HawgBeat - Postgame Notes & Quotes: Arkansas upset by UNC Greensboro, 78-72
HawgBeat breaks down Arkansas' top performers, stats and more from Friday's loss against UNC Greensboro.
arkansas.rivals.com
FAYETTEVILLE — Arkansas head coach Eric Musselman said his team might have some changes coming soon after a shocking 78-72 loss to UNC Greensboro at Bud Walton Arena on Friday evening.
Musselman's 14th-ranked Razorbacks squad shot just 17.4% from three, while allowing the Spartans to shoot 37.5% from deep and 48.1% from the field. UNCG dominated Arkansas physically in a game that the Razorbacks were favored by double-digit points.
"We're not defending the three, and we're not guarding the dribble drive," Musselman said. "We've basically had the same defensive concepts for eight years and might have to look at changing some things based on our lack of ability to — especially the guard play — to keep the ball in front of us and also contest the three. That seems to be problematic to do both. Tonight we were supposed to take away the three, and we certainly didn't do that."
While Arkansas had no business losing to the Spartans, it did provide an eye-opening experience. Musselman said after the game that it might be time to make some sort of a scheme change.
"I think a job for our staff is if we’re not doing things the way we need to, we have to make adjustments," Musselman said. "We can’t keep doing the same thing, because every team’s personality, every team’s personnel strengths and weaknesses are different.
"I’ve got to come up with a little bit different scheme than what we’ve seen thus far. And we will. Whether it works or not, I don’t know. We can ill-afford to continue playing, whether it’s pick-and-roll, whether it’s chasing guys off screens, whether it’s playing guys off isolations, we have to adjust and we will, starting tonight."
HawgBeat has a breakdown of stats, the starting five, notable performers, quotes from Musselman and more...
Box Score
Starting Five
#3 - G El Ellis - GRAD-SR, 6'3", 180 lbs.
Ellis played a big role in the Hogs cutting the deficit to four points on multiple occasions in the second half, as he scored all 19 of his points in the final 20 minutes. It was too little, too late for Ellis, though, as his first half performance that featured zero points and four turnovers was too much to overcome.
"El hit a big (three) we needed, but we couldn’t make enough shots and we couldn’t get stops either," guard Tramon Mark said.
#4 - G Davonte Davis - SR, 6'4", 185 lbs.
Davis didn't have his best game, but it wasn't his worst either. He scored 10 points on 4-of-11 shooting from the field. The senior guard also added six rebounds, three assists in 40 minutes played. Davis had no turnovers in the game.
"I actually thought we did a pretty good job against the zone getting the ball to Devo, and he made some good reads," Musselman said.
One of the few highlights on the evening for Arkansas came when Davis looked to be going up for a shot, but he quickly recognized Makhi Mitchell open in the paint.
#12 - G Tramon Mark - JR, 6'6", 185 lbs.
Although he looked a little slow to start, Mark had a team-high nine points in first half and his 21 points total ended up leading the Razorbacks.
He was tasked with guarding UNCG's leading scorer Keyshaun Langley at times and he ended up picking up the energy after the slow start. Mark was 9-of-15 shooting from the field with two rebounds, one assist, three steals and a pair of turnovers.
"The only good thing about this is it’s still early in the season," Mark said after the game. "We’re about to leave for the Bahamas. We can get right back on track, take it game by game, possession by possession. Just lock in. We just got to do what we got to do to win a game. We just need to win ball games. That’s it."
#24 - G Jeremiah Davenport - GRAD-SR, 6'6", 215 lbs.
A transfer from Cincinnati, Davenport earned his first start as a Hog on Friday and he didn't do much with the opportunity. He played a total of six minutes and missed the one shot he took. Davenport did have two blocks.
"I think that we tried to change the starting lineup, so that’s one change," Musselman said. "I don’t think that had anything to do [with the final score]."
#2 - F Trevon Brazile - R-SO, 6'10", 220 lbs.
Brazile ended the game with nine points on 3-of-6 shooting from the field. He added nine boards, two blocks, one steal and two turnovers.
The star forward struggled with physicality and he rode the bench for nine minutes in the second half because he just didn't match up well with UNCG's Mikeal Brown-Jones, who had 17 points and two rebounds.
Other notable performers
#0 - G Khalif Battle - GRAD-SR, 6'5", 185 lbs.The transfer from Temple had three fouls by the 3:49 mark in the first half, but he still ended up playing 33 minutes. Battle finished with 11 points, six rebounds, two assists and two turnovers.
After shooting just 2-of-10 from the field and 1-of-6 from three, Battle was getting shots up on the hardwood well after the game had finished.
#8 - F Chandler Lawson - GRAD-SR, 6'8", 210 lbs.
When Brazile wasn't playing, Lawson was the five who was filling in. The Memphis transfer had one rebound, one block, one turnover and three fouls.
"I thought Chandler came in and actually played great defensively," Musselman said. "We’ve got a lot of holes that we have to fix."
#15 - F Makhi Mitchell - 5TH-YR SR, 6'10", 240 lbs.
Mitchell was in foul trouble for most of the night, but he also didn't provide much when on the floor. The big man had two points, one assist, one block and two turnovers in eight minutes of game time.
#6 - G Layden Blocker - FR, 6'2", 175 lbs.
The freshman point guard played just two minutes and didn't record any stats.
#5 - G Joseph Pinion - SO, 6'5", 195 lbs.
Pinion came in for just three minutes and missed a 3-pointe, which was the only shot he took.
#10 - C Baye Fall - FR, 6'11", 215 lbs.
DNP
#7 - F Denijay Harris - GRAD-SR, 6'7", 200 lbs.
DNP
#11 - F Jalen Graham - 5TH-YR SR, 6'10", 220 lbs.
DNP (back)
