FAYETTEVILLE — Jimmy Whitt raised both arms in the air and flashed three fingers on his left half and a zero on the right to the Arkansas bench.
Whitt's career-best 30 points helped the Razorbacks to a 75-55 win against Vanderbilt on Wednesday night. The senior graduate transfer from SMU scored in a variety of ways that included inside dunks and a mid-range jump shot. He also attempted his first 3-pointer of the season at the end of the first half that drew iron but did not fall. It was one of his few misses on the night.
“I think scoring is more of a rhythm,” said Whitt, who hit 6 of his first 7 shot attempts. “When you can come out and hit your first couple of shots, you see it go in and you get your confidence. You sort of get into that zone early and that helped me see a couple of shots go in early.”
Whitt scored 17 points in the first half to help Arkansas (14-2, 3-1 Southeastern Conference) take a 34-28 halftime lead.
Vanderbilt, which has lost 23 straight SEC games, was able to hang close early in the second half. The Commodores (8-8, 0-3) trailed 37-33 after Saben Lee completed a three-point play with 17:24 left. Lee led the Commodores with 17 points, all in the second half.
Arkansas sophomore Isaiah Joe, who scored 34 points against Ole Miss on Saturday, was held scoreless in the first half. But he drained back-to-back 3-pointers to give Arkansas a 43-33 lead, and Whitt added a dunk to complete an 8-0 run and the Razorbacks were never seriously threatened the rest of the second half.
“Jimmy was just so good tonight finding open gaps against their defense,” said Arkansas first-year coach Eric Musselman. “He's a tough matchup for the opposition. They have to decide if they want to play a taller guy on him or match him up with a guard. When a taller guy is on him, he does a great job of being able to use his quickness.”
Whitt's scoring helped the Razorbacks overcome an off night from Mason Jones, who scored just one point. Whitt is the third Arkansas player to score 30 in a game this season, along with Joe and Jones.
BIG PICTURE
Arkansas' win likely doesn't do much for its RPI against a struggling Vanderbilt, which is without one of the SEC's top scorers in Aaron Nesmith, who suffered a stress fracture in his foot last week. Nesmith was averaging 23 points per game.
BENCH BONANZA
Arkansas got big point production off the bench as Reggie Chaney scored 14 points and had two assists. Chaney was a perfect 6-of-6 from the floor and 2-of-2 at the free-throw line.
THEY SAID IT
“I just lost the leading scorer in the SEC (Nesmith) and that was just a game ago,” Vanderbilt first-year coach Jerry Stackhouse said. “We are adjusting to that a little bit, but we're learning a lot about the rest of our roster, too. A guy that wasn't even on our team last semester started tonight for us.” That player, freshman Braelee Albert, played 19 minutes and scored three points.
TIP INS
Scottie Pippen Jr., wearing bright neon yellow sneakers, scored 11 for Vanderbilt. … Whitt's previous career high was 24 points twice this season. … Arkansas out-rebounded Vanderbilt 38-30 and forced 16 turnovers while committing just 7.
EARLIER
Arkansas 75, Vanderbilt 55 - Final
Jimmy Whitt scored a career-high 30 points and the Razorbacks cruised past Vanderbilt to improve to 3-1 in conference play ahead of a huge showdown with Kentucky on Saturday.
Whitt reached 30 points (14/23 FG) with a steal and breakaway dunk with roughly one minute to play. He finished with seven rebounds as well.
Reggie Chaney added 14 points, Desi Sills had 13 and Isaiah Joe 12. Mason Jones finished with one point and eight assists.
We'll have much more from tonight's game a little bit later on WholeHogSports.com.
Arkansas 69, Vanderbilt 52 - 3:07 left
The Razorbacks are on cruise control. Jimmy Whitt is still one score away from the 30-point mark. He would be the third Arkansas player to pour in 30-plus this season.
Mason Jones has not had one of his patented nights offensively in terms of scoring, but he's been a terrific distributor once again. I have him with eight assists. He had nine at Ole Miss.
Reggie Chaney is back in the game after getting treatment for leg cramps.
Arkansas 61, Vanderbilt 45 - 7:51 left
The Razorbacks are pulling away and looking pretty good doing it. Jimmy Whitt is now up to 28 points following a great bounce pass on the interior from Mason Jones. He finished through a bit of contact, but no whistle.
Isaiah Joe has nine points, all in the second half on 3 of 6 from deep. Desi Sills, too, has four points since the break, giving him 11 on the night. He's in double figures for the second time in four SEC games. He has 8 and 9 in the other games.
Reggie Chaney reached double figures as well thanks to a really strong offensive rebound and putback at the rim. He exited the game moments later with what appeared to be cramps. Nonetheless, he's been fantastic tonight. The Razorbacks need a repeat effort from him this weekend.
Maxwell Evans has not scored for Vanderbilt in the second half. Saben Lee has kind of taken over offensively. He has 10 since the break.
Arkansas 52, Vanderbilt 38 - 11:57 left
Jimmy Whitt has been sensational tonight in every way. He's scored a career-high 26 on 12 of 29 from the floor. He is the lone Razorbacks player in double figures.
Whitt has scored nine of Arkansas' last 11 points, mostly at the rim. Desi Sills also added a bucket. He has nine points, six rebounds, two assists and two steals.
Mason Jones is still scoreless. Eric Musselman ripped into him once a few minutes ago for not launching a 3 from the left wing. He's been very hesitant tonight.
