Razorback freshman guard Joseph Pinion (#5) from Morrilton, AR hits a three pointer against Missouri Wednesday night at
Bud Walton Arena in Fayetteville. Photo by Craven Whitlow.
By Otis Kirk
FAYETTEVILLE -- Things looked bleak for No. 13 Arkansas in the first half on Wednesday night in Bud Walton Arena, but they managed to completely turn it around taking a 74-68 victory over No. 20 Missouri.
Arkansas trailed by 17 points, 25-8 with 9:31 remaining in the first half. However, thanks to a boost off the bench from Morrilton freshman Joseph Pinion and a strong second half from Ricky Council IV the Hogs outscored the Tigers 66-43 the remainder of the game. Eric Musselman was impressed with the second half.
"Obviously the second half pace of play, scored 47 points," Musselman said. "And then defensively I thought both halves … We held them to 34 both halves, which Missouri’s a really good offensive team. To think that we out-scored them in fast break points is a key statistic, because of their pace of play.
"Then I thought the 15 offensive rebounds and the 17 second-chance points really, really helped us."
The Missouri zone was causing Arkansas many issues the first 10 minutes, but Musselman inserted Pinion into the game and he knocked down a three and hit half his four shots from the field as well as both free throws before intermission. Pinion finished the game with 13 points and 3 of 6 from distance.
"Joseph Pinion really changed our look offensively against that particular zone, because he flattened it out by being a threat in the corner and then knocking shots down," Musselman said.
Pinion got the start the second half due to how poorly Council played in the first half. However, Council was ready to go when Jordan Walsh got in foul trouble early in the second half. Council then exploded to lead all scorers with 25 points and pulled down seven rebounds. Council hit 11-of-13 shots from the free throw line. That came after he was 1 of 6 in the first half with four points.
"With any basketball team, if guys are playing large minutes, you can’t take that for granted," Musselman said. "And somebody’s got to be there … I don’t know what word to use … The first word that comes to my mind is there’s a threat for somebody to come in and take your minutes. I’m sure there’s better word for that, but I can’t find it right now.
"That was a decision I wanted to go with. It was easy. I walked into the locker room and made the decision without discussing it with anyone. I liked how Joseph was playing. I thought defensively he walled up and did a really good job. I looked at that plus-minus at halftime and you guys can look at a halftime sheet and look at the plus-minus as well.
"And it was great for both guys. It was great for Ricky, too, to see the team come out and play good in the second half. We don’t win the game without Ricky’s second half isolations at the top of the key."
Musselman was asked if he knew that Pinion was going to play against the Tigers?
"We felt that we were going to get zoned tonight," Musselman said. "So, I felt that if in fact the first unit struggled, he was going to be an option we were going to have to look at. On the other end, they're a team that will try to find a matchup they like and isolate you.
"I thought he did a really good job defensively. Probably the most surprising thing in Joseph's play when he's gotten minutes is he's done a pretty good job of defending guys. I thought he did that again tonight. There was one blow-by, but we had a lot of guys that got blown by once. I thought he did a phenomenal job. He shoots the ball with confidence every day. When you watch your team spot shoot, he's an elite shooter. The way their zone is where they have so many guys above the foul line, that deep corner was a sweet spot for somebody."
Davonte Davis had a solid game for Arkansas as well. He finished with 10 points, five rebounds, five assists and three steals.
"I thought his all-around game was phenomenal because (D'Moi) Hodge, No. 5, you look at his scoring numbers and what he's done thus far," Musselman said. "I thought Devo did a great, great job of containing one of the league's best scorers. And obviously his rebounds and assists and all that. I thought he was phenomenal. What did he play, 36-37 minutes?"
Among the other performances from Arkansas were Makhi Mitchell eight points, seven rebounds and two blocks; Anthony Black six points, two rebounds and five assists; Walsh six points, seven rebounds and two assists and then Kamani Johnson with five points and a team-leading eight rebounds.
Missouri was topped by Sean East II with 13 points, Nick Honor and 12 points and Kobe Brown 11 points. Brown battled foul issues much of the night plus Arkansas did an outstanding job on him.
Arkansas (12-2, 1-1) will be at Auburn (11-3, 1-1) on Saturday night with a 7:30 p.m. tip and televised on the SEC Network. The Tigers fell to Georgia 76-64 on Wednesday night in Athens. Auburn is ranked No. 22 in the AP Poll and No. 20 with the Coaches Poll.