Razorbacks Make it Three Straight

Mike Cawood January 27, 2021

FAYETTEVILLE – Davonte Davis and JD Notae provided a spark off the bench and Connor Vanover had five blocked shots with seven rebounds to lead Arkansas to a 74-59 victory over Ole Miss Wednesday night at Bud Walton Arena.

The Razorbacks, winners of three straight, improve to 13-4 overall and 5-4 in the SEC.

Arkansas held the Rebels to a season-low 59 points. Ole Miss missed its first 14 3-point attempts and was just 1-of-16 from long range in the game. The 6.3% was the lowest by a Razorback opponent in Musselman’s two years at Arkansas and the lowest overall by an opponent since Mississippi State was 0-of-10 from beyond the arc in 2005.

On the other end, Arkansas scored 74 points versus an Ole Miss team that ranked 17th in the NCAA in scoring defense (61.5 ppg). For the second straight game, Arkansas shot over 40 percent from the 3-point line, making 7-of-17 (41.2%) versus the Rebels.

Notae, who scored 14 in the second half, led the Razorbacks with 19 points, making 3-of-6 from 3-point range and was a career-best 8-of-9 from the free throw line. He added five rebounds as well. Davis finished 7of-9 from the field and finished with 14 points, six rebounds and two steals. Smith contributed 10 points and six rebounds.

Devontae Shuler paced the Rebels with 19 points, making 9-of-2 shots.

For the sixth time in 10 games, Arkansas hits the road to face Oklahoma State in the annual SEC/Big 12 Challenge on Saturday (Jan. 30). Tipoff is set for 3:00 pm (CT) and the game will be televised on ESPN2.

FIRST HALF: Arkansas 37 – Ole Miss 25

Ole Miss scored seven straight thanks to a pair of Razorback turnovers to lead 9-5 at the first media timeout (15:52).
With the game tied at 13-13, Davis scored six points and Justin Smith three for a 9-0 run and the Hogs led the rest of the game.
Arkansas held Ole Miss without a field goal for over 3-plus minutes to lead 17-13 after four-point play by Devo Davis (fast break layup, missed free throw, offensive rebound and jumper). The run was pushed to 9-0 as the Hogs led 22-13.
Devo Davis made his first four shots from the field to help the Razorbacks take a 22-13 lead.
Davis led the Hogs with eight points with Desi Sills adding seven.
Arkansas was 8-of-10 from the free throw line, compared to Ole Miss 3-4, and Arkansas held Ole Miss to 0-of-9 from 3-point range in the period.
Ole Miss got to within eight (31-23) with 3:06 left in the first half before a Justin Smith basket and two free throws by Desi Sills. Arkansas led by double digits the rest of the game.

SECOND HALF: Arkansas 37 – Ole Miss 34

Ole Miss got as close as 10 on two occasions in the second the half, the last being 41-31 with 15:29 left.
Arkansas went on an 8-0 run to lead 49-31 and cruised the rest of the way.
Notae scored 14 of his 19 in the second half.
Vanover had four of his blocked shots in the second half and he played all 20 minutes in the period.

GAME NOTES

Arkansas has won three straight versus Ole Miss and 9-of-the-last-12. Ole Miss is Arkansas’ second-most common opponent among SEC teams. The Hogs lead the all-time series 50-33 and 17-11 in games played in Fayetteville.
Arkansas now leads Ole Miss 28-27 since the Razorbacks joined the SEC.
Arkansas’ starting lineup was Jalen Tate (G) – Desi Sills (G) – Moses Moody (G) – Justin Smith (F) – Connor Vanover (F) for the 10th time this season. It is the Hogs’ most common combination this year and they are 10-0 in such games.
Ole Miss won the opening tip. However, Arkansas immediately caused a tie-up to give Arkansas the ball.
Moses Moody scored the game’s first points, hitting three free throws at 19:11. Arkansas is 9-3 when scoring first.
Davonte Davis and Jaylin Williams were the first subs for Arkansas for the second straight game.
Arkansas wore the jersey with the “Running Hog” logo across the front for the first time this season.
JD Notae led the team in scoring for the fifth time this season. Notae scored 19 versus Ole Miss. In his previous three games combined, he only scored a total of 12 points. He set career highs for free throws made (8) and tied a career high with nine attempts.
Connor Vanover played 28:45. In his previous five games, he only played of total of 40 minutes, including 18 at Vanderbilt in his last outing. The seven rebounds were his best since grabbing seven at Tennessee and his five blocked shots were his most since getting six in game two of the season (North Texas). He had only blocked a total of five shots in his previous 10 games.
Justin Smith scored double digits for the third straight game, finishing with 10. He drained a 3-pointer from the top of the key for his thr0d triple of the season. (He made two in game two of the season versus North Texas.)
Smith is 38 points shy of 1,000 for his career and, with six rebounds versus Ole Miss, he surpasses the 500 rebound plateau, now with 502.
Davonte Davis had his most efficient game, making his first four shots and 7-of-9 overall, with 14 points and six rebounds. (His career highs are 20 points and seven boards in the win over Georgia.)
Jaylin Williams took a charge. He leads the team with 11 this season. (The team has taken 31 this season).
Arkansas won by double digits for the 12th time (in 13 victories). Arkansas entered the game ninth in the NCAA in scoring offense (85.0 ppg) and 24th in the NCAA in scoring margin (+14.2).
Arkansas grabbed double-digit rebounds (11 vs Ole Miss) for the 15th time in 17 games.
Arkansas out-rebounded Ole Miss, 37-29. Arkansas is 11-1 this season when out-rebounding its opponent.
While Arkansas won by 15 (74-59), the Razorbacks are just 4-2 this season when scoring 70-79 points and just 10-7 under Musselman.
Arkansas is 10-0 under Musselman when holding opponents under 60 points and Musselman is 31-1 as a collegiate head coach in such games.
Arkansas shot 41.2% from 3-point range. It was the sixth time this season – and 10th times in the Musselman era – the Hogs have shot over 40 percent from deep.
Arkansas led the NCAA in 3-point field goal percentage defense last season (.272) but were 93rd in the NCAA and seventh in the NCAA in the category this season (.313). However, the 6.3% (1-of-16) by Ole Miss was lowest by an Arkansas opponent in the Musselman era and 11th time an opponent shot below 20% from deep in the Musselman era.

For more information on Arkansas Men’s Basketball, follow @RazorbackMBB on Twitter.