After stumbling to a halftime deficit, Arkansas shot lights out in the second half to avoid an upset against Troy and earn its second win of the season.
Following their previous close loss to Baylor, the Hogs now sit at 2-1 on the season with perhaps the easiest three-game stretch of their schedule coming up next. Up first is Pacific (3-2), a team out of the West Coast Conference located in Stockton, Calif.
This is the first all-time meeting between the Razorbacks and Tigers, but it won’t be the latter’s first time facing a team from the Natural State. Arkansas fans are hopeful the Hogs can do what the other teams couldn’t.
Pacific has faced an Arkansas-based team four times in the team’s history, defeating Arkansas State, UA-Fort Smith and UAPB twice for a total of four wins against in-state schools.
- Nov. 2010: Pacific 77, Arkansas State 70
- Nov. 2017: Pacific 78, UAPB 69
- Dec. 2017: Pacific 105, UAFS 68
- Nov. 2021: Pacific 74, UAPB 50
This season, Pacific has continued their apparent preference — based on the UAFS matchup — of facing non-Division I schools in their non-conference schedule. Two of their three wins so far this season have come against such schools, with the third was against San Jose State – a team ranking outside the top 230 in KenPom.
Needless to say, this year’s Razorback team stands a great chance at ruining that streak, but you can never count out a pesky mid-major taking on a top 25 team. Pacific currently ranks No. 269 in KenPom’s rankings, including being outside the top 220 in both offensive and defensive efficiency.
The Arkansas vs Pacific matchup is scheduled for 7 p.m. CT Monday at Bud Walton Arena. It will be streamed online on SEC Network-Plus.
What to Expect from Pacific Basketball
The Tigers have already played five games on the young season compared to Arkansas’ three so far, but that doesn’t necessarily mean they’re more experienced. Pacific is returning only one player from last year’s roster – including swapping out their head coach for a first-year hire in Dave Smart.
The Tigers’ lone returner is Burke Smith. The 6-foot-11 forward logged only one start all of last season and has averaged 4 points across his 20-plus games last season and five games played this season off the bench.
Pacific’s leading scorer this season is 6-foot-7 forward Elias Ralph. The JUCO transfer is averaging 18.8 points, 7.4 rebounds and 1.0 steals. He appears to be a primary candidate for Adou Thiero to match up against in an attempt to slow down Pacific’s leading shot taker and maker.
Second for the Tigers in scoring is Elijah Fisher, a 6-foot-6 transfer who has spent a season each at Texas Tech and DePaul. He averaged 10 points on 52% from the field in his most recent stop at DePaul before transferring to Pacific and tallying nearly 17 points per game this season on a relatively inefficient 46% field goal percentage.
Meanwhile, watch out for Lamar Washington, a 6-foot-4 transfer from Texas Tech. The Oregon native is doing a great job of facilitating the Pacific offense, averaging 8.2 assists and 7.6 points, though he’s shooting an abysmal 29% from the field and 10% (1 of 10) from long range.
Despite the shooting woes, expect a good deal of ball pressure from DJ Wagner as Arkansas basketball coach John Calipari deploys his best defensive guard against the head of the snake – or perhaps the Tiger in this case – to limit his playmaking ability and hopefully drop his assist numbers.
The other option for Wagner to potentially match up against would be the Tigers’ leading 3-point shooter, Jefferson Koulibaly. Standing at 6-foot-3, the junior transfer is hitting over 47% of his long-range attempts so far this season while tallying 8.4 points and 2.8 assists per game.
With lingering issues to both Jonas Aidoo and Trevon Brazile, the starting center for Pacific holds the capability to hurt the Hogs on the inside. Jazz Gardner stands at 7 feet tall and averages 6.4 points, 5.2 rebounds and 0.8 blocks per game. However, Gardner and Smith (6-foot-11) combine for only 30 minutes per game, meaning the Tigers tend to go small for extended periods, perhaps providing opportunities for Thiero or Brazile (if healthy) to man the paint at times in this matchup.
Other notable players in Pacific’s rotation:
- Petar Kribokapic (6-4, SR): 5.2 PPG, 3.4 RPG
- Seth Jones (6-2, JR): 5.0 PPG, 4.2 RPG, 1.2 APG
- Solomon Ominu (6-8, FR): 9.3 MPG, 2.5 PPG, 3.5 RPG, 5-of-5 FG in 4 games played
What to Expect from Arkansas Basketball
The biggest thing to watch for Arkansas at this point is health. Multiple guys missed several weeks of practice throughout the offseason, creating cause for concern in terms of stamina and being in full shape. Now, players like Johnell Davis and Jonas Aidoo are still visibly hampered by lingering injuries. Trevon Brazile joined the injury report with a gnarly looking sprained ankle against Troy, though this isn’t likely to be a long-term injury.
After a bit of a disappointing loss against Baylor – mostly because Arkansas had a chance to win, not necessarily that they played poorly – the Hogs came out sloppy and ice cold from the field in the first half against Troy.
While the talent and shooting ultimately prevailed to give the Hogs a 16-point win, the trend of playing sloppy and shooting poorly even against theoretically lesser competition is certainly not an encouraging sign if it doesn’t correct soon.
