After Kentucky coach John Calipari was ejected in the second half, associate coach Kenny Payne took over and guided the team to a 73-66 win over Arkansas on Saturday afternoon.
Kentucky game big for Razorback fans and it’s really been awhile
Who: Arkansas Razorback (14-2, 3-1 SEC) vs. #10 Kentucky Wildcats (12-4, 3-1 SEC)
What: Razorbacks to play in SOLD-OUT Bud Walton Arena for the second time this season.
When: Saturday – Jan. 18 – 3:00 pm
Where: Fayetteville, Ark. – Nolan Richardson Court at Bud Walton Arena
• TV: ESPN (Bob Wischusen, Dick Vitale and Kris Budden)
• CLICK HERE to Watch ESPN Online
• Radio: ESPN Arkansas 95.3 in the River Valley, 96.3 in Hot Springs and 104.3 in Harrison-Mountain Home (Chuck Barrett and Matt Zimmerman)
• CLICK HERE to listen on HitThatLine.com
• Sirius/XM: XM Channel 381, Streaming Online on channel 371
• Live Stats: www.Arkansas.StatBroadcast.com
You know Arkansas’ annual game with Kentucky is a big deal because the ESPN mother ship is coming to town with the top broadcasting crew and that includes a color commentator some thought retired years ago.
Assuming he doesn’t automatically end up somewhere in the ACC by accident.
Seriously, though, this is a big game for Eric Musselman in his first season mainly because, well, the Razorbacks and Wildcats are tied in the SEC standings.
Raise your hand if you saw that coming before the season. Forgive me, though, if I don’t wait around.
You can listen to the game on the radio with the TV sound muted at ESPN Arkansas 95.3 in the River Valley, 96.3 in Hot Springs and 104.3 in Harrison-Mountain Home.
Online, you can listen to the game here at HitThatLine.com.
Kentucky coach John Calipari has been on record as being impressed with Musselman’s hiring since October after congratulating Jerry Jones, which may have been the first he’d heard of the Hogs’ new basketball coach.
He’s done nothing since then to give Arkansas any bulletin board material.
“They play really hard. They play rough,” Calipari said Friday. “They aren’t big but that doesn’t seem to hurt them on either end of the court. They have specific roles of what guys are going to do, what kind of shots they’re going to take and they do it.”
Musselman probably just shrugged when he heard that.
“Every game has got its own identity and comes up with its own theme the minute the refs throw the ball up,” he said Thursday afternoon.
Not for the fans, who have always approached the games with Kentucky at a fever pitch, regardless of the record or rankings.
The SEC let the Razorbacks in back in 1992 to give a different color to the league’s basketball tournament. In other words, somebody who could pose a challenge to Kentucky that had a color other than blue.
Exactly why a league that prides itself on marketing has, more or less, dropped the ball on that. You’d think they would figure out a way for that game to be played twice a year.
This one is big at this point of the schedule. Which actually has Musselman starting to sound a little like Nick Saban in his pregame speech.
“You prepare the same way, then your level of play shouldn’t fluctuate like a yo-yo, either,” he said. “You should be ready to play every night as a player, and as a coaching staff, you should have great preparation.”
Tell me if you just read those words you come up with several coaches that could be saying it.
Kentucky leads the all-time series, 32-11, but Arkansas is 7-7 versus the Wildcats at home. The last time Arkansas defeated Kentucky was a season-sweep in 2014.
First, the Razorbacks upset then-No. 13 Kentucky, 87-85, in overtime, on Jan. 14 thanks to a Michael Qualls dunk at the buzzer. A month later (Feb. 27) at Rupp Arena, Arkansas once again pulled out an overtime win to defeat then-No. 17 Kentucky, 71-67.
30-30-30
• Jimmy Whitt Jr., scored a career-high 30 points versus Vanderbilt to become the third Razorback to score at least 30 points this season. Mason Jones (41 vs Tulsa and 32 vs Rice) Isaiah Joe (34 Ole Miss • 33 TX Southern) were the others.
• Arkansas also had three players score at least 30 last season, including Daniel Gafford (32 vs LSU) • Mason Jones (30 vs Florida 30 vs Miss State) • Isaiah Joe (34 vs FIU).
