FAYETTEVILLE — For roughly 32 minutes of Wednesday’s victory over Texas-Arlington, Arkansas coach Eric Musselman was fairly pleased with the Razorbacks’ play on both ends.
But there were plenty of teaching moments and a few sloppy sequences down the stretch as Arkansas slowed its pace of play to work the clock. Musselman, who slapped the top of the scorer’s table a number of times in frustration, was disappointed with his group’s finish.
And he again mentioned too many misses around the rim — something he harped on earlier in the week. The Razorbacks finished 10 of 19 on layups against the Mavericks.
“I was not happy with how we finished the late eight minutes, but having said that, there’s not many teams whether it’s the No. 1-ranked team in the country … very few teams play 40 minutes of flawless basketball,” Musselman said. ” We went through our bad stretch to end the game. We’ve certainly got some things we can clean up.”
After freshman guard Moses Moody added a layup with 10:01 to play, Arkansas missed 15 of its next 16 shots. Jalen Tate added a jumper with 32 seconds left to cap the Razorbacks’ scoring and snap a streak of 10 consecutive misses.
Over the final nine-plus minutes, Arkansas missed six layups and Vance Jackson was credited with two of his three turnovers. UT-Arlington converted three fast-break chances in that span, too.
"It's still early in the season. We've got to learn how to execute a little better, especially just keep our foot on their necks a little bit,” Tate said. “We can't let those guys go on runs or give them any hope. We knew if they made a couple shots while we were up 16 it would turn into a ball game. So we've just got to work on our execution.
“That goes into practice. We've got a team with a lot of new guys, different lineups out there on the floor, so with reps and with time it will come."
Musselman also wants to see more production out of Desi Sills, JD Notae and Jackson. Collectively, they finished with eight points on 2 of 16 from the floor Wednesday. Notae led the group with five points, all in the first half.
“You look at our shooting percentage as a team, three guys didn’t really make many baskets,” Musselman said. “And I thought the rest of the guys did a pretty good job. Even Justin (Smith went) 4 of 15.”
Moses Moody finds his groove
After a 5 of 21 showing in Arkansas’ first two games, Musselman knew Moody would fall into a rhythm on the offensive end sooner rather than later. He broke out in a big way Wednesday.
The prize of the Razorbacks’ 2020 class, Moody scored a game-high 24 points on 7 of 12 from the floor and 2 of 3 beyond the 3-point line. He came out of the gates hot, getting his first six shots to fall, and perhaps the highlight of his night was a dunk over a Mavericks defender following a feed from Tate on a well-designed baseline out of bounds play.
Musselman loves the fact that Moody can score in so many different ways, and that he is a regular at the foul line. For the second time in three games, he finished with double-digit free throw attempts.
According to KenPom analytics, he is drawing 8.2 fouls per 40 minutes played, which ranks 51st nationally.
“I thought his shot selection from 3-point range was absolutely phenomenal,” Musselman said. “I mean, for a freshman to go out in his third game and give you 24 and 9 (rebounds), and 10 FTAs is really, really impressive. I just thought he was aggressive.
“I thought he didn’t force things.”
Moody, who has started in all three games this season, became the first Arkansas freshman to record a 24-point, nine-rebound game since Bobby Portis in 2014 against Alabama. Rebounding at the off guard and small forward spots is an underrated part of the game, and Moody provided that.
“When he can go get nine, it’s really vital to our team, because, shoot, last year there were a lot of times we didn’t have anybody get nine,” Musselman said. “When you’re getting that from the guard spot, it changes who you are defensively.”
In the first two games Moody said he was more or less trying to get a feel for what his role will be for this team. But, plain and simple, Arkansas hopes to get more of what he provided Wednesday.
“I was just able to get started early,” Moody said. “The ball was coming to me, the game felt good and I was letting the game come to me. I've had teams that I've played on where I've had to be more of a dog defender and get every loose ball, and I've been on teams where they've needed me to be a shooter, rebounder.
“It's whatever I have to do to help the team win.”
Tate thought Moody did a terrific job finding his spots and releasing high-quality looks.
"Moses is a prolific scorer, man,” he said. “He always works. He's always in the gym. First one in, last one to leave constantly — even on off days.”
Connor Vanover lights out in limited time
Connor Vanover was so dominant and effective against North Texas last week, Musselman had a difficult time taking him out of the lineup. It’s why the 7-3 forward wound up playing a career-high 34 minutes.
The UT-Arlington game was a different story in terms of playing time, but Vanover still gave the Razorbacks outstanding run in limited action. In only 12 minutes, he added 12 points on 5 of 6 from the floor, grabbed a pair of rebounds and blocked two more shots, bringing his season total to 11.
UT-Arlington attacked Vanover in its middle pick and roll offensively and found some success, forcing Musselman to adjust his lineup.
“I thought Connor was incredible offensively, like incredible, but we have to try to figure out what our pick-and-roll package is when people go at Connor,” Musselman said. “That’s going to be a big-time factor for our defense, for sure. We’re still trying to figure it out.”
Vanover scored at all three levels against the Mavericks, knocking down 3-pointers from the left and right wings as well as a midrange jumper from the foul line. He also offensive rebounded a Sills miss from three and converted in the lane.
Vanover’s efficiency has been a big story early in the season. He is 10 of 12 from the floor on attempts inside the arc — one miss was a jumper with his foot on the 3-point line — and 6 of 9 beyond the arc.
He has an offensive rating of 172.9 through three games, according to KenPom, which is good for 17th nationally.
"Connor was amazing tonight,” Tate said. “I didn't even know he only played 12 minutes and did as much as he did. You never know how many minutes you're going to get out there and whose night it's going to be. It was Moses tonight, last (game) it was Connor. Every single day, depth is a good problem to have.
“Connor is a huge point for us on either side of the floor, having a guy that is 7-3 that can stretch the floor. He does a lot of good things for us and he's definitely a pleasure to play with."
Jalen Tate a "Jack of all trades"
After Arkansas’ win over North Texas, Musselman said his graduate transfer guard from Northern Kentucky impacts the game in ways that don’t always show up in the box score.
On Wednesday, he packed it. Tate scored a season-high 14 points on 6 of 12 from the floor and chipped in 6 rebounds — 3 offensive — and a team-high 4 assists against 1 turnover. He tallied a block and steal for good measure, too.
“He’s kind of a Jack of all trades,” Musselman said. “He does a little bit off everything for us. He can play multiple positions.”
Arkansas outscored UT-Arlington by 17 points in Tate’s 33 minutes in the lineup, the best mark on the team. Tate said seeing some shots fall Wednesday felt great and built his confidence.
In the first two games, he was 3 of 9 on 2-point attempts, but against the Mavericks he hit 5 of 9 inside the arc, plus a 3-pointer.
“Honestly, the first couple games I've been trying to feel it out, just get comfortable and get everyone else involved, but I know I can help the team scoring, too,” he said. “I don't want to get (complacent) or just OK with tonight.
“I want to be able to keep expanding and keep doing better and doing whatever it takes to help us win games."