FAYETTEVILLE — Arkansas coach Eric Musselman was visibly furious with junior guard Mason Jones on a couple of occasions Saturday after allowing Montana easy scores at the rim.
"He just went ballistic. He went crazy," Jones said after Arkansas' 64-46 win over the Grizzlies. "I’m not going to say what he said, but just know that he went crazy."
Those two miscues were about the only blemishes in yet another solid all-around game for Jones, who led the Razorbacks with a game-high 19 points to go with 5 rebounds, 4 assists and 4 steals.
He is the first Arkansas player in the last nine-plus seasons to reach those marks in a single game, according to SportsReference. Through three games, Jones is averaging a team-high 22.3 points per outing.
He also holds the highest offensive rating (134.6) - points produced per 100 possessions - of any player in the Southeastern Conference with a usage rate above 24 percent.
"My confidence level is probably about as high as it's ever been because of all the work I put in in the summer. All the work I put in leading up to this season is all showing," Jones said. "I know I went 1 for 5 (from three-point range), but that's not the big deal. We got the win, we grinded it out hard, and I love how we handle adversity.
"They went on like a 6-0 run and we came down and scored and put the game away. As long as we continue to do that and play hard and continue to play defense - because that's what we're holding our hat on - then we should be good."
Musselman, who improved to 3-0 as Arkansas' coach behind the third-best defensive efficiency rating (67.7) of his college coaching career, has been impressed with Jones, operating at the 4 in the Razorbacks' lineup, and his pick-and-roll play late in games as the offense attempts to melt the clock.
Opposing power forwards are not accustomed to defending a player like Jones and are often left on an island in those situations.
"I think it causes a little bit of matchup problems, and he’s done a great job of converting his free throws," Musselman said. "He’s so crafty and kind of herky-jerky and stop and start and changes speeds. He does a great job of getting a defense off its feet to draw free throw attempts."
Jones has been terrific in that aspect to this point. He is 21-of-21 at the free throw line this season, including 17-of-17 in Arkansas' wins over North Texas and the Grizzlies. Jones is drawing a team-high seven fouls per 40 minutes played, according to KenPom analytics, a mark that places him third in the SEC.
Dating to March 6 against Vanderbilt, Jones has made his last 30 free throws. He is also the lone player on the Razorbacks' roster who has attempted more than eight free throws through three games.
"We’re not supposed to talk about that," Musselman joked. "He’s been great from the charity stripe, and we don’t want to talk about it because it’s kind of like a baseball hitter that’s hot."
Musselman was pleased, too, with Arkansas' success getting to the free throw line. The Razorbacks converted 20 of 26 tries at the line, led by Jones' perfect night. Adrio Bailey, who recorded the first double-double of his career with 12 points and 11 rebounds, went 4-of-6 and Jalen Harris was 2-of-2 to compliment his third three-pointer of the season in five attempts.
"That’s one thing that we’re really happy with offensively tonight," Musselman said. "We finally got to the foul line, which in the past has been as big part of our team, getting a lot of 3-ball attempts and then mixing it in and being a high-volume free throw attempt team.
"The first two games we were disappointed in our FTAs and not getting to the line more."