Despite a largely-uninspired effort on Friday night, the Hogs are easily 2-0 after an 86-68 win over Gardner-Webb. This game was actually very similar to the 86-69 win over the Runnin’ Bulldogs in the second game of the 2022 season.
It’s obviously a good sign that Arkansas can look merely decent on offense and still put up 86 points. This game was played with a frenetic pace, so the points got really high.
Advanced Stats
Both teams played fast, so each side got about 80 possessions. For the second straight game, the Razorbacks were excellent in the halfcourt, scoring 73 points and getting points on 56% of possessions. The main red flag were was allowing the Runnin’ Bulldogs to get 29 transition possessions. The Hogs were repeatedly beaten down the floor by the Gardner-Webb. Arkansas actually defended those possessions really well (15 blocks helps), but G-W still totaled 24 transition points, and Arkansas cannot be allowing small schools to beat them down the floor like that.
Against Alcorn, the Hogs took almost no midrange attempts, which was nice to see. This game, the Hogs took way too many (40% of field goals), but they made them (50% eFG%). In fact, Arkansas shot well from all three levels and recorded a solid 56% eFG%. I do not like going that heavy on midrange, and it’s mildly concerning that Arkansas did not get to the rim at a high rate for the second straight game, but it’s hard to complain too much when the shots are mostly falling.
Defensively, I’m not loving G-W getting 54% of field goals at the rim, because Alcorn also got to the rim. The Hogs held them to 46% shooting on those rim attempts, but you’re not going to block 15 shots every night, especially when SEC play rolls around.
So overall, these numbers aren’t great to see. It’s obviously not anything concerning yet, but I need to see Arkansas do a better job of getting to the rim on offense, keeping the opponent away from the rim, and getting back on defense to prevent transition possessions. A lot of that is just an intensity thing, and we’ll see that pick up as the competition improves.
Very interesting numbers at the 5 position: Makhi Mitchell was +28, but Chandler Lawson and Baye Fall were a combined minus-14. Fall’s numbers include some garbage time minutes, but Lawson didn’t play great at all. He seems like a guy whose usage will be situational. He was fantastic against Purdue in the exhibition and will have plenty of big moments this year, but it was nice to see Makhi bounce back from a poor effort against Alcorn to play well.
El Ellis also got more into the scoring mix after not really stuffing the stat sheet against Alcorn. And of course, Khalif Battle is a scoring machine. His two-game numbers are insane: 72% eFG%, 105% free throw rate, only 10% turnover rate. Those numbers are quite unsustainable (especially the free throw rate), but all of those numbers are consistent with his strengths at Temple (a 3-or-drive wing with a low turnover rate) and suggest that he is really set up to have a monster season.
Highlights
Up Next
The competition is starting to slowly ramp up. Arkansas’ next week opponents – Old Dominion on Monday, UNC Greensboro on Friday – are much stronger than Alcorn and Gardner-Webb. The Hogs should go 2-0 but will be pushed if they play like they did in this one. After that, the heat is on as the Hogs head to the Battle 4 Atlantis.
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