Four-Point Play

Analysis: Darious Hall's aggressiveness on the glass, C.J. Jones' growth and more

Arkansas forward Darious Hall (20) shoots as Mississippi forward Bruce Stevens (12) defends during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game in Oxford, Miss., Tuesday, Feb. 13, 2018. (Petre Thomas/The Oxford Eagle via AP)

Hall aggressive on the glass

— There was plenty of opportunity to attack the glass against Ole Miss last week, and perhaps no one took greater advantage than Darious Hall.

Hall finished the night with a career-high 11 rebounds and his first career double-double behind a 3 of 4 night from beyond the 3-point line, but most importantly he led an aggressive Arkansas charge on the boards in wins over the Rebels and Texas A&M.

Five of Hall's 11 rebounds against Ole Miss came on the offensive end. His efforts led to a 15-8 edge in second chance points and Arkansas' best night rebounding the ball of the season (49). The Razorbacks then hammered one of the nation's best rebounding teams in A&M with Hall leading the way.

Arkansas averaged 1.13 points per possession in Hall's 69 offensive possessions last week, and rebounded 42.2 percent of its misses, according to HoopLens, with him in the lineup.

Late in the win at Ole Miss, it was clear the air had been taken out of the Rebels' sails, but Hall was still as energetic as ever, grabbing four total rebounds in the final six minutes - two offensive - that immediately turned into five points for him.

Hall chased down and fought for an Anton Beard miss from 3 and reset the offense before Beard found the freshman open from deep to put Arkansas up 12. He then capped his career night with this gem:

Hall grabbed only one offensive rebound against the Aggies. He did most of his work on the defensive end, but the Razorbacks grabbed 53 percent of their misses in Hall's 32 offensive possessions on Saturday. Daniel Gafford finished with four and Trey Thompson, who battled a low-grade fever, added three.

Mike Anderson was elated with Arkansas' effort on the glass Saturday. Arkansas' +12 rebounding edge marked the Aggies' largest margin against all season. A&M entered No. 1 in the SEC in total rebounding and 16th nationally, but Arkansas held it to nearly 10 under its season average.

Tyler Davis and Robert Williams still did their damage - 21 rebounds, 10 offensive - but Arkansas didn't allow any other Aggies player to become a factor in that regard. Admon Gilder was A&M's third leading rebounder with 3, and D.J. Hogg and Tony Trocha-Morelos grabbed only one offensive rebound.

Arkansas rebounded by committee against the Aggies, and that's what it takes to punish a team of A&M's caliber on the boards. Ten Razorbacks finished with at least one rebound and Arkansas' four guards grabbed 11, four offensive.

But it started with Hall's energy and it became contagious, Mike Anderson said. Props to Darious for bringing the fire in a much-needed road win and following it up with another strong showing against one of the nation's best frontcourts.

4s find midrange touch

Arkansas sits bottom six nationally in point production from its power forward position this season. Just 12.5 percent of the team's points come from the 4.

But on Saturday, in a game in which Arkansas really needed some production from that group, Dustin Thomas and Gabe Osabuohien gifted Mike Anderson with 13 combined points on 6 of 10 from the floor, knocking down key midrange shots against the Aggies' zone and in pick-and-pop situations.

Arkansas' 4s were 2 of 6 on similar shots in the win at Ole Miss - Arlando Cook 0/2, Thomas 1/3, Osabuohien 1/1 - but Thomas and Gabe came back with a 4 of 5 night from midrange against the Aggies.

Thomas opened the game knocking down his first two looks from the short corner and pinch post, respectively, and looked good doing so. Almost midway through the second half he knocked down another, popping just inside the right wing after setting a pick for Anton Beard. Last week was Thomas' second most productive two-game stretch since the beginning of conference play in terms of scoring (13 points) and he did it on 5 of 9 from the floor.

And after not attempting a single shot against South Carolina and Vanderbilt, Gabe stepped out and provided a boost with a long 2 in both wins last week.

In its recent loss at Auburn, Kentucky went zone to try to slow a Tigers team that ranks top 20 nationally in pace. The Razorbacks fall just behind in terms of average possessions per game at nearly 70 in conference play. Implementing the zone could be a strategy the Wildcats turn to, and if that happens a few makes from the elbows and short corners would be beneficial.

Jones showing growth

Early in the season, it was nothing for C.J. Jones to bomb teams from well beyond the 3-point line.

His struggles in that area in conference play have been well-documented, but of late we've seen development in Jones' game on the offensive end.

He entered Saturday's game against Texas A&M 0 of his last 11 from 3 and shooting just 19 percent from distance in SEC games. Jones did knock down a 3 in the win, his first since Arkansas' win over Oklahoma State on Jan. 27, but again utilized the midrange pull-up jumper on his way to an SEC-high 13 points.

It's a trend we saw throughout the week. Jones misfired on all four 3-point attempts in the win at Ole Miss, but hit 1 of his 2 midrange jumpers. Here, Jones catches all alone in the left corner, but doesn't settle given his recent drought and takes a dribble to set himself up for a short corner J.

C.J. also got out and ran in transition against the Aggies, which led to an easy bucket midway through the first half on Saturday. A look through the nonconference highlights and you'll see that Jones is one of the best athletes on the roster, so it's great to see him using some of that to his advantage.

Jones accounted for more than half of Arkansas' 23 bench points on Saturday. His production adds another dimension to an already explosive offense. A shot fake into a midrange jumper could come in handy on Tuesday, too. Kentucky ranks first in the SEC in 3-point defense but 13th in 2-point percentage against at nearly 54 percent.

Daryl Macon said he's talked with Jones about working inside-out to help regain his rhythm.

"I think that's what he did in the last game," Macon said. "He started shooting a couple of midrange jumpers, then hit (one) 3 in the second half. I think he's getting back to where he was."

Bench bigs giving quality minutes

Deservedly so, Daniel Gafford was named SEC Freshman of the Week on Monday following an impressive stretch against Ole Miss and A&M.

Gafford averaged 18.5 points on 13 of 15 from the floor in the wins and was flat dominant at times. He more than held his own against Tyler Davis and Robert Williams and said he was determined to not get punk'd again.

When Gafford got into foul trouble against Ole Miss and subbed out against A&M, Arkansas' bench bigs stepped up, namely Trey Thompson and Gabe Osabuohien. With Gafford off the floor last week, Arkansas did not allow a single 3-point make and posted an effective field goal percentage of 22.7 percent defensively.

The Rebels and Aggies, combined, went 0 of 14 from 3, averaged .75 PPP and shot 33 percent inside the arc with Gafford off the floor over 56 possessions.

Jaylen Barford said Monday that Arkansas' bench has been vital to the team's winning streak and he believes every spot on the floor is filled with players who can make a difference. Anderson feeling confident enough to run with other forwards for extended stretches allows Gafford to re-enter games fresh and become a more efficient player because of it.