The Razorbacks dispatched San José State to reach 7-1 on Saturday. The Spartan 1-3-1 zone flustered the Razorback offense while the Spartans successfully crashed the offensive glass. That all changed after halftime as the Razorbacks outscored SJSU 59-23 en route to a blowout win.
Nick Smith made his first career start, scoring 16 points in 24 minutes. He didn’t showcase much defensively, but he looked extremely smooth on the offensive end.
Advanced Stats
The game was played much faster than the Spartans wanted, which proved to be a very bad sign. The Hogs scored on 60% of possessions and held SJSU to subpar offensive numbers.
It took a little while for the Hogs to solve that Spartan 1-3-1 zone. Early on, Smith was basically the only guy finding good shots. But the Hogs slowly figured it out and eventually turned the game into a rout after halftime.
The Spartans – who play very slow at both ends – did everything they could to slow the game down, taking 19.4 seconds per possession, the slowest of any team the Hogs have faced this year. But it wasn’t enough. The Hogs played at a blistering pace – 13.8 seconds per possession is faster than the average of every team in the nation right now – and scored 27 transition points. When held in halfcourt, the Hogs were also excellent, scoring on 58% of possessions.
San José State came in ranked 1st in the nation in FG% defense at the rim… so the Hogs shot 85% (!) at the rim (the Spartans fell all the way to 9th in this morning’s update). Arkansas also shot 61% from beyond the arc (that’s 92% EFG) to boost their shooting to a season-best 69% EFG and 73% TS. The Hogs still aren’t hitting midrange jumpers at a good rate, so that’ll be something to watch, as some future opponents (Oklahoma, for instance) are going to force them to shoot more of those.
On defense, the only real concern was that SJSU got a few too many offensive boards. This was especially the case early in the game when SJSU was hanging around and keeping things close. The Spartans had some height – four guys 6’8 or taller played, including a 7-footer – but the Hogs were out of position too often, with SJSU’s Sage Tolbert III establishing superior rebounding position far too often.
Nick Smith doesn’t get an amazing grade here, largely because he exited the game right as Arkansas was starting its big run to put things away. His stat line was great – 16 points, five assists, no turnovers – but the Hogs looked tentative on offense for many of his minutes, due largely to the Spartan zone.
Jalen Graham is the advanced stats MVP. His monster 36% usage is a theme when he enters the game: he can definitely fill it up. That really sets him apart from the Mitchell twins and Kamani Johnson, who are more defense and rebounding specialists. If the Hogs need a high-volume big, he’s the best option.
For the Spartans, I was really impressed with Omari Moore, who was tremendous despite his team getting blasted. Tolbert also looked good, while Diallo actually had a really good game for the Spartans. He’s been struggling on offense. I was less impressed with the rest of the roster, and SJSU doesn’t have much depth now. Tim Miles has his work cut out for him, though he’s doing a nice job in his second season.
Up Next
The Hogs are back in Fayetteville on Tuesday for a date with UNC Greensboro. Expect a slow start from the Hogs, as UNCG will also play a zone, so Arkansas will take some time to solve it in all likelihood. We’ll preview that one later this week.
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