Notice time | Arkansas Democrat Gazette

FAYETTEVILLE – When the University of Arkansas men’s basketball team managed to defeat the Bisons, 69-66, last Dec. 16 in North Little Rock, Lipscomb was missing its best player.

Jacob Ognacevic, a 6-8 forward and the preseason Atlantic Sun Conference Player of the Year, missed the entire season with a knee injury.

A healthy Ognacevic will lead the Bisons to Walton Arena when Lipscomb plays 16th-ranked Arkansas again on Wednesday night in Coach John Calipari’s first game.

Ognacevic had 30 points and 10 rebounds in Lipscomb’s 77-72 win over Duquesne on Monday night. The fifth-year senior from Sheboygan, Wis., made 10 of 18 shots, including 2 of 6 3-pointers, and 8 of 11 free throws in 35 minutes.

“He causes a lot of problems because of his ability to shoot the three,” Arkansas assistant coach Chuck Martin said during a media availability on Tuesday. “He can shoot threes in transition from pick-and-pops.

“But he’s also a guy who can shoot 60 percent from the field in the low post. So he can shoot from the outside, he can shoot from the low post. I wasn’t surprised that he had a night like that, because he’s a great guy of a player.”

Senior guard Will Martin, who scored 15 points for Duquesne, also reached a team-high 15 points against Arkansas last season.

The Bisons, who are starting four seniors, were selected in preseason voting by coaches and media to win the Atlantic Sun Conference championship.

Coach Lennie Auff has an 86-72 record in his sixth season at Lipscomb in Nashville, Tenn. He has an overall record of 640-394 in 36 seasons, including 454 wins in 22 seasons at NCAA Division II Alabama-Huntsville.

“Coach Auff has done an incredible job at Lipscomb,” Martin said. “We have great respect for him and his program, and I think that’s the consensus across the country.

“When you play Lipscomb, you know you’re going to be playing a productive team, a team that can’t beat itself.”

The Bisons hit 9 of 21 3-pointers at Duquesne.

“Ball movement, player movement, hitting, countering,” Martin said of the impressive aspects of the Bisons’ offense. “They do an incredible job of reading the defense and countering it.”

Arkansas played two exhibition games against Big 12 teams, beating No. 1 Kansas 85-69 at Walton Arena and losing to TCU 66-65 at Dickies Arena in Fort Worth.

Calipari said the Razorbacks were overconfident in TCU after their preseason win over Kansas, which was without three injured players, including All-America center Hunter Dickinson.

Arkansas forward Jonas Aidoo, who transferred from Tennessee last season and was an All-SEC selection, missed both exhibition games due to an undisclosed injury.

“He’s getting better,” Martin said. “We’re living this day by day. We’re excited about the possibility of returning soon.”

Trailing by 13 points behind Arkansas, TCU won the game with a three-pointer by Brendan Wenzel with 17 seconds left. Arkansas freshman guard Boogie Fland missed a three-point attempt at the buzzer.

“We played pretty well against Kansas,” Calipari said on his radio show Monday night. “We played pretty well against TCU. I was upset the day before the game because we suddenly turned into a bit of an arrogant team.

“This is all about building a culture that shows what’s expected, what’s acceptable, what’s unacceptable. Where we want to win, before we can win, you have to go to the culture first. That means holding the line. I think I tell them, ‘My will is stronger than your will.’ you say.

Arkansas forward Adou Thiero, who followed the coaching staff at Kentucky, returned to practice after an undisclosed injury shortly before the Kansas game and made his only field goal against the Jayhawks with 2 points, 5 rebounds and 1 steal in 17 minutes. At TCU, he led the Razorbacks with 20 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists, 4 blocks and 1 steal in 37 minutes.

“He didn’t do much offensively in the Kansas game, but defensively he was in the right place,” Martin said. “I think he started to find a rhythm offensively in the TCU game.”

He shot a combined 27.1% (13 of 48) on three-pointers against Arkansas, Kansas and TCU.

Martin said senior guard Johnell Davis, a transfer from Florida Atlantic who shot 41.4% (58 of 140) on 3-pointers last season, should strengthen the Razorbacks’ perimeter offense after being limited in practice with an ankle injury. Davis went 1-of-6 from three against Kansas and 2-of-3 from three at TCU.

“I think part of it was that Nelly Davis had been out for a long time before the Kansas game, so it was her first time actually playing in live competition,” Martin said. “And the TCU game was his second game.

“He’s a very talented shooting guy and he’s been out for three weeks, so it’s going to take him a while to find his rhythm.”

Martin said Fland and freshman forwards Karter Knox and Billy Richmond (who shot 3-of-19 on 3-pointers in exhibition games) are better shooters than they’ve shown.

“This is their first time playing live competition in front of a crowd, so it will take some time,” Martin said. “But I definitely think we’re capable of shooting threes, and I think we’ll do that as the season progresses.”

The Razorbacks made 23 of 28 free throws against Kansas, then 6 of 11 free throws at TCU.

“I thought the TCU game was a really physical game for both sides,” Martin said. “Some of the calls we got in the Kansas game, we didn’t get in the TCU game.

“But sometimes it’s going to be like that. This is great basketball. We’re on the road and some nights we’re going to get a positive whistle, some nights you don’t. You just have to play. IT.”

Playing Lipscomb will be Calipari’s 33rd season opener as a college coach at Massachusetts, Memphis, Kentucky and Arkansas.

“I’ve seen it all,” Calipari, who is 25-7 in season openers and 29-3 in home openers, said on his radio show. “I want our fans to know that no matter what it looks like early on, this is a process where we are going to get this team.

“I have to figure out a lot of things and it takes time. But I’m having fun. I enjoy coaching this group.”