HawgBeat - Arkansas basketball's stats and analytics through three games
HawgBeat takes a deep dive into the analytics for the Arkansas Razorbacks basketball team after three games.
arkansas.rivals.com
With three games in the books, the Arkansas basketball team sits with a perfect 3-0 record after defeating Alcorn State, Gardner-Webb and Old Dominion.
It's tough to draw too many conclusions about a team with such a small sample size, but some observations can be made about the the Hogs even after playing lesser competition.
For starters, rebounding seems to be an issue. After destroying Alcorn State in the department 44-26, Arkansas only outrebounded Gardner-Webb 46-40 and lost on the glass to Old Dominion 39-35.
"We have to be way more physical defensive rebounding the basketball," Musselman said Monday. "Way more physical. I mean, we’re going to be playing against teams that are much bigger, much stronger, much more athletic. And we’re not rebounding with any physicality. … It’s just not happening other than (Makhi) Mitchell. He’s our one guy that’s rebounded with physicality."
Another concern has been the defense played by the Hogs' guards. It's not neccessarily a lack of effort, but too many times have they allowed their man to get past them and to the rim for a bucket.
"Yeah, you've got to keep the ball in front of you," Musselman said. "You can't get hit on screens. If you get caught on a screen, you've got to do a better job rearview mirror contesting. You've got to keep your man out of the lane. You can't give up straight-line dribble drives.
"If you give up straight-line dribble drives and you give up layups, you can't always expect our bigs to be there to help because we're not great at the rim with verticality right now. So, we've got to get better at that with our bigs, and our guards... I mean, look. We didn't guard the three or the dribble drive. It's one thing if you're like, 'Hey, we shut them down from three, and we gave up some dribble drives.' They did whatever they wanted."
As for a positive, Arkansas responded from a shaky start in the Alcorn State game and has performed far better since in assists to turnover ratio. Against Gardner-Webb and Old Dominon, the Razorbacks combined for 26 assists to 14 turnovers — inlcuding only four turnovers versus the Monarchs.
A player who has shined in that regard is guard Davonte Davis, who has nine assists to zero turnovers through three games of the season.
"I think just comfortability of what the expectations are," Musselman said. "How many turnovers does he have? (Zero). In three games? Not many players in the country that have played his minutes and hand the ball in his hands and haven't had a turnover. It's phenomenal because the thing with Davonte is we all know Devo has the flare.
"He's got some stuff to his game. He's got a bag that he likes to go into. He's still doing that. He's still making some 'Oh wow' plays that get the crowd on its feet, which we want. And he's doing it now a little bit more deliberately with great maturity with the ball in his hands."
Arkansas still has plenty of time to fix and improve things before getting into conference play, but will need to shape up a bit before heading to the Bahamas next week for the Battle 4 Atlantis tournament, where it could matchup with teams like Memphis, Michigan or North Carolina.
Before that, though, the Hoop Hogs will play the UNC Greensboro Spartans (1-1) on Friday inside Bud Walton Arena. The game is set to tip off at 7:00 p.m. CT and will stream on the SEC Network Plus.
Here's a closer look into Arkansas' stats, efficiency ratings and more after the first three games of the season:
Arkansas statistical rankings (per game)
~ Scoring offense: 88.3 (61st nationally)
~ Scoring defense: 68.0 points allowed (155th nationally)
~ Assists: 15.3 (117th nationally)
~ Field goal percentage: 50.9% (59th nationally)
~ 3-point percentage: 40.3% (41st nationally)
~ Free throw percentage: 63.9% (266th nationally)
~ Rebounds: 41.67 (106th nationally)
~ Blocks: 8.3 (7th nationally)
~ Steals: 5.7 (259th nationally)
Player stats (per game)
G - #0 Khalif Battle GR-SR., 6'5", 185 lbs.
Stats per game: 22.0 MIN, 18.3 PTS, 3.0 REB, 1.3 AST, 1.3 TO, 54.2 FG%, 61.5 3PT %, 84.0 FT%
F - #2 Trevon Brazile R-SO., 6'10", 220 lbs.
Stats per game: 25.7 MIN, 11.3 PTS, 5.7 REB, 0.7 AST, 2.0 TO, 68.8 FG%, 57.1 3PT%, 66.7 FT%
G - #3 El Ellis GR-SR., 6'3", 180 lbs.
Stats per game: 29.7 MIN, 12.7 PTS, 3.0 REB, 5.0 AST, 1.3 TO, 53.6 FG%, 33.3 3PT%, 62.5 FT%
G - #4 Davonte Davis SR., 6'4", 185 lbs.
