Razorbacks Put Up Valiant Effort Against No. 6 Kentucky
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Arkansas led for nearly 20 minutes straight up until early in the second half and fought the No. 6 Kentucky Wildcats but ultimately came up short in its third straight loss, 63-57. The Razorbacks are now 10-10 on the season and .500 for the first time in the Eric Musselman era.
"We'll just keep searching," Musselman said. "I thought we changed our style of play today and I thought it really helped our defense. We changed some of our defensive schemes. I thought it really helped us. As the leader of the program that, you know, my job is to continue to tinker."
With the Wildcats already up 1 with just over five minutes left, the SEC's third-leading scorer Antonio Reeves with 24 points hit a second-chance three to give Kentucky its largest lead of the night. Tre Mitchell followed it up with another three on the ensuing possession and the game slowly slipped away for Arkansas.
Reed Sheppard's second three on the day with 1:27 left applied the coup de grâce on the Kentucky win as Arkansas fell to 1-6 SEC play.
The Razorbacks got some somber news pregame. The Hogs announced a key piece was unavailable. Trevon Brazile did not play due to knee soreness and Davonte "Devo" Davis stepped away from the team, per an official statement from the UA.
After starting the previous games poorly, the Razorbacks seem galvanized by all the circus that surrounded the game with ESPN College GameDay coming to Bud Walton Arena for the first time. The country's leading offense (89.9 points per game started 1-for-16 from the floor as the Hogs grabbed an early 14-4 lead.
With the Wildcats struggling to find the jump shot, Kentucky resorted to scoring in the paint, driving inside at every opportunity.
Meanwhile, the Hogs didn't exactly take advantage of Kentucky's early offensive struggles. Reeves had a quick burst of five points with a three and a layup on successive possessions to trip the Razorback lead to just 21-20. Despite both teams shooting under 30%, the Razorbacks held a slender 26-24 lead.
The Razorbacks started the second half well, going on a 6-0 run to break a tie at 31. Khalif Battle scored nine of his 11 points in the second half, but it was only a matter of time before the top offense in the country took over. The Wildcats outscored the Razorbacks 39-31 in the second half going 7-for-11 from the three-point line in the second half and ending the game outscoring the Hogs 32-20 in the final 15 minutes.
"We can build on this," Chandler Lawson said. "I know we don’t want to celebrate no moral victories. I feel like we should’ve won. We won in the rebounding and the hustle. That’s the area we’ve looked lost at, I feel like. We’re getting our chemistry back and I feel like gaining our trust with each other."
The Razorbacks will now begin a two-game road trip against Missouri 7:30 p.m. Jan. 31. The game will be broadcast on SEC Network and fuboTV.
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