Second half surge
• Isaiah Joe averages 18.6 minutes in the second half and Jimmy Whitt Jr., averages 18.4. Mason Jones follows at 16.4, followed by Desi Sills (14.6), Adrio Bailey (11.8) and Jalen Harris (10.4).
• Despite the extended minutes, Arkansas puts up better numbers in the second half: 1st HALF: 35.0 ppg • 43.9 FG% • 29.2 3PT% * 65.9 FT% • 64 steals; 2nd HALF 39.1 ppg • 45.68 FG% • 33.9 3PT% * 82.5 FT% • 77 steals
Razorbacks among NCAA winningest teams; best start since …
• Arkansas’ .875 win percentage is 14th-T in the NCAA.
• Arkansas is 1 of 15 teams in the NCAA with two or fewer losses.
• Arkansas is 14-2 overall for the first time since 1997-98. The ’97-98 team lost game 17 to fall to 14-3.
• Arkansas is 3-1 in SEC play for the first time since 2015-16. Arkansas will be looking for its first 4-1 in SEC play since opening 9-1 in league play in 1997-98.
No. 24 in NCAA NET, No 9 in RPI
• Arkansas’ NCAA NET remained 24th after a 75-55 win vs Vanderbilt.
• Arkansas’ NET is 2nd-best among SEC schools behind Auburn (13). Others of note: LSU (26), Kentucky (35), Alabama (44). Florida (48), Georgia (55).
• Arkansas’ NET of 24 is better than 6 teams ranked in the AP top 25.
• Arkansas has an RPI of 9, better than 16 teams ranked in the AP top 25.
Mason Jones is THE TEAM LEADER
• Mason Jones leads the Razorbacks in: Scoring (18.1) • Rebounding (6.1) • Assists (54) • Steals (29)
• Jones is THE ONLY PLAYER IN THE SEC to rank among the top 20 in scoring (3rd) and Rebounding (15th and also rank among the top 11 in steals (4th), 3-pointers made (8th), defensive rebounds (7th) and FG% (11th).
Putting Arkansas 3-point defense … or Joe’s success … in perspective
• Arkansas leads the NCAA in 3-point field goal defense as opponents have shot below 29% from long range 14 times. Overall, opponents are a combined 63-of-281 from long range (28.8%).
• Arkansas opponents have made 64 3-pointers in 281 attempts.
• Sophomore Isaiah Joe has made 63 3-pointers in 176 attempts.
Arkansas has best trio in SEC
Arkansas is the only team in the SEC to feature:
• Two players in the league’s top 5 for scoring — Mason Jones (3rd / 18.1) • Isaiah Joe (4th / 17.8)
• Three players in the league’s top 20 for scoring — Jimmy Whitt Jr. (13th / 14.8)
Isaiah Joe on Jerry West Shooting Guard of the Year Watch List
Arkansas sophomore Isaiah Joe was named to the 2020 Jerry West Shooting Guard of the Year Award watch list, the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame announced today.
Fans can vote for their favorite player HERE.
Information, notes from Razorback Sports Communications included in this story.
History against Kentucky means little, but electric crowd might
Eric Musselman didn’t want to talk about past games with Kentucky this week, but Arkansas fans are going to turn back the clock Saturday.
“I don’t think Kentucky beating Arkansas or having any type of streak, in my opinion, doesn’t have any bearing at all,” Musselman told the media Wednesday. “That kind of sounds like a broken record, but every game comes up with its own theme and identity when the refs throw the ball up.”
Arkansas is winless in the past seven meetings with the No. 10-ranked Wildcats. That’s the part Musselman doesn’t have much to say about and why should he?
Nothing that has happened in those games has anything to do with him or this team. It doesn’t take a basketball guru to understand how impactful Musselman has been on this group, which has improved greatly since being under the tutelage of former coach Mike Anderson.
“We have played really competitive all year, and we just want to play with maximum effort,” Musselman said. “I told [the team] after the [Vanderbilt game Wednesday night] the only way we will be able to compete with Kentucky is if we bring our ‘A’ game. We can’t bring a ‘B+’ game and expect to compete.”
