Razorbacks Look to Rebound

Overtime Heroics Editorial

2067 days ago

The Razorbacks rolled into Baton Rouge on a winning high. After only suffering one loss through non-conference play, they pulled out their SEC opener at home over Texas A&M. With spirits high and expectations even higher, the Hogs came out locked and loaded. At one point in the first half, the Razorbacks even boasted an 11 point lead. A quick succession of one personal foul and one technical foul on Reggie Chaney allowed LSU to cut the lead dramatically just before the half. The Hogs never fully took back momentum.

Heartbreak Hogs

In a game that saw three different And-1, game winning opportunities in the final minute of play, there was no whistle on Arkansas’ final three point heave. Whether that shot was a foul or not, or even whether time had expired or not, it would’ve been nice to at least get a replay review on the most important call of the game. Nonetheless, the Hogs could not overcome their own mistakes and would drop their first road SEC game of the year to LSU by a score of 79-77.

Razorbacks Rebounding

So far this season, the undersized Hogs have given up 44 total rebounds only three times this season. One of those times was their thrilling overtime victory at Georgia Tech. The other two times yielded the Razorback’s only two losses of the season. In their contest against the Tigers, the team allowed a mind-boggling 23 offensive rebounds. TWENTY THREE. For reference, the Hogs only pulled down 21 total rebounds in this game. They also conceded their highest number of total rebounds at 53. The fact that the Hogs were even in this game at all is amazing to say the least.

Questionable Calls

Late in the game, Arkansas’s leading scorer and go-to closer, Mason Jones, fouled out on what some would call a touch foul. He picked up his fourth foul on an offensive push-off that was well sold by LSU’s Skylar Mays. Realistically though, everyone gets hit with calls they don’t like, and the Hogs did not help their case on the boards tonight. It seemed as though every time LSU missed they were grabbing another offensive board. Nearly every one of these OREBs lead to a put back or a foul on the Hogs. The team’s inability to secure the ball lead to more foul trouble than their 7-man rotation could handle. The final free throw count in this one ended up being LSU – 28, Arkansas – 18. The Tigers made more free throws in this game than the Razorbacks attempted.

Positive Notes

Even fighting their lack of height, a rowdy SEC crowd, and the occasional questionable call, The Razorbacks had the ball with 8 seconds left and a chance to win. When you step back and look at this one, it’s truly amazing that they ended the game only down by two points. The Hogs won the turnover battle by a 6-13 margin while coming up with eight steals to the Tigers’ one. Ball security will be huge for this team moving forward with the rebounding struggles proving to be so prominent. The Hogs’ perimeter defense held steadfast as well, only allowing LSU to make 26% of their 3PT attempts. This continues the Hogs trend of not allowing a single team this season to make more than 1/3 of their 3’s in a single game. Their combined 3P% allowed on the season is now a staggering 22.7%.

Mason Jones and Jimmy Whitt were phenomenal yet again, both eclipsing the 20 point mark in the same game for the first time this season. Isaiah Joe fought through physical defense and a tough shooting performance to still contribute 13 points, 3 rebounds, 1 assist, and 2 steals. Adrio Bailey continues his improvement from behind the arc, hitting 1/2 3-pointers against the Tigers. Incredibly, Bailey now leads the team in 3P% at 41.7% on the season. Though he only attempts .9 threes per game, his efficiency has been nothing but a bonus for this team so far. We cannot forget of course to mention his stellar defensive performance against the Tigers. He turned in 4 blocked shots including a couple of game-changers down the stretch. These added to his season average of 1.9 BPG, good for a top 50 ranking in the nation.

Razorbacks Road Ahead

Up next the Hogs have another huge test against the Rebels of Ole Miss coming off of their conference opening loss to Texas A&M. The trip to Oxford will be made Saturday, 1/11, with tipoff around 5pm. The scouting report for this one seems simple enough in this one: Slow down Breein Tyree and we stand a pretty good chance. This is another team that likes to go deep into their bench, but the offensive tends to get stagnant without Tyree on the court. This will also be a good test for the Hogs to improve their rebounding. The Rebels field five different players averaging at least 4.3 rebounds per game. The combined height of these players is 6’6.5, half an inch taller than the Hogs tallest starter, Adrio Bailey. It will be a daunting task to say the least. If anyone can game-plan around height, I think I speak for all of Razorback Nation when I say I believe Musselman is the guy to do it.