Myself and @RileyMcFerran contributed to this
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The Hogs finished the game with eight second-chance points and 32 points in the paint, some of which is to due with the ability to grab rebounds on the offensive glass.
Leading the team in that department was forward Denijay Harris, who totaled seven total rebounds and three on the offensive side. Right behind him was guard Jeremiah Davenport, forward Jalen Graham and guard Davonte Davis with two offensive rebounds each.
"Yeah, I thought certain guys did a great job on the offensive glass," head coach Eric Musselman said after the game. "(Jeremiah) Davenport, (Jalen) Graham, those two guys in particular, you know Devo (Davis), those guys did a good job keeping balls alive and rebounding through the corners to get to the elbow for long rebounds."
Literally right from the start, redshirt sophomore forward Trevon Brazile proved he is all the way back from the torn ACL injury he suffered last season.
While Brazile's second first half dunk was equally as impressive, his third was just another example of him having no problem putting anyone in front of him on a poster.
On top of already having names like Devo Davis, Tramon Mark and El Ellis, the two Killer B guards give Arkansas depth that can take it a long ways this season.
Ranked by Rivals as a four-star prospect out of last year's high school recruiting class, Blocker didn't have an outstanding stat line against Alcorn State but the eye test shows a player that is ahead of schedule in development. In 10:03 minutes, Blocker totaled one assist and one steal before fouling out.
Battle scored 17.9 points per game primarily off the bench as a senior at Temple last season. While he might also be coming off the bench for most of this season at Arkansas, there is no question that he's going to have plenty of opportunities to reach that same scoring average and beyond.
In 19:17 minutes of game action, Battle scored a team-high 21 points on 5-9 shooting, including 3-6 from beyond the arch. He also recorded three rebounds, two assists and shot 8-9 from the charity stripe.
"That’s why, but he’s — we’re running plays for him, really explosive scorer," Musselman said. "Great foul shooter. So, late games we need him to have the ball in his hands if we’re in the bonus. He was phenomenal tonight. And he can rise up, he has deep range. Shoots with great confidence. He’s a really good offensive player."
I'll be honest, when Houston transfer Tramon Mark committed to Arkansas, I didn't think he would have a team-high four made three pointers in the season opener.
Arkansas' 12 made threes as a team are more than they made in any game last season and Mark was a big reason why.
"It was really important that I didn’t keep hearing about it from you guys (the media) and everybody else about our shooting," Musselman said. "We tried to address it. I think we addressed it, but only time will tell."
Mark is just one of the few that will help address the issue that has plagued Musselman-led teams at Arkansas. The 6-foot-6, 185-pound guard scored 16 points, grabbed one rebound, recorded three assists and added one steal.
Alongside Mark was Battle, and the two combined to make 12 threes and score 37 points.
"I think those two guys against a zone are going to do damage," Musselman said. "Those two guys can do damage one on one. T-Mark against Purdue played a lot of point guard for us, and I didn't play him at that position tonight at all. Probably slide him over there at times.
"In hindsight, I tried to get everybody in the game and give everybody an opportunity. I'll probably go back tonight and self-critique that I played him there in a game that was back and forth against the No. 3 team in the country and then tonight I didn't give him an opportunity to play the point. I need him to get some reps there."
Mark's offensive rating of 172 by KenPom was a team-best and it earned him the MVP over the game from KenPom as well.
Arkansas head coach Eric Musselman has always emphasized passing the ball around and getting assist numbers up. The Hogs did a good job of that against the Braves, as they totaled 20 assists on the night.
Leading the way for the Razorbacks was the guard-trio of Davonte Davis, El Ellis and Tramon Mark, who had five, four, and three assists, respectively.
The only downside on the night was the amount of turnovers. Arkansas finished the game with 15 in total, which is something that Musselman said needs to improve going forward.
"I thought our point guard play — we got to take better care of the ball, for sure," Musselman said. "Maybe Devo slides over there and plays a little bit more point guard. We’ll go back and watch the film and discuss that."
Welcome back, Jalen Graham.
We didn't see the fifth-year senior forward during the two preseason exhibitions because h was dealing with back spasms. He was able to go on Monday and he scored eight points and brought down a team-best eight rebounds.
"I thought he was great," Musselman said. "He rebounded the ball with some physicality, kind of grab and go. He got a defensive rebound and pushed it with some good pace. I thought he played really good. I mean, we’re not going to play 13 guys in a half.
