Analyzing importance behind Arkansas’ win over Michigan
HawgBeat analyst Jackson Collier talks Arkansas' depth, injuries and the Michigan victory.
The Arkansas Razorbacks (8-2) earned an 89-87 win over the 14th-ranked Michigan Wolverines (8-2) in a whale of a college basketball game Tuesday night. It was a battle of first-year head coaches as John Calipari and Dusty May each led new programs inside Madison Square Garden as part of the Jimmy V Classic. Calipari emerged the victor, earning his first win over a ranked opponent as Head Hog.
The 10 games it took Calipari to earn a win over a ranked opponent marks the second-fastest in program history, only behind fellow Naismith Hall of Famer Nolan Richardson, who took just seven games to defeat a ranked opponent.
The win served as more than just another in a long line of career accolades for Calipari, though. It served as a potential turning point to the entire season for a completely rebuilt basketball program, a notch in the Razorbacks' NCAA Tournament resume belt and a confidence booster for a roster of a mixed bag of players.
HawgBeat subscribers gave us a thread of multiple pages of their thoughts about the win, what it meant for the season, concerns moving forward and questions to address. After major matchups, we will continue to publish a column based around the most common and most pressing of those sentiments from subscribers.
Part of the thrill of the victory came with fans excited at the prospect of re-appearing in next week's AP Poll. One member of The Trough premium message board (@Bamahawgfan) even started a thread titled "Where are we going to be ranked?" All the numbers thrown out were realistic, falling between No. 18 and No. 25, and the excitement that seemed to be teetering a bit had been restored.
Perhaps that excitement is in part due to the win in general, but also at all that surrounds it. Tennessee transfer big man Jonas Aidoo played his second consecutive game with true starter minutes. The Second Team All-SEC selection from a year ago has dealt with a foot injury, which delayed his Razorback debut. After being cleared, he had to fight through some pain and is still in the process of getting back in game shape, but his back-to-back performances, including against Michigan, inspire a great deal of confidence in the fanbase moving forward.
Tuesday, the 6-foot-11 forward scored 11 points, a season-high and his first game as a Razorback in double-digits. He also added seven rebounds, two blocks, and two steals, each of which was also a season-high.
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