NBA News NBA News, Match Reports and UpdatesFAYETTEVILLE — The No. 18 Arkansas Razorbacks (2-1, 0-0 SEC) are back in action Monday night as they are set to host the Pacific Tigers (3-2, 0-0 WCC) inside Bud Walton Arena.
Arkansas comes into the game after sneaking past Troy last Tuesday, while the Tigers’ last game was a three-point loss to Northern Arizona on Thursday of last week.
In the victory over the Trojans, the Razorbacks shot 10-of-23 from distance, a trend reversal from their recent shooting performances. Seven of those makes came from forwards Adou Thiero and Zvonimir Ivisic, however, which is why head coach John Calipari said he wants to prioritize driving the ball to the rim.
“The way we drive the ball, if it’s contested at all, you should never shoot it,” Calipari said after the win. “We’re not a great three-point shooting team. If it’s contested at all, you should drive the ball.”
Both Arkansas and Pacific have first-year head coaches this season, though that’s about the only thing Calipari and Pacific head coach Dave Smart have in common. Smart is at Pacific after one season as an assistant coach at Texas Tech and a long tenure as a small-college head coach in Canada, while Calipari is at Arkansas, of course, after a 15-year stint at Kentucky.
Much like other small schools, Pacific shoots at a high clip from deep. Through five games this season, one of every three field goal attempts is from beyond the arc, and the Tigers are shooting an average of 30.9% from long range.
Arkansas should be able to out-athlete Pacific in this matchup and use its hounding defense to push the pace and force turnovers, of which the Tigers average 11.8 per game. Against Northern Arizona, Pacific turned it over a whopping 17 times.
That fact should also be prevalent on the glass as well, regardless of the status of forward Trevon Brazile and center Jonas Aidoo, who both did not play in the second half against Troy last week. In Pacific’s last two games (Hawaii and Northern Arizona), the Tigers have been out…
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Author : HawgBeat
Publish date : 2024-11-18 11:59:00
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