"That’s just not — and guys are playing their ways into rotations and guys are playing their ways out, that’s just kind of how it happens. But we’ll probably shorten the rotation. When that is, I don’t know. The game will dictate it. But we’ve got a lot of areas that we have to get better at for sure."
Graham was 4-6 shooting from the field and 0-2 at the free throw line Monday. The former Arizona State transfer credited Head Athletic Trainer Matt Townsend with getting him ready to go.
"He had this one little back thing," Graham said. "I don't know what it's called, but it helped me out pretty good. I just knew I had to come out and be here for my guys. It felt too long for me and the team."
While he's known well for his ability to score in the paint, Graham hasn't always been known for his ability to rebound at a high level. Leading the team in rebounds Monday was a big step in the right direction.
"I felt like just changing my game up, making sure that I contribute more to rebounding and the little things rather than just scoring," Graham said. "I got a lot of scores obviously, so I'm just trying to do my job now."
~ The Razorbacks went with a starting five of El Ellis, Devo Davis, Tramon Mark, Trevon Brazile and Chandler Lawson.
~ Forward Makhi Mitchell was the first player off the bench for Arkansas. He replaced Lawson on the floor.
~ Trevon Brazile scored the game’s first points on a dunk at 19:41.
~ Arkansas is 82-19 all-time in season openers and 91-10 in home openers. Arkansas has won 48 of the last 50 season openers dating back to 1974-75.
~ Arkansas has won 50 consecutive home openers since 1974-75 and are a perfect 31-0 in Bud Walton Arena for home openers.
~ Eric Musselman is 9-0 all-time as a collegiate head coach in both season and home openers.
~ Arkansas is 6-0 all-time versus Alcorn State
~ Arkansas finished with seven dunks.
~ Arkansas moved to No. 12 in Kenpom following the game.
HawgBeat - Thoughts from Arkansas' win over Alcorn State
HawgBeat provides notes, quotes, thoughts, stats, observations and more from Arkansas win over Alcorn State.
arkansas.rivals.com
Box Score
Offensive Glass
Second chance points are some of the most vital for a team during a game. While Arkansas-Alcorn State was never close, the fact that the Razorbacks collected 14 offensive rebounds is a good sign for the rest of the season.The Hogs finished the game with eight second-chance points and 32 points in the paint, some of which is to due with the ability to grab rebounds on the offensive glass.
Leading the team in that department was forward Denijay Harris, who totaled seven total rebounds and three on the offensive side. Right behind him was guard Jeremiah Davenport, forward Jalen Graham and guard Davonte Davis with two offensive rebounds each.
"Yeah, I thought certain guys did a great job on the offensive glass," head coach Eric Musselman said after the game. "(Jeremiah) Davenport, (Jalen) Graham, those two guys in particular, you know Devo (Davis), those guys did a good job keeping balls alive and rebounding through the corners to get to the elbow for long rebounds."
Brazile is officially officially back
Literally right from the start, redshirt sophomore forward Trevon Brazile proved he is all the way back from the torn ACL injury he suffered last season.
While Brazile's second first half dunk was equally as impressive, his third was just another example of him having no problem putting anyone in front of him on a poster.
Killer B's
Arkansas has Brazile, but it also has Khalif Battle and Layden Blocker. The guard duo of Battle as an elite transfer scoring option from Temple and Blocker as a potential standout freshman should have fans very excited.On top of already having names like Devo Davis, Tramon Mark and El Ellis, the two Killer B guards give Arkansas depth that can take it a long ways this season.
Ranked by Rivals as a four-star prospect out of last year's high school recruiting class, Blocker didn't have an outstanding stat line against Alcorn State but the eye test shows a player that is ahead of schedule in development. In 10:03 minutes, Blocker totaled one assist and one steal before fouling out.
Battle scored 17.9 points per game primarily off the bench as a senior at Temple last season. While he might also be coming off the bench for most of this season at Arkansas, there is no question that he's going to have plenty of opportunities to reach that same scoring average and beyond.
In 19:17 minutes of game action, Battle scored a team-high 21 points on 5-9 shooting, including 3-6 from beyond the arch. He also recorded three rebounds, two assists and shot 8-9 from the charity stripe.
"That’s why, but he’s — we’re running plays for him, really explosive scorer," Musselman said. "Great foul shooter. So, late games we need him to have the ball in his hands if we’re in the bonus. He was phenomenal tonight. And he can rise up, he has deep range. Shoots with great confidence. He’s a really good offensive player."
