All Hogs

How Fans, Media Reacted to Hogs' Close Loss Against Wildcats

Razorbacks couldn’t close deal on the road against Kentucky after best offense of year
Jacob Davis|
How Fans, Media Reacted to Hogs' Close Loss Against Wildcats
How Fans, Media Reacted to Hogs' Close Loss Against Wildcats

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Arkansas Razorbacks

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — The lights of Rupp Arena ended up being too bright for Arkansas as they fell in a highly offensive affair 111-102 to Kentucky.

It was an exciting game which saw 20 lead changes and 13 ties. Foul trouble and costly turnovers toward the end spoiled an Arkansas upset of the Wildcats on Saturday.

Arkansas went into the season with hopes of a SEC title and deep NCAA Tournament run. After an 8-10 finish with a young squad led by three McDonald’s All-Americans, this experienced offensive minded squad was expected to win a lot.

Many media outlets had the Razorbacks pegged as preseason SEC favorites. Even John Fanta from Field of 68 picked the Razorbacks to win the whole thing.

With the No. 7 transfer class, this team definitely should be better than bottom half of the conference. The basketball gods thought otherwise.

A team that shot 1-of-17 from the field at one point against Vanderbilt seemingly couldn’t miss Saturday. When Arkansas led midway through the second half, it was shooting a crisp 60% from the field and banked 41% from three.

One of the weirder trends is how the Razorbacks have competed against perceived college basketball bluebloods like Kentucky, Duke and  North Carolina. Close games against those type of opponents only to be followed up with losses to the likes of Vanderbilt, UNC Greensboro has dampened Arkansas’ expectations.

A little tongue in cheek action at work. It was a very entertaining game with little defense played. This was Kentucky’s third home game in which it scored more than 100 points in SEC play. For Arkansas, it had its most fluid offensive performance scoring 100 for the second time of the season.

Domination of the paint against the length of Kentucky was noticeable on offense. Arkansas outscored the Wildcats 48-38 thanks to pick and roll action from Makhi Mitchell and Trevon Brazile.

The Wildcats aren’t very good on defense anyway as it ranks No. 95 in KenPom’s adjusted defensive efficiency rankings. Khalif Battle scored 34 points, his third straight 30+ point performance. Tramon Mark had a quiet 23 points and 4 rebounds. The type of minutes Jeremiah Davenport played Saturday was expected coming into the season. His 14 points including a 3-of-5 mark from three.

Battle has been on a scoring run like none other in college basketball currently. How the Temple transfer wasn’t the focal point of Arkansas’ offense is beyond fathomable from the outside looking in. Musselman spoke earlier in the week about the offensive clinic his star has been on lately. Extra offensive sets being installed this late in the season to put the ball in Battle’s hands is a little too late.

SEC officiating were at their finest Saturday. With five minutes left in the second half, Arkansas had been whistled for 24 fouls. Before Kentucky was whistled for a foul in the first half the Wildcats were already 8-of-8 from the stripe. The Razorbacks were a fantastic 27-of-28 from the line while Kentucky sank 34-of-42.

Musselman was still very proud of his team’s fight and effort against Kentucky. 

“We had a chance to beat a team that has a chance to win the national championship,” Musselman said. “In that locker room that we represent, I’m extremely proud to be associated with their effort and the way they battled tonight.”

HOGS FEED:

• Tygart's solid stark with a bunch of strikeouts, strong relievers, down Murray State to clinch series

• Razorbacks have best offensive performance this season, but still fall short on road against Kentucky

• It may be turn for Arkansas fans to look in Little Rock for team to follow in NCAA Tournament

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Jacob Davis
JACOB DAVIS

Jacob Davis is a reporter for Arkansas Razorbacks on SI, with a decade of experience covering high school and transfer portal recruiting. He has previously worked at Rivals, Saturday Down South, SB Nation and hosted podcasts with Bleav Podcast Network where his show was a finalist for podcast of the year. Native of El Dorado, he currently resides in Central Arkansas with his wife and daughter.