It was ugly for a bit, as star freshmen Darius Acuff and Meleek Thomas struggled to see their shots fall for much of the game. But Texas A&M was unable to take advantage, and once the Hogs caught fire, it was game over in Fayetteville as the Razorbacks ran away for a 99-84 win.
Billy Richmond III scored 21 points – his fourth straight game with 20+ points – and Acuff ended up with 22, scoring 18 in the second half. Texas A&M’s press defense mostly backfired, forcing just nine turnovers while allowing 30 fast break points to the Razorbacks, with much of that damage coming in the second half.
Will Snead sums it up nicely:
The win brings Arkansas to 11-4 in SEC play, remaining tied for second in the SEC with Alabama, and thus in line for the 3-seed in the SEC Tournament. The Hogs are now in excellent position for a double-bye at the tournament, as they have a two-game lead on four teams that are currently tied for fifth at 9-6, and they own the tiebreaker with three of them (Texas A&M, Vanderbilt, Missouri).
- Matchup Analysis: Can the Hogs slow down High Point’s clutch shooting?
- Matchup Analysis: Hawaii’s unusual defense will challenge Arkansas’ preparation
- Box Score Breakdown: Arkansas 88, Missouri 84
Advanced stats
After falling behind early, a 12-0 run largely fueled by Richmond and Malique Ewin (18 points, nine rebounds) gave the Hogs the lead for good. Despite Acuff going just 1 of 12 from the field with five points, Arkansas looked like they were going to run away with it in the first half, but a 6-0 Aggie run to close the half made it 37-28 at the break.
The second half was all offense. Texas A&M whittled the lead down, eventually getting within four, before John Calipari and staff finally decided to try turning Acuff off and back on again. He went to the bench for a breather, returning to a 66-60 game with 9:37 to play. He scored 17 of Arkansas’ 33 points over the rest of the way.
The Aggies shot pretty well, but they were overwhelmed by shot volume. Their trademark full-court press failed to generate turnovers – Arkansas’ nine turnovers were below their season average on a per-possession basis – and the Hogs also dominated the glass, which was one of our keys to the game in the preview. The Hogs struggled from beyond the arc but were able to make a living in the paint, finishing well, drawing fouls, and crashing the boards.
The Aggie numbers had an error, but you get the idea. Zach Clemence had a bizarrely fantastic performance, which was key for keeping A&M in the game. I’m not sure why Ruben Dominguez, who entered the game as the second-leading scorer, was a no-show. He played 12 minutes and didn’t score.
For the Hogs, Ewin is now the starting center. Nick Pringle played just six minutes and was minus-8, as he saw the Hogs fall behind early. Ewin played 34 minutes and was +23. He’s been a plus-minus monster all season long.
I also think whoever is in charge of Arkansas’ conditioning deserves some credit. With Pringle at six minutes, the Hogs basically used six guys. “Bucky Ball” is dependent on wearing the opponent out and using heavy substitution to keep guys fresh (notice no Aggie even hit 30 minutes) with the goal of wearing teams out. The Hogs played six guys, with four playing 30+ minutes, and did not appear tired at all by the game’s end. In fact, it was over the final nine minutes that they ran the Aggies off the floor. It is interesting how coaches like Bucky McMillan and Mark Pope insist on heavy platoon-style substitutions when, anecdotally, I don’t think there’s a good case for that in the modern high-college game.
Highlights
Up next
Arkansas goes to Gainesville on Saturday to battle the SEC leaders and defending national champions. The Gators are on a major role right now, so there’s zero shame if this game does not go well.
A win still leaves the Hogs down one game in the standings, but Florida has to visit Lexington next week. An Arkansas win creates the hilarious situation in which Arkansas fans must cheer for Kentucky, while Wildcat fans have to know that their team beating Florida would potentially deliver an SEC title to John Calipari.
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Interesting point regarding conditioning. The modern game appears to rely so heavily on skill and efficient shooting at every position. However, being rhythm appears to be more important than fresh legs for shooting and other basketball skills throughout a game (think about how players who shoot lights out in the first half tend to brick everything after the long halftime break, or how players who were playing well struggle after picking up two fouls early and sitting for a long time).
Interesting note (credit to Jim Root and Will Warren), but Ewin, Thomas, and Acuff are in the 100 percentile for offensive rating of any 3 man combo in CBB, and are 98 percentile in NET rating.