JD Notae put on an incredible show at Bud Walton Arena on Saturday as Arkansas topped 6th-ranked Kentucky, 75-73. It was the Hogs’ third straight win over a ranked team and the 13th win in Arkansas’ last 14 games.
Notae and Kentucky’s Oscar Tshiebwe put on a show for the ages. Each scored 30 points, Notae dished 8 assists, and Tshiebwe had 18 rebounds.
Tshiebwe + Castleton + Kessler vs Arkansas:
— Adam Ford (@AdamFord92) February 26, 2022
75 points, 43 rebounds, 11 blocks, 3 Ls https://t.co/KhnS0vxfdR
The story of the game, once again, was Arkansas’ defense against everyone other than the opposing big man. Kentucky’s guards combined to shoot 9 of 30 from the floor and score just 27 points.
The Hogs built an early lead, jumping up 32-19 last in the first half. But once again, the Razorbacks struggled to close the half, as the Wildcats ended it on a 9-2 run to get within 34-28 at the break. After the Cats roared out to a lead in the second half, the two teams went back and forth until a Jaylin Williams jumper gave Arkansas a 71-70 lead with 1:22 to play. Kentucky didn’t make another shot until TyTy Washington’s meaningless 3-pointer at the buzzer gave us our final mark of 75-73.
Speaking of Washington, he and Sahvir Wheeler — considered questionable to play — did in fact play and combined for 24 points, so it is fair to say Arkansas took Kentucky’s best shot and won anyway.
Instant Analysis
- Kamani Johnson with big minutes. Tshiebwe exhausted Williams, who played well (16 points, 12 rebounds), but struggled to contain the powerful Kentucky center. This left Kamani Johnson with a huge role to play. He scored just two points, but he grabbed three rebounds and did a fantastic job of getting physical with Tshiebwe.
- Hogs overcome bad turnovers. As we discussed in the game preview, Kentucky’s only major defensive weakness is that it does not force turnovers. Arkansas gave them gifts anyway, with 12 turnovers, most of them coming while Kentucky was coming back from its early deficit. Trey Wade dropped a pass, Au’Diese Toney stepped on the baseline, and Notae had the ball stripped while driving into the lane twice. The end result was that Arkansas had to make due with 8 fewer field goal attempts than Kentucky.
- Boo man struggles again. Students chose Kentucky guard Davion Mintz as their target for booing in this game. Previous boo men have struggled, with Tennessee’s Santiago Vescovi as the latest victim. Mintz fit right in: zero points, 0 of 2 shooting, 2 turnovers, and 2 fouls. Call it coincidence if you want, but the boo man doesn’t play well at Bud Walton.
Stay tuned for a more extensive box score breakdown, coming soon. And be sure to follow us @FayVillains in the meantime.