HawgBeat - Scouting Report: Analyzing the Gardner Webb Bulldogs
HawgBeat takes a deep dive into the analytics for Arkansas' opponent on Friday: the Gardner Webb Bulldogs
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The No. 14 Arkansas Razorbacks (1-0) will face off against the Gardner Webb Bulldogs (1-0) inside Bud Walton Arena in Fayetteville on Friday night.
Led by 11th-year head coach Tim Craft, the Bulldogs finished the 2022-23 season with a 15-15 (10-8 Big South) record. In a game against then-No. 1 North Carolina, the Bulldogs lost 72-66.
Heading into the season, the Bulldogs were selected to finish fourth in the Big South by the league's media. Gardner Webb had one player selected to a preseason all-conference squad in guard DQ Nicholas, who was placed on the All-SWAC First Team.
Both Arkansas and Gardner Webb started their seasons off on the right foot, as the Razorbacks defeated Alcorn State 93-59 in their season opener and the Bulldogs defeated Erskine 98-58 on Monday.
Arkansas head coach Eric Musselman gave a rundown of what fans should expect from Gardner Webb following the Hogs' win over Alcorn State.
"Well, Gardner-Webb has a guard that’s an all-league guard," Musselman said. "He’s a returner. He’s an all-league guy, so we’ll have to do a good job defensively on him. They scored a lot of points tonight. I know Michael was watching them game before our game. At halftime, he was either looking at the score or something on the computer with Gardner Webb. They’re well-coached. Again, I’ll really dive in tonight, but for sure their guard is a handful and we’ve got to learn his tendencies as quick as we possibly can."
Here's a closer look into Gardner Webb's stats, efficiency ratings, projected lineups and more ahead of Friday's game, which is set to tipoff at 7:00 p.m. CT on SEC Network Plus:
Gardner Webb statistical rankings (per game)
~ Scoring offense: 98.0 (36th nationally)
~ Scoring defense: 58.0 points allowed (T-69th nationally)
~ Assists: 18.0 (57th nationally)
~ Field goal percentage: 46.3% (120th nationally)
~ 3-point percentage: 38.9% (82nd nationally)
~ Free throw percentage: 71.0% (113th nationally)
~ Rebounds: 57.0 (9th nationally)
~ Blocks: 6.0 (47th nationally)
~ Steals: 3.0 (271st nationally)
Gardner Webb projected starting five
#0 - G Caleb Robinson - Sr., 6'4", 200 lbs.
Stats per game: 16.0 min, 14.0 points, 6.0 rebounds, 1.0 assists, 0.0 steals, 2.0 turnovers, 0.0 blocks, 50.0 fg%, 0.0 3fg%
#4 - G DQ Nicholas - Sr., 6'1", 180 lbs.
Stats per game: 24.0 min, 13.0 points, 5.0 rebounds, 3.0 assists, 0.0 steals, 1.0 turnovers, 50.0 fg%, 66.7 3fg%
#1 - G Julien Soumaoro - Jr., 5' 11”, 175 lbs.
Stats per game: 22.0 min, 8.0 points, 1.0 rebounds, 3.0 assists, 0.0 steals, 3.0 turnovers, 0.0 blocks, 30.0 fg%, 28.6 3fg%
#15 - F Cheickna Sissoko - Sr., 6'9", 236 lbs.
Stats per game: 12.0 min, 6.0 points, 5.0 rebounds, 0.0 assists, 1.0 steals, 0.0 turnovers, 3.0 blocks, 0.0 fg%, 0.0 3fg%
#13 - G Lucas Stieber - Gr., 6'3", 206 lbs.
Stats per game: 21.0 min, 2.0 points, 2.0 rebounds, 1.0 assists, 0.0 steals, 0.0 turnovers, 2.0 blocks, 20.0 fg%, 0.0 3fg%
2023-24 KenPom efficiency ratings comparison (out of 363 teams)
Gardner Webb
~ Adjusted offensive efficiency: 98.9 points per 100 possessions (222nd)
~ Adjusted defensive efficiency: 99.9 points per 100 possessions (142nd)
~ Adjusted tempo: 70.3 possessions per 40 minutes (247th)
Arkansas
~ Adjusted offensive efficiency: 111.7 points per 100 possessions (16th)
~ Adjusted defensive efficiency: 89.6 points per 100 possessions (11th)
~ Effective field goal percentage: 63.0% (17th)
~ Turnover percentage: 19.5% (139th)
~ Offensive rebounding percentage: 42.4% (22nd)
~ Free throw rate: 68.5% (4th)
~ Adjusted tempo: 73.0 possessions per 40 minutes (58th)
~ Average offensive possession length: 16.0 seconds (78th)
~ Average defensive possession length: 17.4 seconds (138th)
*Click here for an explanation on what each rating takes into account.
EvanMiya analytics comparison (out of 363 teams)
EvanMiya Analytics
| Category | Gardner Webb | Arkansas |
|---|---|---|
| Overall Rank | 201 | 18 |
| Roster Rank | 249 | 22 |
| Offensive Rank | 254 | 29 |
| Defensive Rank | 135 | 14 |
| Injury Rank (ranking after accounting for injuries) | 195 | 16 |
| Tempo Rank: | 288 | 56 |
Notes
• Arkansas is 2-0 all time versus Gardner-Webb.• Arkansas won the first meeting, 79-63, thanks to 16 points from Eric Ferguson and 12 points from Ronnie Brewer.
• The second meeting was an 86-69 Razorback win two years ago (Nov. 13, 2021). Conor Vanover had 19 points and J.D. Notae added 10. Jaylin Williams grabbed eight rebounds and Devo Davis had 10 points with six assists.
• Eric Musselman is four wins shy of 100 for his Razorback career.
• Davonte Davis is 54 points shy of 1,000 for his career. He will be the 46th Razorback to reach the milestone.
• Khalif Battle is 108 points shy of 1,000 for his collegiate career and El Ellis is 149 points shy of the mark.
• Arkansas made 12 3-pointers in the season-opening win over Alcorn State. Arkansas only made double-digit triples once all of last year.
• Gardner-Webb also had success from deep in its season-opening win over Erskine. GWU drained 14 from beyond the arc.
• Both teams also had success getting to the free throw line this past Monday. Arkansas had 37 attempts and GWU had 31.