Mark, my word
I'll be honest, when Houston transfer Tramon Mark committed to Arkansas, I didn't think he would have a team-high four made three pointers in the season opener.
Arkansas' 12 made threes as a team are more than they made in any game last season and Mark was a big reason why.
"It was really important that I didn’t keep hearing about it from you guys (the media) and everybody else about our shooting," Musselman said. "We tried to address it. I think we addressed it, but only time will tell."
Mark is just one of the few that will help address the issue that has plagued Musselman-led teams at Arkansas. The 6-foot-6, 185-pound guard scored 16 points, grabbed one rebound, recorded three assists and added one steal.
Alongside Mark was Battle, and the two combined to make 12 threes and score 37 points.
"I think those two guys against a zone are going to do damage," Musselman said. "Those two guys can do damage one on one. T-Mark against Purdue played a lot of point guard for us, and I didn't play him at that position tonight at all. Probably slide him over there at times.
"In hindsight, I tried to get everybody in the game and give everybody an opportunity. I'll probably go back tonight and self-critique that I played him there in a game that was back and forth against the No. 3 team in the country and then tonight I didn't give him an opportunity to play the point. I need him to get some reps there."
Mark's offensive rating of 172 by KenPom was a team-best and it earned him the MVP over the game from KenPom as well.
Sharing is caring
Arkansas head coach Eric Musselman has always emphasized passing the ball around and getting assist numbers up. The Hogs did a good job of that against the Braves, as they totaled 20 assists on the night.
Leading the way for the Razorbacks was the guard-trio of Davonte Davis, El Ellis and Tramon Mark, who had five, four, and three assists, respectively.
The only downside on the night was the amount of turnovers. Arkansas finished the game with 15 in total, which is something that Musselman said needs to improve going forward.
"I thought our point guard play — we got to take better care of the ball, for sure," Musselman said. "Maybe Devo slides over there and plays a little bit more point guard. We’ll go back and watch the film and discuss that."
Can Graham comfortably join the rotation?
Welcome back, Jalen Graham.
We didn't see the fifth-year senior forward during the two preseason exhibitions because h was dealing with back spasms. He was able to go on Monday and he scored eight points and brought down a team-best eight rebounds.
"I thought he was great," Musselman said. "He rebounded the ball with some physicality, kind of grab and go. He got a defensive rebound and pushed it with some good pace. I thought he played really good. I mean, we’re not going to play 13 guys in a half.
"That’s just not — and guys are playing their ways into rotations and guys are playing their ways out, that’s just kind of how it happens. But we’ll probably shorten the rotation. When that is, I don’t know. The game will dictate it. But we’ve got a lot of areas that we have to get better at for sure."
Graham was 4-6 shooting from the field and 0-2 at the free throw line Monday. The former Arizona State transfer credited Head Athletic Trainer Matt Townsend with getting him ready to go.
"He had this one little back thing," Graham said. "I don't know what it's called, but it helped me out pretty good. I just knew I had to come out and be here for my guys. It felt too long for me and the team."
While he's known well for his ability to score in the paint, Graham hasn't always been known for his ability to rebound at a high level. Leading the team in rebounds Monday was a big step in the right direction.
"I felt like just changing my game up, making sure that I contribute more to rebounding and the little things rather than just scoring," Graham said. "I got a lot of scores obviously, so I'm just trying to do my job now."
Musselman said himself that the rotation is going to be cut down, and Graham is one of a few big men —including Makhi Mitchell and Chandler Lawson — who are fighting to be part of the thinner rotation that Musselman will have later on in the season.Other Notes
~ The Razorbacks went with a starting five of El Ellis, Devo Davis, Tramon Mark, Trevon Brazile and Chandler Lawson.
~ Forward Makhi Mitchell was the first player off the bench for Arkansas. He replaced Lawson on the floor.
~ Trevon Brazile scored the game’s first points on a dunk at 19:41.
~ Arkansas is 82-19 all-time in season openers and 91-10 in home openers. Arkansas has won 48 of the last 50 season openers dating back to 1974-75.
~ Arkansas has won 50 consecutive home openers since 1974-75 and are a perfect 31-0 in Bud Walton Arena for home openers.
~ Eric Musselman is 9-0 all-time as a collegiate head coach in both season and home openers.
~ Arkansas is 6-0 all-time versus Alcorn State
~ Arkansas finished with seven dunks.
~ Arkansas moved to No. 12 in Kenpom following the game.
