FAYETTEVILLE — LSU coach Will Wade was quick to commend Arkansas guard Mason Jones for his 36-point performance against the Tigers on Wednesday.
But he soon shifted gears and praised Razorbacks graduate transfer guard Jimmy Whitt, who scored 26 points and grabbed 15 rebounds in Arkansas' 99-90 win. Whitt controlled the game on both ends, the coach said.
Eric Musselman agreed, particularly in regards to his 14 defensive rebounds. On Thursday, in his press conference previewing Saturday's regular-season finale at Texas A&M, Musselman said he also loved the pace at which Whitt played against the Tigers.
"(Wednesday) he was not just aggressive finding teammates, he was aggressive scoring the ball," he added. "I just thought he had an aggressive mindset the way he attacked the defensive backboards, and so on and so forth.
"His advance passes were as good as they’ve been all year."
Whitt finished his memorable Senior Night with five assists as well, which generated 13 points. Two of the assists went for Jones 3-pointers, and Desi Sills added a triple from the right wing.
Another led to an Ethan Henderson (career-high 10 points) dunk, and the final dime found Jones, who finished a driving layup with less than three minutes to play.
Arkansas has seen Whitt's assists numbers spike of late. He has 14 in his last three outings, including five against Georgia and LSU. His four assists against Tennessee on Feb. 26 were his most in a game since Dec. 21 in the win over Valparaiso in North Little Rock.
Prior to the Razorbacks' second meeting with the Vols, Whitt had recorded just 16 assists in Arkansas' previous 15 games. Following the win over LSU, his assist rate sits at 9.7 percent in conference games, according to KenPom.
"I think if we had a stopwatch and kind of took from the moment he got the ball to when he got it across halfcourt, last game was the quickest that we’ve had all year with him advancing the ball either off the bounce or off the dribble or off the kick-ahead pass," Musselman said.
Asked Wednesday about his improved numbers in that area in recent games, Whitt noted that he is all about making winning plays. He also understood he had not been as effective as a scorer against Tennessee and Georgia (4 of 11 shooting), so finding any way to contribute was of the utmost importance.
“For me, if I can’t hit shots, I just want to rebound, assist, do other things that I can to try and impact the game," Whitt said. "I think it showed more with the assists these last couple of games."
Of his 14 assists in the last three games, 10 have resulted in 3s - four from Jones, three from Sills, two from Jalen Harris and one from Isaiah Joe. He has also found Jones, Sills, Henderson and Adrio Bailey for scores at the rim.
In that span, nine assists stemmed from Whitt operating above the middle of the lane inside the arc, including five in the center of the floor above the foul line that led to 13 points.
"I'm just reading the game," Whitt said. "Guys are hitting shots and I'm able to get them the ball in their spots."