FAYETTEVILLE — In Arkansas’ 76-60 victory over Penn on Nov. 28, Razorbacks guard JD Notae scored a game-high 28 points.
It went down as his second-best scoring game of the season and in an Arkansas uniform. A gunner who has taken 30.9% of the Razorbacks’ shots when on the floor this season, according to KenPom data, Notae had notched another 20-plus-point outing and did so without making a three-pointer and on only four free throw attempts.
The key to his scoring outburst was a career-high 13 made two-point field goals, including 10 buckets at the rim on 12 attempts. The 13 scores inside the three-point line were the most by an Arkansas player since Jimmy Whitt had 14 against Vanderbilt on Jan. 15, 2020.
Daniel Gafford and Bobby Portis – both now in the NBA – are the only other Razorbacks to reach that mark since 2010-11.
For Notae, the Sunday afternoon game kicked off what has been an at-times masterful display of pressuring the rim in Arkansas’ last four games. And his aggressive stretch has been especially valuable when considering early struggles from three-point range.
Through nine games, Notae is 18 of 67 beyond the arc — 11 of 37 on catch-and-shoot threes and 7 of 30 on attempts off the dribble. Most damaging to his three-point percentage are off-the-dribble looks from the left wing, where he is currently 2 of 15 after an 0-of-9 start.
JD Notae catch-and-shoot 3s by location
Left corner: 0/4
Left wing: 3/14
Top of key: 2/5
Right wing: 5/11
Right corner: 1/3
JD Notae off-the-dribble 3s by location
Left corner: 0/0
Left wing: 2/15
Top of key: 2/4
Right wing: 3/10
Right corner: 0/1
Razorbacks coach Eric Musselman has called for his team to attempt far fewer threes off the dribble in favor of a heavier dose of spot-up looks. Another option for Arkansas offensively is to attack the rim, and Notae has subscribed to that plan in recent games.
Twenty-nine of Notae’s 48 two-point scores this season have come since the Razorbacks’ return from the Hall of Fame Classic in Kansas City, and 25 (on 31 shots) were made at or around the rim. He has provided those field goals in a multitude of ways.
Notae has made 10 layups and runners on 14 attempts following a drive and added 4 baskets on 5 attempts as a result of off-ball cuts to the rim. Two scores came on drop-off passes and one immediately after grabbing an offensive rebound.
He has been stellar in the open floor, too, finishing 4 of 5 transition layups and all 4 attempts following a steal. According to CBB Analytics, Notae averages 10.0 points per game in the paint and 3.9 on fast-break opportunities.
Both marks place him in the 98th percentile nationally.
“If you take his six threes (against Charlotte) away, his field goal percentage is about 65-70%, probably,” Musselman said. “We've got to eliminate the off-the-bounce threes right now. That's what's hurting us. But you always play to your strengths.
“Right now, we're doing a good job moving the basketball, and we're doing a good job attacking in transition. We want to continue to do that."
If nothing else, Notae's play of late has been a showcase for the depth of his ability to score and how effective he can be on close-in looks at 6-2. Despite shooting 4 of 22 from three-point range, he is averaging 19.8 points in Arkansas' last four games and serving as an offensive catalyst.