Hogs' 'D' smothers 3-pointers

Arkansas guard Jimmy Whitt (33) defends as Rice guard Ako Adams brings the ball up the floor during a game Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2019, in Fayetteville.

FAYETTEVILLE -- The way the University of Arkansas basketball team has played three-point defense to open this season, you would think the NCAA moved the arc back a lot farther than 1 foot, 4 3/4 inches.

The line is now at 22-1 3/4 after being at 20-9 since the 2008-09 season, but in the Razorbacks' first two games, Rice and North Texas shot more like it was 32-1 3/4.

Arkansas held Rice to 2 of 25 on three-pointers in beating the Owls 91-43 last week. North Texas hit 2 of 17 in losing to the Razorbacks 66-43 on Tuesday night.

It's a small sample size, but the 4-of-42 shooting has Arkansas tied with Idaho State for the national lead in three-point defense at 9.5%.

Idaho State's first two opponents -- Wyoming and Air Force -- shot a combined 2 of 21 from three-point range.

The Bengals held Wyoming to 1 of 10 on three-pointers in a 54-40 loss to the Cowboys, and Air Force to 1 of 11 in beating the Falcons 89-77.

Rice and North Texas have shot pretty well from beyond the arc against their other opponents.

The Owls (3-1) shot a combined 35.6% (31 of 87) in beating Penn 80-61, Wayland Baptist 65-40 and Northwestern (La.) State 80-74.

The Mean Green shot 39.5% (17 of 43) in beating Oklahoma Christian 79-40 and losing at No. 25 VCU 59-56.

So what's up with the Razorbacks' defense?

"There has to be a sense of togetherness on defense," Arkansas senior guard Jimmy Whitt said. "In the summer we had it. We've grown on and off the court.

"A lot of stuff we do off the court is going to lead to good defense, so we have a real strong bond. We're well connected, and when we get on the court, we communicate with the game plan. Everyone sticks to the game plan. No one tries to deviate when it comes to defense. So I think that's what it gets chalked up to."

Arkansas' overall field goal defense is at 30.8% (33 of 107) to rank 15th nationally.

"Just staying connected and communication," senior forward Adrio Bailey said of the defensive keys.

The Razorbacks will look to have another strong defensive performance when they play Montana (1-1) at 4 p.m. Saturday in Walton Arena. The Grizzlies have hit hit 9 of 34 three-pointers in losing at Stanford 73-62 and beating Montana State University-Northern 64-50.

North Texas senior guard DJ Draper came into the Arkansas game having hit 7 of 10 three-pointers -- including 4 of 7 at VCU -- but he didn't attempt a shot against the Razorbacks and played just 12 minutes before fouling out.

"Draper had a big impact against VCU," Arkansas Coach Eric Musselman said. "We felt like we wanted to try to attack him. We felt like he couldn't keep up with our athleticism off the bounce, and we fouled him out in 12 minutes."

Mean Green sophomore guard Umoja Gibson was 1 of 5 on three-pointers against Arkansas after being 2 of 6 in the first two games.

"The other guy that we were really worried about from three-point land was Gibson," Musselman said. "[Draper and Gibson] were their two primary three-ball shooters, and we did a really good job of just taking away their air space, getting our hands in their eyeballs before the catch."

Arkansas held its first two opponents under 45 points for the first time since the 1949-50 season, according to HogStats.com, when the Razorbacks beat Pittsburg (Kan.) State 59-41 and lost to Oklahoma State 43-41.

"From a defensive standpoint, we talk all the time, when a shooter goes to shoot, we want to leave our feet," Musselman said. "My dad [Bill Musselman] and a lot of coaches I've been around say, 'Don't leave your feet defensively.' But when [the shooter] leaves his feet, we like our guys to leave their feet with an extended hand reach.

"We call them Pat Riley closeouts because I thought Coach Riley's teams were the best I've ever seen at contesting jump shots."

Musselman said the Razorbacks are getting way up with their defense.

"They aren't just semi-jumping where you can slip a piece of paper under their feet," he said. "I mean, they are jumping as high as they can to contest shots. That throws shooters off, I certainly think."

Up next

ARKANSAS MEN VS. MONTANA

WHEN 4 p.m. Saturday

WHERE Walton Arena, Fayetteville

RECORDS Arkansas 2-0, Montana 1-1

TV None

Sports on 11/14/2019