Category: College Basketball

As Arkansas baseball’s season came to a close on June 14, it is time to take a look at what coach Eric Musselman and the hogs men’s basketball team are up to.

Here is the roster:

Returners:
JD Notae, Guard, Senior
*Kamani Johnson, Forward/Center, Senior*
Connor Vanover, Center, Junior
Davonte Davis, Guard, Sophomore
Khalen Robinson, Guard, Sophomore
Jaylin Williams, Forward/Center, Sophomore

*Sat out last season due to transfer rules*

Newcomers (Does not include walk-ons):
Chris Lykes, Guard, Senior (Transfer from Miami)
Au’Diese Toney, Forward, Senior (Transfer from Pittsburgh)
Stanley Umude, Forward, Senior (Transfer from South Dakota)
Jaxson Robinson, Guard, Sophomore (Transfer from Texas A&M)
Chance Moore, Guard/Forward, Freshman

Games already scheduled for this upcoming season (2021-2022):

11/13 Gardner Webb
12/1 Central Arkansas
12/11 Oklahoma (Tulsa,OK)
12/21 Elon
1/29 West Virginia (Big 12/SEC Challenge)

Arkansas will assuredly play SEC rivals LSU, Missouri, and Texas A&M twice like they always do, as those dates like the rest of the entire SEC schedule is to be determined.

For the 2022 class Coach Musselman already has Arkansas three-star wing Joseph Pinion committed:
142.Joseph Pinion (#40SF) Morrilton,AR (Morrilton)

If you want to get a better look at recruiting for Arkansas basketball in 2022 take a look at this article by HawgBeat.

Moses Moody, Arkansas’ leading scorer during the 2020-2021 season, is attending the 2021 NBA Draft Combine this week. He has and still is looking to make sure he cements himself as a lottery pick in this year’s NBA Draft. Moody, who played high school basketball at Parkview and North Little Rock before taking his talents to the prestigious Montverde Academy near Orlando before coming to the hill, would be Arkansas’ first lottery pick ever, meaning he would get selected anywhere from picks 1-14.

I will make another update when we get more news.

Duke men’s basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski, the winningest coach in Division 1 men’s basketball history, plans to retire following the 2021-2022 college basketball season. According to multiple reports, it was announced that associate head coach Jon Scheyer will be the head coach in waiting in Durham. Scheyer was the lead recruiter for now NBA stars Zion Williamson and Jayson Tatum, thus being Duke’s top choice to replace Coach K. I will make a post on who I think has a better future following the retirements of legendary head coaches in the Tar Heel State, Roy Williams and Mike Krzyzewski.

Coming off of the school’s first Elite 8 in more than 25 years, Eric Musselman signed a new contract with Arkansas. Musselman got a lot of attention from Arizona, Minnesota, and Wisconsin, Athletic Director Hunter Yurachek got a deal done with Musselman, signing a five-year deal that will be 2021-2026. Also headlining the Arkansas off-season is transfer news. The transfer portal has become college sports version of free agency. Arkansas Forward Ethan Henderson quickly committed to transfer to Texas A&M after entering the portals day before. Arkansas Guard Desi Sills unsurprisingly announced his intentions to enter the transfer portal, then announcing he would either go to Auburn or Texas A&M, potentially rejoining Henderson in College Station. Positively, Musselman added three transfers that can clearly replace the production lost from the 2020-2021 team. Former Pittsburgh Forward Au’Diese Toney, former South Dakota Forward Stanley Umude, and former Miami Guard Chris Lykes. Guards JD Notae, Devo Davis, KK Robinson and forwards Jaylin Williams and Connor Vanover are all expected to return. Sit-out transfer Kamani Johnson, the former Little Rock Trojan, will also play a pivotal role in Fayetteville, four-star wing Chance Moore who will be a freshman in the fall of 2021, and JUCO transfer Akol Malwein will also play a big role.

Arkansas returned to the consensus number one spot in college baseball rankings this previous Monday following a series win over top-3 ranked Ole Miss. Arkansas followed that up with a midweek sweep of instate foe UAPB, which they won both games by a combined 38-5 after a 26-1 win on Wednesday. Arkansas brings a 28-5 (9-3) record into the weekend when they host Texas A&M for a three-game weekend series beginning on Friday night and finishing up on Sunday afternoon.

Arkansas football will play its 2021 Spring Game on Saturday April 17. The first team offense and second team defense will face the first team defense and second team offense when it comes to who the teams will be in the annual Red-White game.

What a season it was for the Arkansas Razorbacks men’s basketball team in 2020-2021. From going 10-0 in November and December to dropping four out of five in January, to going on a 12 game conference winning streak after that, head coach Eric Musselman has turned things around in Fayetteville ahead of schedule.

