Arkansas is 2-0 after a breezy 74-48 win over Fordham on Friday night.
The main story was the 30 turnovers forced by the Razorbacks, the most of the Eric Musselman era. The Razorback offense stumbled in the first half but 20 turnovers forced helped Arkansas to a 32-21 lead, aided by a 26-4 run in which 18 of those were forced. In the second half, Arkansas’ offense finally got going, with Jalen Graham and Jordan Walsh leading the way.
For the game, Ricky Council led the Hogs again, scoring 15 points and dishing out seven assists. Walsh had 12 points and four rebounds, while Anthony Black finished with 10 points and six boards. Graham, who didn’t play until the second half, had 10 points and looked very good on offense late in the game. Arkansas’ highest-graded player was actually Makhi Mitchell, who had eight points, four rebounds, two assists, and zero turnovers. He’s been the biggest surprise of the season so far, with two starts and two good games. Nick Smith did not play for the second straight game and he nurses a mild knee injury.
As we’ll see in the numbers below, the only concern is that through two games, Arkansas’ offense is doing all of its damage at the rim. It’s a good thing that the Hogs are getting to the rim at will and shooting a very good percentage, but it’s not ideal (although not overly surprising) that the Hogs are shooting this poorly away from the rim. Less than a quarter of Arkansas’ attempts from midrange or beyond the arc were made against Fordham. The eventual return of Smith should help with that, but for now, that’s the biggest concern with this team, and it’s only real weakness right now.
Advanced Stats
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Once again, Arkansas’ offense was decent and the defense was spectacular. That’s how we figured this team would start the season. Until Nick Smith is healthy, this offense won’t have a high gear, although the ceiling is still pretty high.
Arkansas showed athleticism by outscoring the Rams 21-7 in transition, including 11-0 in fast breaks off turnovers, but the Hogs’ defense took over when the game was forced into halfcourt.
Fordham tried to slow the game down (taking 17.8 seconds per offensive possession), but it didn’t work, as the Rams only got points on just over a quarter of their halfcourt possessions. The Hogs’ halfcourt defense has been absolutely filthy through two games.
The Hogs were dominant under the basket, grabbing 46% of missed field goals, taking half their shots at the rim, and hitting three-quarters of them. Three-point shooting was an issue once again, and that’s probably going to be a problem all season, although hopefully less of one once Nick Smith joins the lineup.
The Hogs are dominating inferior opponents without shooting well. That’s fine for early season, but once the tougher opponents show up on the schedule, it’s going to be hard to win every game right at the rim. The Hogs may be better-suited to do that this year than last year, but at some point, the jump shots are going to need to fall.
Beyond that, there are no real complaints about this performance.
How about Makhi Mitchell as MVP? He had eight points, four rebounds, two assists, zero turnovers, and the Hogs were +17 during his 25 minutes. He graded out at 89 and is now the Hogs’ third-best player for the season, behind only Ricky Council and Trevon Brazile.
The Razorbacks also shut down Fordham’s main two ballhandlers, Darius Quisenberry (58, -22, 10 points) and Antrell Charlton (13, -21, 6 points, *9* turnovers). That’s two opponents in a row where the Hogs have absolutely humiliated their main guards. That’s obviously an emphasis of any Eric Musselman team, and it will serve the Hogs very well in March.
Up Next
The Hogs are off until next Wednesday, when they face South Dakota State. The Jackrabbits were a 13-seed in last year’s NCAA Tournament but lost star player Baylor Scheierman to the transfer portal in the offseason. They are 1-1, with a close loss to Akron and a close win over Boise State.
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