The performances of Zvonimir Ivisic, Adou Thiero and Boogie Fland once again carried the Razorbacks to victory. Of course, Big Z is now averaging 13.5 points, 3.0 rebounds, 4.0 blocks, 2.0 steals and shooting 78% from long range against the two mid-major schools Arkansas has played so far.
Against Baylor, Ivisic’s deficiency as a perimeter defender reared its head as the Bears continuously put him in pick-and-roll situations where he had to either defend a guard or catch up to his man on the roll. He did neither particularly well.
While that cost him minutes versus Baylor, he continues to excel against teams that can’t take advantage of his lack of lateral quickness defensively. Don’t be surprised if he puts up a great stretch of games between now and the Hogs’ Thanksgiving matchup with Illinois – where he will match up against his twin brother, Tomislav Ivisic.
Fland has continued to impress as the primary ball handler and facilitator for the Hogs despite being a true freshman. Of course, it’s nothing new for fans of Calipari-coached teams to see a young guard running the offense, but it’s a welcome sight for Hog fans to see the young bull playing at such a high level so early in his collegiate career.
He’s averaging 15.3 points and 5.7 assists while hitting 38% from long range, including tallying 7 assists in each of his last two games and hitting 7 of his 13 attempts (54%) from long range. Watch for him to continue honing his game against Pacific and moving forward, but also don’t be surprised if either DJ Wagner or Johnell Davis takes over a bit more ball handling duties as the Hogs will likely find themselves in situations where they’re winning by double digits a few times in the next couple of weeks.
Davis in particular has been arguably the biggest disappointment for Razorback fans this season from a production standpoint – though it’s worth remembering that he spent several weeks this summer unable to practice due to an injury to his shooting wrist. Even if the injury is mostly healed now, a wrist injury can affect a jump shot as much if not more than an injury to any other part of the body.
That’s not to say that everything will go back to normal for Davis, though it’s perhaps encouraging to understand that he’s now getting back into game shape and a full practice routine ever since the Kansas exhibition. The room for improvement is there.
Thiero has taken the step forward Arkansas fans hoped they would see from him this season, putting the team on his back on more than one occasion when other players are struggling. Over his last two games, he’s averaging 21.5 points, 6.5 rebounds, 1.5 assists, 1.5 blocks, 1.0 steals and shooting 60% from the field and 38% from long range.
Those numbers may not be sustainable against better competition, but they’re pushing lottery-pick-type numbers if he is able to continue this level of production.
What to Watch for in Arkansas vs Pacific
Lipscomb, the first team Arkansas beat this season after a relatively slow start, is projected to win its conference this season and ranks inside the top 100 in offensive efficiency. Neither are an excuse for a team like Arkansas to lose against them, but it’s noteworthy as to why a young, brand-new team might struggle to put the Bisons away early.
Troy, Arkansas’ most recent opponent, ranks inside the top 70 in defensive efficiency. Again, not a good enough reason for the Hogs to struggle as much as they did, but perhaps a good indicator as to why their shots weren’t falling early.
Pacific, however, is by far the worst team Arkansas has faced on paper throughout the preseason and early season – and you can bet the Hogs know that. Whether they’re consciously thinking about it or not, they’re aware that the schedule takes a dip in talent this week.
Given how slow some of the starts have been for Arkansas against other mid-majors, this is a prime opportunity for the team to really lock in and show how dominant they can be when presented with an inferior opponent.
It’s also a prime trap game opportunity for the Tigers – as well as an opportunity to extend their win streak over Arkansas teams to 5-0.
Considering Arkansas hasn’t been convincingly great through any of its first three games, but rather won or stayed close with high-level defense and spurts of good play, it’s unlikely that they come out extremely flat regardless of who their next opponent is. They shouldn’t be satisfied with anything they’ve done so far.
The effort level, as well as offensive execution in terms of turnovers and shot selection, will be a few of the most important things to watch in this game as the Hogs look to earn what should be a relatively easy win. Maybe they’ll even be able to get some of the guys at the end of the bench into the game before it’s all over.
Game Prediction
The Hogs likely still won’t have their offense fully on par with expectations yet, but marginal improvements every game should be the goal as they get healthier with each passing game. Big Z will likely play a big role again against an inferior opponent and with both Brazile and Aidoo coming off a game in which neither saw the court after halftime due to injury.
Boogie Fland will continue to carry much of the ball-handling load offensively, though it seemed like Davis gained a bit of confidence seeing a couple of shots go through the net against Troy – perhaps this will be the game where we see him take a step toward being his old 18-points-per-game self.
Regardless, the Hogs will be able to out-talent the Tigers in front of their home crowd and on their home court. Arkansas takes care of business enough to get some of their bench players their first action of the season.
Arkansas wins, 88-61.
How to Watch Arkansas vs Pacific
Date: Monday, Nov. 18
Location: Bud Walton Arena (Fayetteville, Ark.)
Tipoff Time/TV Schedule: 7 p.m. CT (SECN+)
Betting Line: Arkansas, -23.5 (BetSaracen)
ESPN BPI: Arkansas has a 98.2% chance to win and is favored by 25.1 points.
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