Statistics Leaders
Points: Guard/Forward Moses Moody, Freshman (16.8 PPG)
The freshman Moses Moody averaged close to 17.5 a game during most of the season before having a tough postseason. Moody, still, put up double digit points in every NCAA Tournament game. Moody, a likely lottery pick, will still likely enter the 2021 NBA Draft despite recent struggles from the field.

Assists: Guard Jalen Tate, Senior (3.8 APG)
The grad transfer from Northern Kentucky was an intricate part in the hogs’ run to the second weekend of the tournament including the pass that set up what turned out to be Davonte Davis’ game-winning shot over Oral Roberts. Tate should also be gone pursuing his professional aspirations.

Field Goal %, Rebounds: Justin Smith, Senior (57.1%, 7.3 RPG)
The grad transfer from Indiana vastly improved his play in Fayetteville under Eric Musselman. He might have been the most important player on the team because of his versatility on both sides of the ball. He made key shots and grabbed key rebounds all season long before many expect him to begin a professional career.

Steals: JD Notae, Junior (1.4 SPG)
The guard who had to sit out the 2019-2020 season, was better known for his great three-point shot than creating turnovers for the hogs in 2020-2021. But, Notae made some great plays, setting up opportunities for Arkansas to come back from multiple double-digit deficits in postseason play. Notae will likely return to Fayetteville next season.

Blocks: Connor Vanover, Sophomore (1.8 BPG)
Although he was rarely used in the last part of the season, Vanover was a key piece inside making the hogs 9-0 through November and December. Adding muscle onto Vanover in the offseason is going to improve Vanover’s play and likely get him more minutes when next season comes around.

Other Players (Everyone else who played):

Guard Desi Sills, Junior
Desi, similar to Connor Vanover, played a huge role earlier in the season for the hogs. But Freshman Devo Davis and Junior JD Notae proved to be better pieces for Coach Musselman during conference play and in the SEC/Big 12 challenge. Desi announced last week he would be leaving the program via the transfer portal.

Guard Davonte “Devo” Davis, Freshman
Davonte did not get many minutes at the beginning of the season because at the time he was such a raw athlete that could not shoot the ball well. But, in Arkansas’ 12-game SEC winning streak and in the postseason Devo Davis was the most important player for Arkansas. Countless forced turnovers and timely shots made by Devo kept Arkansas in so many games. When Arkansas went down double-digits in every NCAA Tournament game, he made play after play to get them back in the game (even in the Baylor game that they lost).

Forward Jaylin Williams, Freshman
Similar to Devo, Jaylin Williams sat on the bench most of the time in November and December. But, like Devo, he kept his head down and kept working. Williams was a key part in why Arkansas beat Alabama on February 24 to keep them from winning an inevitable SEC regular season title which the Tide would win the following Saturday. Williams made it into the starting lineup in the Round of 32 after being sidelined due to COVID protocols in late February. In the Round of 32, Williams had ten rebounds that won the hogs the game over Texas Tech.

Ethan Henderson, Junior
Of the multiple players from the Natural State (Moses, Davonte, KK, Jaylin, and Desi), Henderson is one of two juniors (Desi) and one of two players left from Mike Anderson (Desi). Henderson played a big role in the SEC Tournament Quarterfinal when starting forward Justin Smith got hurt. Henderson preceded to get Missouri big man Jeremiah Tilmon in foul trouble and get Arkansas in the SEC Tournament Semifinals.

Khalen “KK” Robinson, Freshman
KK Robinson’s foot injury cut his season short. Robinson played in the first 11 games of the season before his lingering foot problem cut his season short. Robinson then preceded to have foot surgery. Robinson got his boot off but is still having to wear it every so often. The freshman will return to Fayetteville next season.

Final Record: 25-7 (13-4) SEC

Final Four

2.Houston vs. 1.Baylor
Lucas Oil Stadium (Indianapolis, IN)
April 3, 5:14 PM ET, CBS

Houston and Baylor are both talented defensive teams that can really shoot it. All American Jared Butler, hot shooting MaCio Teague, and Davion Mitchell (who may be the most talented guard of them all) make up Baylor’s talented perimeter. Kelvin Sampson, Houston’s head coach has now brought two teams to the Final Four, Oklahoma and Houston. Matching up with them will be led by former Kansas transfer Quentin Grimes. The tough hard nosed group can beat Baylor if they get going shooting the ball. Projected Score: Baylor 77, Houston 72

11.UCLA vs. 1.Gonzaga
Lucas Oil Stadium (Indianapolis, IN)
April 3, 8:34 PM ET, CBS

