Injury Merry-Go-Round Continues in Hogs Scrimmage Win

Trevon Brazile Returns for Razorbacks for the first time in nearly a full calendar year

Author:
Daniel Shi
Updated:
Oct 21, 2023 11:40 PM EDT
Original:
Oct 20, 2023

In this story:

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Cincinnati transfer Jeremiah Davenport missed a three off the right wing, but what happened next gave the crowd at Bud Walton Arena hope the Razorbacks have one of their biggest weapons back in full force.

Sophomore forward Trevon Brazile finally returned to an ovation from the Bud Walton Arena crowd after an extended absence from an ACL tear last season. Seeing his first game action since Dec. 6 against UNC-Greensboro, he emphatically got the offensive rebound and exploded into a dunk as part of a 92-39 win over the UT-Tyler Patriots.

"It felt great," Brazile said. "It’s obviously different practicing and scrimmaging against our team, but to actually get out there and play somebody else, it felt really good. I felt great great. The team played great. It was a good night."

In more good injury news for Arkansas, guard Khalif Battle was able to play 17 minutes, knocking down two threes en route to a team high 14-points after being a scratch for the Red-White game because of a sore foot.

Razorbacks forward Trevon Brazile against UT-Tyler on Friday night — (Andy Hodges / allHOGS Images)

"Offensively he really played his minutes well," Musselman said. "He’s got a quick release, he’s got great confidence. You can isolate him a little bit, which we did a couple times."

However, the injury carousel didn't stop spinning. Back spasms kept fellow forward Jalen Graham sidelined against the Patriots.

"I have no idea what it will look like," coach Eric Musselman said. "You would think in a week that he would be able to be in uniform next week. That’s got to be the hope and the thought."

Without Graham, Musselman opted for the starting line-up of Joseph Pinion, El Ellis, Tramon Mark, Baye Fall, and Chandler Lawson.

The Razorbacks looked to answer the question of any Musselman team. Can they shoot? While the early returns from the Red-White game seemed promising after the two rosters shot a combined 50%, the Hogs failed to find their footing beyond the arc early, starting the game 3-10.

However, the end result was never in question. The Razorbacks used a suffocating defense and the Patriots were unable to take advantage of what few open looks they had as they finished the first half with five field goals while shooting a paltry 20% from the floor.

The crowd honored Davonte "Devo" Davis with a round of applause when he checked in with 17:24 left in the first half with the Hogs already up 7-2.

Despite a slow start shooting the ball, the hallmarks of a Musselman team were still on full display. A mix of different finishes and shots inside quickly built a 18-2 run to give the Razorbacks a 20-4 advantage.

Davenport subbed in about seven minutes into the game and immediately solved the shooting woes, hitting a trio of threes and continuing to solidify himself as a potential marksman behind the arc.

A shifty move inside by Davis leading to a crafty lay-up with one second left before intermission punctuated a statistically dominant first half as the Razorbacks took a 45-12 lead into the break.

After not scoring in the first half, Pinion needed a single shot to find his rhythm, knocking down three deep balls in quick succession from different spots on the floor to stretch the lead to 59-14.

The game got slightly more sloppy for Arkansas in the second half, leading to 13 fouls and 15 free throw attempts that allowed the Patriots to cross the 30-point threshold. Other contributors in the second half included six from Denijay Harris and five each from Mark and Makhi Mitchell as the Razorbacks capped off a 92-39 win.

The Razorbacks will face No. 3 Purdue on Oct. 28 at 3 p.m. at Bud Walton Arena in a charity exhibition. The game will be streamed on SEC Network+.

"What a great challenge," Musselman said. "What a great atmosphere it’s going to be next Saturday against the No. 3 team in the country coming in here with all those returners and the Big Ten champs with their whole roster back. It’s going to be an incredible challenge this early in the year."