference. Like I mentioned, of late they've been playing great basketball. They're tough. They're physical. They create grind-it-out games. They're very well coached. They're defense oriented. They're going to throw the ball inside six to nine times to Tolu Smith on straight post-ups, and they're a great offensive rebounding team. So, a lot of similarities for sure to New Mexico State."

Musselman talked about what he feels the Bulldogs have done to turn the season around and start winning.

"There's ebbs and flows throughout the course of the season, but Moore, No. 3, is playing better of late for sure," Musselman said. "Smith is just a hard, hard cover because he's a wide body. He's a guy that draws free-throws attempted. They do such a great job of creating steals, and it's really hard to create a defense when there is a high volume of turnovers. It's hard to come up with a game plan for a team that's a high steal, high gamble team. So, getting a shot on goal becomes paramount. Trying to eliminate live-ball turnovers is extremely important as well."

Arkansas (17-7 overall) and the Bulldogs will tip at 5 p.m. on Saturday in Bud Walton Arena and the game televised on ESPNU.