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A spirit that is not afraid

Arkansas brings youth to conference match

Sophomore forward Josh Langford drives on Kentucky forward Darius Miller during last week's contest against the Wildcats. Langford contributed four points in the 68-53 loss. (Rebecca Croomes / PHOTO EDITOR)
Sophomore forward Josh Langford drives on Kentucky forward Darius Miller during last week's contest against the Wildcats. Langford contributed four points in the 68-53 loss. (Rebecca Croomes / PHOTO EDITOR)

Arkansas will enter Wednesday's game against the Tigers with one of SEC's most potent offensive weapons: guard BJ Young.

Young was named SEC Freshman of the Week two weeks ago and is the team's second-leading scorer behind forward Marshawn Powell.

Young has three games with 20 or more points and tallied 28 points against defending national champions UConn earlier this season.

Also, the star freshman is shooting almost 44 percent from three-point range.

In 2010, Auburn found themselves in a shootout with Arkansas at home, winning 92-83, but lost as the visiting team 73-64 in Fayetteville.

The Razorbacks have won eight of their last 10 games, and coach Mike Anderson said his team is prepared for the difficult stretch of conference play.

"The intensity: it goes up 10 notches," Anderson said. "You're in a race, and hopefully, you want to be there when everything is said and done."

Eight out of 12 players for the razorbacks are freshmen, and Anderson understands the learning curve involved with a young team.

"We're a work in progress," Anderson said after the team's Jan. 11 loss to Ole Miss. "That was a bump and we will learn from it.

"We've done well in terms of learning from things we haven't done well going into the next game."

Center Hunter Michelson is a force down low for Arkansas.

Leading his team with 47 blocks on the season, Michelson affects the way opponents' offenses attack the lane.

However, Auburn's sophomore guards Varez Ward and Chris Denson weren't fazed by Kentucky forward Anthony Davis, with Michelson racking up half as many blocks as Davis.

Auburn also fared better against the No. 2 Kentucky Wildcats than Arkansas, losing by 15 compared to the Razorbacks' 23-point deficit.

Arkansas also ranks 53rd in the country in rebounds per game, compared to Auburn's 116th.

Arkansas lost to number 19 florida last Saturday by a margin of 14 points.

Tip-off is at 8 p.m. Wednesday in Fayetteville, Ark., with television coverage on CSS.

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