The past is the past, but what about a blast from the past?
Bud Walton Arena hasn’t been itself for quite some time. Once, one of the most feared arenas in college basketball the mediocrity of recent decades has removed some of the luster.
However, now with a team that is playing well and a coach who is a marketing whiz, this game atmosphere has a chance to be the most electric in 20 years. The game is sold out and at last check you couldn’t buy a ticket on broker sites for less than $100 and those were in the upper deck.
Musselman admits there is something different playing a traditional power such as Kentucky, and that he’s gotten many more ticket requests. He even has a group of friends from his youth from the San Diego area flying in for the occasion.
He’s already been impressed by home crowds. If Arkansas plays well, he is in for a real treat that he may never have witnessed before at a college venue. The Bud atmosphere has been that good.
“There’s just hype, you know. I am sure when the [New York] Yankees come to town in Major League Baseball, there is more outside noise,” Musselman said. “As a player, you should be ready to play every night. As a coach, I think if you bring great intensity every night …. I’m not going to coach any different whether it’s Vanderbilt or Kentucky.
You prepare the same way, and your level of play shouldn’t fluctuate like a yo-yo, either. You should be ready to play every night as a player and a coaching staff. You should have great preparation, and we have a game after the Kentucky game, too, that becomes important.”
However, the Wildcats won’t be intimidated. After a buzzer-beater loss at South Carolina, they will be determined. Their length and size could really hurt the undersized Hogs.
“Certainly, the teams we have had after a loss there’s a heightened awareness of what we didn’t do well and need to improve on,” Musselman said. “Many times losses grab your attention more than a win. Sometimes, when you win, you take some of the little things for granted.
“When you look at [Kentucky Coach John Calipari’s] record, he is pretty good after a loss. I can tell you that.
“They present a lot of problems with their defense, length and scoring ability,” Musselman said. “They are so well-coached, and I can go on and on.”
This is the biggest, most-anticipated game in the Musselman Era. It may be one of the more-anticipated in recent memory.
Anderson didn’t have many signature wins. The Hogs’ win at Indiana is already a good one and Kentucky would be monumental, both in his first season, with many more chances to go.
It could be a very historical day that paves the way for more of the past to become the future.
Pittman brings Georgia’s assistant strength coach to Razorbacks
FAYETTEVILLE — Arkansas coach Sam Pittman has brought Jamil Walker to join him here, taking another staff member from Georgia and this one has a connection to former coach Bret Bielema.
Walker, who is now the director of strength and conditioning for the Razorbacks, was with the Bulldogs the last three seasons when they won 36 games, including an appearance in the national championship game after the 2017 season.
Walker played at Wisconsin for Bielema, moving into the assistant strength coach role in 2009.
As a player, he was a part of one of the most successful periods in Badgers history. At the time of graduation, his class was the winningest in program history going 40-11 during his four years on the field. The Badgers won the Capital One Bowl in consecutive years in 2006-07.
Information from Razorback Sports Communications is included in this story.
???? Halftime Pod — Kentucky coming to town, QB watch, plus Aaron Torres on the matchp
Phil & Tye on Arkansas vs. Kentucky, AT on the matchup, plus QB’s on the Razorbacks’ radar!
Musselman on how Hogs’ past history means nothing for this game
Arkansas coach Eric Musselman talked with the media Thursday afternoon ahead of the Kentucky game on Saturday at Bud Walton about how every game “has its own identity.”
???? Halftime Pod — The Vandy victory, more D’Eriq King news, Bob Holt and more!
Phil & Tye on the victory over Vanderbilt, more D’Eriq King transfer news, Bob Holt joins the pod and more!
Dickie V on games in Fayetteville, Ark/Ken, coaching against Bill Musselman and more!
Dick Vitale joins Halftime and talks his time in Fayetteville, the Ark-Ken matchup, coaching against Bill Musselman, and more!
Whitt finds lots of points, Chaney finds playing time as Hogs roll past Vandy
On a night when Arkansas’ usual scorers weren’t, Jimmy Whitt, Jr., stepped up big and Reggie Chaney got out of the doghouse and paced a 75-55 win over Vanderbilt at Bud Walton Arena.
