Just when it looked like Arkansas’ season was taking a turn for the worse, the Razorbacks pulled off an 80-75 win over 7th-ranked Duke in front of a record crowd of more than 20,000 at Bud Walton Arena.
Khalif Battle scored 21, while Trevon Brazile had a 19-11 double-double. The Razorbacks won without leading scorer Tramon Mark, who missed the game after injuring his back in the Bahamas.
After a back-and-forth first half, the Hogs began to pull away early in the second, leading by as many as 14. A frantic Duke comeback in the final four minutes made the home crowd nervous, but the Blue Devils never got closer than three points and never had the ball with a chance to tie.
Advanced Stats
Arkansas’ defense got back to doing what it was doing earlier in the year: allowing too many transition chances, but completely shutting Duke down in halfcourt. The Blue Devils managed just 40 points on 53 halfcourt possessions, while the Hogs recorded a solid 60 points in 65 tries. A lot of Duke’s transition success came in the game’s frantic final two minutes.
Opponents that can’t draw fouls or force turnovers are in for a long night against an Eric Musselman-coached team. The Hogs took care of the basketball, and even though they were severely out-rebounded, the Hogs shot 58% eFG% compared to 40% for Duke. Key to it all was Arkansas holding Duke to a meagre 49% at the rim. After some lax defense against Greensboro and in the Battle 4 Atlantis, the Hogs got tough in a big game. That’s a very positive sign for things to come.
As for shooting, Arkansas finally broke a streak of horrid shot selection to have its best shot selection of the year. Only 19% of shots came from midrange, and the Hogs were at 60+% eFG% at both the rim and from 3. Arkansas assisted on 17 made baskets, the most since the opener by a huge margin.
So many of the problems that have cropped up in the last several games suddenly reversed themselves in this one. Only a few issues seem to be persistent:
- Bad transition offense. The Hogs finish their transition opportunities just fine, but they don’t get in transition enough.
- Bad transition defense. The Hogs allow way too many transition opportunities to opponents.
- Not enough turnovers. Arkansas’ ball pressure can, when it is focused and turned up, cause all kinds of problems for opponents, but the turnovers just aren’t coming. Maybe that will change.
The latter two might be fixable, so the main risk to this team’s run in March will be that first one. Arkansas’ halfcourt offense will have to be pristine for the Hogs to make a run. It certainly was on Wednesday night, but we’ll keep an eye on it all year.
No Tramon Mark, no problem. The offense opted for the Khalif Battle show (33% usage), and that proved to be a good choice. And after we mentioned that Devo might need fewer minutes, he played just 23 in this game, his fewest of the year. That’s probably for the best, at least for now.
Layden Blocker, meanwhile, continues to be excellent, especially on defense. He did have four turnovers, two of them when the Hogs were trying to beat Duke’s last-ditch press, so subbing him out for Devo made since in that situation. But otherwise, he’s been much better.
Highlights
Up Next
The Razorbacks are back at home Monday to take on Furman, so Tramon Mark has a few extra days to rest. Hopefully he rejoins the lineup soon. Early model pick: Hogs 85, Paladins 75.
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