UCLA used Kentucky transfer Johnny Juzang (15.5 PPG, 4.0 RPG) to become the second team ever to go from the First Four to the Final Four (the other than VCU). Gonzaga has been the best team all season, winning every game by double digits during the tournament. Led by lead guard Jalen Suggs, fellow guard Joel Ayayi, sharp shooting Corey Kispert, and big man Drew Timme, Gonzaga should easily win this game. But the upstart Bruins will not fail to show why the Pac-12 had three teams in the Elite 8. Projected Score: 1.Gonzag 87, 11.UCLA 74

The path to the Final Four will not be easy for the Arkansas Razorbacks, in their first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2018. Back in 2017 and 2018, Arkansas made the “Big Dance” as an eight and seven seed respectively and vastly underperformed. Arkansas beat nine seed Seton Hall to open up in 2017 before losing a controversial Round of 32 game in Greenville, South Carolina to top seed North Carolina, who went on to win 2017 National Championship. Arkansas was upended about a year later when it lost in the Round of 64 to 10 seed Butler in 2018. A team with All-SEC guards Daryl Macon, Jaylen Barford, and big man Daniel Gafford (now in the NBA with the Chicago Bulls) should have won more games in the postseason, let’s be honest. But when former Nevada head coach Eric Musselman took the same job in Fayetteville in April of 2019, it all changed. In his first recruiting cycle he dominated the state of Arkansas, keeping all but one of the top five prospects in the state according to 247sports by landing four-star recruits Moses Moody (Guard, Forward), KK Robinson (Guard), Davonte (or more commonly known as Devo) Davis (Guard), and Jaylin Williams (big man). Then he added transfers Justin Smith (big man, Indiana), Jalen Tate (Guard/Forward, Northern Kentucky), Vance Jackson (big man, New Mexico State), and JD Notae (Guard, Jacksonville). All of this to say that Musselman led the hogs to a 22-6 (13-4) record in the SEC that included a 12-game winning streak, the longest in school history. Landing a three seed on Selection Sunday capped off one of the greatest regular seasons since the Nolan Richardson teams of the 1990s. But, a potential second round match up with underseeded Texas Tech, could mean an early exit for the kids from Fayetteville. But first, they have to deal with the Colgate Raiders, the champions of the Patriot League (And Tech has to battle with Utah State). So here is Arkansas’ road to the Final Four in 2021 if it played the best opponent every round.

Round of 64

14.Colgate (3/19)

Colgate comes in at number nine in the final NET Rankings, five spots ahead of Arkansas. Both can score in bunches, but Arkansas is clearly the better defensive team with elite defenders Devo Davis and Jalen Tate on the perimeter. Plus, Arkansas gets a little energy back with big man Jaylin Williams returning to the lineup on Friday.

6.Texas Tech (3/21)
This might be Arkansas’ toughest match up. Chris Beard’s team plays phenomenal defense but has a tough time getting going on offense. If they do get going, they have a phenomenal offense.

2.Ohio State (3/27)

Ohio State has been phenomenal this season. They overachieved but they are still a two seed, so if Arkansas makes it there, they will have to be focused. Guard Duane Washington and Forward EJ Liddell are the yen and yang for the Buckeyes. Arkansas and Ohio State both aren’t very big. Arkansas needs to take advantage of Ohio State’s small size. The Buckeyes are very good but Arkansas could definitely win this match up.

2021 NCAA men’s College Basketball Tournament First Round Preview

First Four

16.Texas Southern over 16.Mount St. Mary’s

11.Drake over 11.Wichita State

16.Appalachian State over 16.Norfolk State

11.Michigan State over 11.UCLA

West Region

1.Gonzaga over 16.Appalachian State

8.Oklahoma over 9.Missouri

12.UCSB over 5.Creighton

4.Virginia over 13.Ohio

6.USC over 11.Drake

3.Kansas over 14.Drake

7.Oregon over 10.VCU

2.Iowa over 15.Grand Canyon

East Region

1.Michigan over 16.Texas Southern

8.LSU over 9.St. Bonaventure

5.Colorado over 12.Georgetown

4.Florida State over 13.UNC-Greensboro

11.Michigan State over 6.BYU

3.Texas over 14.Abilene Christian

7.Connecticut over 10.Maryland

2.Alabama over 15.Iona

South Region

1.Baylor over 16.Hartford

8.North Carolina over 9.Wisconsin

12.Winthrop over 5.Villanova

4.Purdue over 13.North Texas

6.Texas Tech over 11.Utah State

3.Arkansas over 14.Colgate

7.Florida over 10.Virginia Tech

2.Ohio State over 15.Oral Roberts

Midwest Region

1.Illinois over 16.Drexel

8.Loyola-Chicago over 9.Georgia Tech

5.Tennessee over 12.Oregon State

4.Oklahoma State over 13.Liberty

6.San Diego State over 11.Syracuse

3.West Virginia over 14.Morehead State

10.Rutgers over 7.Clemson

2.Houston over 15.Cleveland State