Stats per game: 27.7 MIN, 8.3 PTS, 5.0 REB, 3.0 AST, 0.0 TO, 41.7 FG%, 18.2 3PT%, 50.0 FT%
G - #5 Joseph Pinion SO., 6'5", 195 lbs.
Stats per game: 10.5 MIN, 6.0 PTS, 0.5 REB, 0.0 AST, 0.0 TO, 50.0 FG%, 50.0 3PT%, 83.3 FT%
G - #6 Layden Blocker FR., 6'2", 175 lbs.
Stats per game: 6.0 MIN, 0.0 PTS, 0.0 REB, 0.5 AST, 0.5 TO, 0.0 FG%, 0.0 3PT%, 0.0 FT%
F - #7 Denijay Harris GR-SR., 6'7", 200 lbs.
Stats per game: 7.0 MIN, 2.5 PTS, 3.5 REB, 1.5 AST, 1.5 TO, 50.0 FG%, 0.0 3PT%, 37.5 FT%
F - #8 Chandler Lawson GR-SR., 6'8", 210 lbs.
Stats per game: 8.0 MIN, 3.0 PTS, 2.3 REB, 0.0 AST, 0.7 TO, 100.0 FG%, 100.0 3PT%, 100.0 FT%
F - #10 Baye Fall FR., 6'11", 200 lbs.
Stats per game: 9.5 MIN, 2.0 PTS, 4.0 REB, 0.0 AST, 2.0 TO, 50.0 FG%, 0.0 3PT%, 25.0 FT%
F - #11 Jalen Graham SR., 6'10", 220 lbs.
Stats per game: 9.7 MIN, 4.7 PTS, 3.7 REB, 0.0 AST, 0.0 TO, 58.3 FG%, 0.0 3PT%, 0.0 FT%
G - #12 Tramon Mark JR., 6'6", 185 lbs.
Stats per game: 23.0 MIN, 12.3 PTS, 3.3 REB, 2.0 AST, 0.7 TO, 51.9 FG%, 45.5 3PT%, 66.7 FT%
F - #15 Makhi Mitchell SR., 6'10", 240 lbs.
Stats per game: 16.7 MIN, 6.7 PTS, 5.0 REB, 1.0 AST, 0.3 TO, 77.8 FG%, 0.0 3PT%, 66.7 FT%
G - #24 Jeremiah Davenport GR-SR., 6'6", 215 lbs.
Stats per game: 14.0 MIN, 3.7 PTS, 2.3 REB, 1.0 AST, 0.3 TO, 20.0 FG%, 27.3 3PT%, 100.0 FT%
2023-24 KenPom efficiency ratings comparison (out of 363 teams)
~ Overall ranking: 16th
~ Adjusted offensive efficiency: 113.6 points per 100 possessions (18th)
~ Adjusted defensive efficiency: 93.1 points per 100 possessions (24th)
~ Effective field goal percentage: 58.7% (38th)
~ Turnover percentage: 12.6% (35th)
~ Offensive rebounding percentage: 27.9% (214th)
~ Free throw rate: 56.1% (15th)
~ Block percentage: 3.8% (27th)
~ Steal percentage: 8.6% (133rd)
~ Adjusted tempo: 73.6 possessions per 40 minutes (54th)
~ Average offensive possession length: 16.2 seconds (115th)
~ Average defensive possession length: 16.4 seconds (131st)
*Click here for an explanation on what each rating takes into account.
EvanMiya analytics comparison (out of 363 teams)
EvanMiya Analytics
| Category | Arkansas |
|---|---|
| Overall Rank | 21 |
| Roster Rank | 20 |
| Offensive Rank | 22 |
| Defensive Rank | 34 |
| Injury Rank (ranking after accounting for injuries) | 19 |
| Tempo Rank | 48 |
Notes
- Battle is tied for sixth in the SEC in PPG with 18.3.
- Ellis is tied for second in the SEC in assists with 5.0 right behind South Carolina's Ta'Lon Cooper (5.7). Ellis also comes in at ninth in field goal percentage at 53.6%.
- Brazile is tied for sixth in the SEC in rebounds at 17 total. He is also tied for first in the SEC in blocks per game with 3.0.
- As a team, the Hogs rank third in the SEC in 3PT % (40.3) right behind South Carolina (43.9%) and Alabama (50%).
- The Razorbacks currently rank second in the SEC in points per game with 88.3, right behind Alabama's 103.5.
- Musselman is two wins from 100 as Arkansas head coach.