Whitt had a collegiate career-high 30 points while Chaney got 14 points. Chaney alone scored one point more than the Razorbacks’ usual scorers Isaiah Joe (12) and Mason Jones (1).
The Commodores came in pretty much ready to not let Joe and Jones have their usual big nights.
“They did a great job of crowding Mason and crowding Isaiah, which allowed Reggie to get some looks around the rim,” Hogs coach Eric Musselman said later. “It certainly allowed Jimmy, as well.”
Whitt just thought getting his big number was, well, cool. Especially doing it where he started his career before transferring to SMU before returning this season as a graduate transfer.
“It was cooler that I did it here rather than anywhere else, being able to come in my last year and reach a milestone like that in front of the fans I started with, I think it hit me right there and that was the coolest part for me,” Whitt said.
Chaney simply hadn’t been playing well and saw his playing time virtually disappear after a horrible game at LSU that included a technical for slapping the ball that had clearly ticked off Musselman.
He had to play his way back into what is admittedly a small rotation of seven or eight players on a big night. Musselman clearly had questions about him.
“I knew I had to earn that trust back,” Chaney said later. “In practice I’ve been going really hard.
“He still believed in me tonight and played me, so I went in and I had to do what I had to do. Tonight I came in and gave my best hustle and earned a little bit of his trust back.”
Arkansas needed it.
First half notes
• Chaney scored eight points off the bench with 7:10 to play in the first half. His season high coming into the game was six on two occasions He had only scored eight points the previous five games combined.
• Arkansas used a 12-3 run from 9:53 to 2:39 to go up nine, 29-20.
• Vandy’s Maxwell Evans answered with an old-fashioner 3-point play and a 3-point for the Commodores.
• Desi Sills got Arkansas back on track with a 3-pointer. The teams traded baskets and the Hogs lead by six, 34-28, at the break.
• Whitt scored 17 first-half points, including two dunks. He was also credited with his first 3-point attempt of the season, a desperation shot as the buzzer sounded to end the half.
• Chaney finished with eight points and Sills had seven with a team-best five rebounds.
Second half notes
• The Commodores got within four, 37-33, with 17:24 in the second half. The Razorbacks answered with an 8-0 run — its largest run of the game — to take a 12-point lead. The Hogs led by double digits the final 16:10 of the game.
• Joe hit back-to-back 3-pointers and Whitt had a dunk for the run.
Game notes
• Arkansas’ starting lineup was Whitt, Joe, Sills. Jones and Adrio Bailey for the 15th time this season.
• Arkansas won the tip. It was the ninth time in 16 games. Arkansas is 7-2 in such games.
• Bailey scored the first points of the game on two free throws at 19:17. Arkansas has scored first 11 times and is 9-2 in such games. It was the first time Bailey scored the team’s first points.
• Arkansas out-rebounded Vanderbilt 38-30. It was just the fourth time Arkansas has out-rebounded an opponent this season.
• Vanderbilt entered the game first in the SEC in 3-point percentage (.375) and second in the SEC in 3-pointers made (9.5). The Razorbacks held Vandy to just 5-of-20 (25%).
• Arkansas leads the NCAA in 3-point field goal percentage defense (22.8%).
• Vanderbilt had zero steals. They entered the game fifth in the SEC by averaging 7.6 steals per game. The last time an Arkansas opponent had zero steals was North Texas on Jan. 3, 2004.
• Arkansas tied a season high with 19 assists. They also had 19 in the season-opener against Rice.
• Arkansas shot a season-low 53.3% from the free throw line (8-of-15). The Razorbacks were 29th in the NCAA in free throw percentage entering the game.
• Arkansas is 3-1 in SEC play for the first time since 2015-16. Arkansas will be looking for its first 4-1 in SEC play since opening 9-1 in league play in 1997-98.
• Arkansas is 14-2 overall for the first time since 1997-98 as well. The ’97-98 team lost game 17 to fall to 14-3.
• All 12 Razorbacks saw game action.
Information, notes, from Razorback Sports Communications are included in this story.
