Dusty Hannahs was the player of the game
Daryl Macon made the three clutch free throws with 1.6 seconds left to lift Arkansas to an improbable 71-70 win at Vanderbilt after trailing by 15 with less than six minutes left, but he and the Hogs would’ve never been in position to pull off the rally without heroics from Dusty Hannahs.
The senior guard had been quiet most of the night, with just three points in the game’s first 35 minutes. But he erupted down the stretch, scoring 14 in the final 4:38 to help the Razorbacks rally from a double-digit hole for a key road win.
Hannahs missed all six of his 3-point attempts, including a potential game-winner with seven seconds left, but attacked the basket during the final four minutes and change, hitting all four of his shots inside the arc and getting to the line, where he hit 6 of 7 free throws in the final four minutes.
Jaylen Barford kept the Hogs in it with another big first half
Arkansas was down 18-9 when Jaylen Barford splashed his first 3-pointer of the night. He then hit one shortly after to put the Hogs back within striking distance.
The pair of shots sparked Barford, who totaled 13 points on 5 of 7 shooting in the first half, a performance that included makes on all three of his 3-point attempts. Arkansas went into the locker room tied at 30 despite the rest of the team combining for 17 points on 7 of 24 shooting.
It was the latest in a run of big first halves for Barford, who also scored 10 at Tennessee, 14 at Kentucky and 11 against Missouri — all in the last seven games.
Arkansas is a good road team
The Razorbacks have trailed by double-digits in all three of their SEC road wins this season.
Arkansas overcame a deficit of 13 points at Tennessee, 12 points at Texas A&M and 15 points at Vanderbilt. The Razorbacks also trailed by seven points in their win over Texas at a neutral-site in Houston in December.
The constant in all four games has been the free-throw shooting of Daryl Macon, especially after halftime. The junior made all seven of his free throw attempts in the final six minutes against the Commodores, including three with 1.6 seconds remaining to give Arkansas the go-ahead points.
In the Razorbacks' four wins outside the state this year, Macon has made a combined 42 of 46 free-throw attempts. Those have been the difference in a good start to the season and a mediocre one.
The Razorbacks have 16 wins
That's the same total Arkansas won all of last season. The Razorbacks' five SEC wins are four short of their total from last season and 10 conference games remain.
If the season were to end today, Arkansas would be a lock for the NCAA Tournament. The Razorbacks entered the Vanderbilt game with an RPI of 31st nationally and should move closer to the top 25 by virtue of another road win.
The only thing lacking on Arkansas' postseason portfolio at this point is a notable win. Also lacking, though, is a bad loss as the Razorbacks' four losses have come at Minnesota and Kentucky, and to Florida and Mississippi State at home.
Six of Arkansas' final 10 conference games are against teams currently in the bottom half of the league standings and the Razorbacks also have a winnable game Saturday at Oklahoma State.
Arkansas has a chance for quality wins at South Carolina and Florida, but even without those should be in good shape for the tournament if it can avoid bad losses over the final 11 games.