— Jaylen Barford was the player of the game
Jaylen Barford scored 7 straight Arkansas points in the first half to help keep the Razorbacks in the lead when the game was still competitive.
After halftime, he spearheaded what was for all intents and purposes the game-ending knockout punch to begin the second half. He scored 4 straight points as part of a 10-0 run to start the half, including one of his patented impossible finishes at the rim, something he seems to do multiple times each game.
He finished with a game-high 18 points on 8 of 17 shooting, including 7 of 12 inside the arc. His energy was apparent, in stark contrast to a tired Vanderbilt team.
Barford is the motor that drives Arkansas. Saturday, his motor was running hot.
— Hogs’ depth, fresh legs the difference
Lack of depth has been an issue for Vanderbilt all season. The Commodores are talented, but not deep.
That problem was magnified Saturday with Vandy playing its third game in as many days against a more-rested, much-deeper Arkansas team.
Mike Anderson played 9 players at least 9 minutes, 11 players total. Only 7 players average more than 10 minutes a game for Vanderbilt coach Bryce Drew. He tried to lengthen the bench in order to fight fatigue, but to no avail.
Vanderbilt shot 43 percent from 3 in its 2 regular season meetings with Arkansas. Saturday, coming off wins over Texas A&M and Florida the previous 2 days, the Commodores made just 8 of 31, including just 4 of their first 25, a sign of tired legs.
The Commodores had multiple prolonged droughts without made field goals, including a stretch of 5:29 without a made shot to begin the second half while Arkansas lit it up on the other end.
The Hogs scored the first 10 points after halftime and opened the half with a 21-4 run that included a trio of 3-pointers as they extended the lead to 21.
Drew had used all of his timeouts by the midway point of the second half. Not that it mattered. Vanderbilt was done.
— Razorbacks overcome lack of production at the 4
There were plenty of positives in the win for Arkansas.
Barford, Dusty Hannahs (16 points) and Daryl Macon (15) bounced back from their worst shooting game of the season against Ole Miss to combine for 49 points on 19 of 38 shooting. Moses Kingsley recorded a double-double, scoring 12 points and grabbing 13 rebounds to help the Hogs win the battle on the boards and outscore Vanderbilt 46-16 in points in the paint.
The play of the Razorbacks’ 4s was not one of the positives, a trend that has been an issue all season.
Dustin Thomas finished with 2 points on 1 of 5 shooting with 3 assists and 2 turnovers in 17 minutes. He had a pair of shots blocked, missed a pair of jumpers and had a head-scratching double-dribble with no one pressuring him.
Arlando Cook didn’t record any stats aside from 4 fouls and 3 rebounds in 9 minutes. Mike Anderson eventually turned to freshman Adrio Bailey as a result of the upperclassmen’s struggles.
Trey Thompson put together his typical solid all-around game in 15 minutes. He’s increasingly been Arkansas’ best option next to Kingsley, as well as his backup.
The 4 is almost always the weak link on the floor for Arkansas. Players tend to start finding their groove as the season goes along, but it is March and the inconsistent performances from the position are consistent.
— Arkansas gets a free shot to greatly improve its resume
With the win, Arkansas advances to play No. 8 Kentucky in the championship game at noon Sunday.
The Wildcats (28-5) were the SEC’s regular season conference champion and have won 10 straight games. They present matchup problems for Arkansas, issues that were apparent in a 97-71 win in January. The Razorbacks struggle against good point guards and De’Aaron Fox is the best they’ve faced this year. Malik Monk, Bam Adebayo and Isaiah Briscoe round out the best quartet in the SEC.
But the game gives the Hogs a free shot to bolster their resume and potentially improve their seeding. Arkansas was projected as a 9 seed by ESPN’s Joe Lunardi coming into Saturday. A victory over Kentucky, projected as a 2, could bump the Hogs up.
Arkansas doesn’t match up well with Kentucky. The Wildcats are easily the more-talented team. But the Hogs have given themselves a chance to win their second SEC Tournament title.