Razorback freshman guard Joseph Pinion (#5) from Morrilton, AR hits a three pointer from the corner against UNCA Wednesday night at
Bud Walton Arena in Fayetteville.
By Otis Kirk
FAYETTEVILLE -- No. 10 Arkansas got some more bad news off the court, but on it, they continued to dominate this time with an 85-51 win over UNC Asheville in Bud Walton Arena.
Arkansas played without true freshman guard Nick Smith Jr. and it may not be a one-game situation. The North Little Rock freshman has been limited to five games this season and prior to the tip Wednesday night Arkansas released a statement that Smith would be out indefinitely due to right knee management.
This comes after Eric Musselman and the Razorbacks already lost forward Trevon Brazile for the season due to a torn ACL. In Smith's absence, Jalen Graham picked up some of the slack with 16 points, three rebounds, two steals and an assist.
"Jalen has got a great flip shot," Musselman said. "He’s got a great spin move. He can feel the defender, go the other way. I thought offensively, I’d give him a 10 out of 10. We just need some rebounds from Jalen. Some physical in-traffic rebounds is one of the areas that Jalen’s got to continue to focus on.
"But I think from an offensive standpoint, he’s a guy you can throw the ball to. He’s a great passer. He’s really good in the middle against a zone. And offensively he makes the game become easier for our team."
The Razorbacks led 44-24 at intermission, but it was never a game. Arkansas dominated in all the areas. They outscored the opponent 32-5 in points off turnovers after forcing 20 turnovers. The Hogs dominated in the paint outscoring UNC Asheville 50-26 and bench points 41-11. On a night in the SEC after Ole Miss, Mississippi State and Texas A&M lost games Tuesday they probably should have won, Musselman was pleased with how his team dominated from start to finish in the last game before the SEC opener.
"It was really important," Musselman said. "Obviously watching the games yesterday, because so many of them were in the afternoon that we were still able to talk to our team about it face to face yesterday, the night before the game. Then even the stuff that happened today … You’ve got to understand as a student athlete that it’s hard rot win any game and you have to earn them.
"I was really proud of our focus. We had a couple day prep on (Drew) Pember. Not allowing him to get shot attempts. Keeping him off the foul line. I thought we did an unbelievable job on their star player, holding him to 1 of 7 and only allowing him to get to the foul line twice. And he’s one of highest free attempt players in the country."
As far as Smith, is this the same deal that he dealt with to start the season?
"Nick is a competitor and he looked forward to playing for the Razorbacks," Musselman said. "He's kind of been in and out of the lineup, or whatever, and we just want him to get healthy as quickly as possible and for him to be 100 percent.
"For the other guys, everybody can an opportunity tonight. I thought Joseph Pinion did a great job. He stepped up and knocked down some shots. I thought his experience was really important playing 19 minutes tonight. I thought that was great for Joseph. The game the way it unfolded with Nick not playing and TB not playing and Jordan Walsh and Anthony Black getting two fouls in the first half, I think it allowed us to ... what could happen in the next couple games for other guys to figure out that maybe we play three bigs at a time and we have to figure it out on the fly."
Morrilton freshman Pinion did step up for the Hogs. He hit four of his six attempts from the floor including half his attempts (2-4) from behind the 3-point line. Pinion finished with 10 points, one rebounds, three assists and a steal.
"When you're a great shooter, the hardest thing is do you still have confidence?," Musselman said. "When he comes in the game you can see teammates, coaching staff, we feel like when he shoots it is going to go in. When you're a great shooter, that's kind of the air that everybody has."
Musselman did get several key performances beyond Graham and Pinion. Ricky Council IV had 12 points, two rebounds, a pair of assists and one steal. Anthony Black played a complete game adding 10 points, three rebounds, three assists and two steals. Davonte "Devo" Davis had nine points, two rebounds and three assists.
Other key performances came from Makhi Mitchell with nine points, one rebounds, three assists, three steals and two blocks. Kamani Johnson added seven points, a team-leading seven rebounds, two assists and three steals. Jordan Walsh had four points, four rebounds, one assist and two steals.
Taijon Jones led UNC Asheville with 14 points while Jamon Battle had 10. Pember, a former Tennessee Volunteer and this team's leading scorer, finished with five points on 1 of 7 from the field.
Arkansas (11-1) will next be in action on Wednesday when they open SEC play at LSU. The tip is set for 8 p.m. on ESPN2. LSU is also 11-1 with only a 61-59 loss to Kansas State the lone blemish on their record.