Arkansas 43, Vanderbilt 33 - 15:49 left
Isaiah Joe misfired on his first four 3-point attempts tonight, but he's starting to heat up.
His first triple of the night came from right around the edges of the state outline on the floor, then he bombed another from a similar distance. He's got six of Arkansas' nine second-half points right now.
Saben Lee leads the Commodores with three points in the second half on a monster dunk over Adrio Bailey, plus the foul. It was pretty vicious, I can't lie.
Arkansas 34, Vanderbilt 28 - Halftime
Jimmy Whitt scored a game-high 17 points to lead the Razorbacks in the first half. He was dynamite in the midrange, knocking down 5 of 9 attempts by my count. He also attempted and missed his first 3 of the season at the buzzer.
Reggie Chaney came to play tonight as well. He scored a season-high eight points and handed out a pair of assists in nine first-half minutes. I loved his energy, and I'm sure Eric Musselman did, too.
Arkansas got nothing in terms of scoring from Isaiah Joe and Mason Jones, but here it is leading at the break. They are a combined 0 of 8 from the floor and 0 of 7 from 3-point range. I believe it is the first time they have both been held scoreless in the same half.
Desi Sills played well, too. He finished the half with seven points, five rebounds and two assists. He's so fearless, not just in transition but rebounding the ball as well. Adrio Bailey added two points at the line.
Vanderbilt shot 40 percent (10/25) prior to halftime, but turned the ball over eight times. Maxwell Evans has a team-high 16 points, and Scotty Pippen Jr. seven points, four boards and four assists through 17 minutes.
Only three players - Evans, Pippen, Disu - have scored for the Commodores. Outside of those three, the rest of the team is 0 of 10 from the floor and 0 of 7 beyond the arc.
Arkansas 27, Vanderbilt 20 - 3:52 left first half
Jimmy Whitt has been great tonight, scoring from a different area of the floor each time. He's got a pair of big dunks and is 3 of 5 on mid-range jumpers, giving him a game-high 13 points at the final media timeout of the half.
Whitt has the last five points for the Razorbacks, who have still gotten zero from Isaiah Joe and Mason Jones. They are a combined 0 of 6 shooting.
Vanderbilt is 2 of 10 from 3-point range and has turned the ball over seven times.
Arkansas 22, Vanderbilt 19 - 7:57 left first half
Love the energy from Reggie Chaney tonight. He's got a season-high eight points on 3 of 3 from the floor and an assist in his eight minutes off the bench. Chaney also knocked down a pair of free throws - his first since the Valpo game.
Desi Sills hit Vandy with a filthy spin move in the lane in transition for a bucket. Sills has four points, three rebounds and two dimes in his 12 minutes.
Isaiah Joe and Mason Jones have not scored yet. Have to give credit to the Razorbacks' role players - and Jimmy Whitt - for carrying the load right now.
Vanderbilt 17, Arkansas 14 - 10:51 left first half
The Commodores have hit 5 of their last 7 shots and hold a slim lead nearing the midway point in the first half.
Maxwell Evans, Scotty Pippen and Dylan Disu are a combined 7 of 8 from the floor and have all of Vandy's points.
Arkansas is not shooting the ball well to this point. The Razorbacks are 6 of 16 from the floor and 0 of 6 from deep. Isaiah Joe, who scored 34 points last time out, is 0 of 3 himself. Desi Sills also threw up a brick earlier.
Jimmy Whitt leads Arkansas with six points, and Reggie Chaney has four off the bench, including a big dunk.
Arkansas 8, Vanderbilt 5 - 15:59 left first half
There wasn't just a ton of energy in the building in the opening three-plus minutes, but scores from Desi Sills and Jimmy Whitt brought the crowd to its feet prior to the first media timeout of the night.
Whitt has four points to lead Arkansas, Sills has a layup and Adrio Bailey knocked down a pair at the line. He is now 5 of 5 at the line in SEC play.
Maxwell Evans has all five points for the Commodores, including a corner 3 in front of the Razorbacks' bench.
Pregame
Arkansas' starting lineup: Isaiah Joe, Mason Jones, Jimmy Whitt, Desi Sills and Adrio Bailey.
This group will start for the ninth consecutive game. The group continues to be solid defensively, allowing .84 points per possession this season over 277 possessions. Offensively, it is shooting 35.5 percent from 3-point range and turns the ball over on 11.4 percent of possessions, which is a great number.
Joe is coming off one of the best games of his Arkansas career, a 34-point outing at Ole Miss on Saturday. Jones finished with 13 points and a career-high nine assists. Again, it will be interesting to see how Eric Musselman handles minutes for forwards behind Bailey. Jeantal Cylla played 11 minutes against the Rebels, his most in nearly two months. We'll see if that continues or if Reggie Chaney is used more.
Vanderbilt's starters: Scotty Pippen Jr., Maxwell Evans, Braelee Albert, Dylan Disu and Ejike Obinna.
The Commodores, under first-year coach Jerry Stackhouse, are without leading scorer Aaron Nesmith and 6-8 forward Clevon Brown, who has not played since Dec. 14. Saben Lee, however, gives Vanderbilt some firepower offensively, although he will apparently come off the bench tonight. He has the 31st-best assist rate in the country, according to KenPom.
This game will feature the SEC's worst offensive and defensive rebounding teams in conference play. The Commodores will also floor the league's worst defense in terms of efficiency. Vanderbilt has allowed 115.9 points per 100 possessions through two games.