FAYETTEVILLE — For the sixth time in nine games on Tuesday, Chris Lykes provided Arkansas with a double-digit scoring effort off the bench.
The lightning-quick guard was one of four Razorbacks players in double figures with 13 points on 5 of 8 shooting, and he knocked down one of the team’s three three-pointers in the 86-66 victory over Charlotte. For good measure, Lykes added three assists, tied for his second most in a game this season.
In the early stages of Arkansas’ schedule, third-year coach Eric Musselman remarked in regards to Lykes’ sixth-man role that he has great comfort knowing a guard of his offensive ability is ready and available off his bench. Lykes is third on the team in scoring at 12.4 points per game.
He, too, has been a plus drawing fouls (6.3 per 40 minutes, according to KenPom) and converting at the free throw line, where he is shooting 82.4% one month into the season. But even better for Musselman entering Saturday’s game against Oklahoma in Tulsa, he can place Lykes in the lineup and know he is now flooring an improved defensive piece.
Lykes, in his coach’s eyes, put together his best game on that end against Charlotte.
“I thought he was a menace out there defensively,” Musselman said Tuesday. “There’s been times maybe where we needed Chris to get a little bit better. Tonight, he took a huge leap forward from a defensive standpoint, for sure.”
What Musselman found most impressive from Lykes was how he traced the basketball and jumped to the ball to be in help position. It helped him stay on the floor for 29 minutes — his most run since playing 31 minutes vs. Cincinnati — and come up with his fifth steal in December.
Musselman added that Lykes defended Charlotte star Jahmir Young, the focal point of the scouting report, for approximately six possessions. That matchup was not part of the game plan, but the 5-7 guard held his own.
"Chris kept going to him and I was wondering why," Musselman said. "But when he was on him he did a great job."
When Lykes was the nearest Razorbacks defender to a field goal attempt, the 49ers finished 1 of 6 from the floor and 0 of 3 from three-point range.
And according to Hoop Lens analytics, Arkansas’ defense allowed 0.87 points per possession over Lykes’ 54 possessions in the lineup. It gave up a respectable 1.00 PPP when he sat.
"I think a lot of the things (defensively), quite frankly, they're new terms to him," Musselman said. "It's a different philosophy to maybe what he's played at. It's going to be an adjustment period. Maybe now that we're nine games in, I think that ninth game he made a big jump.
"We've been sending him individual clips. He's done a really good job of executing what we want from a defensive standpoint."
For the season, lineups featuring Lykes have given up 0.90 PPP and turned opponents over on 21.9% of their possessions, per Hoop Lens. When he is off the floor, the Razorbacks’ PPP figure improves (0.87), but their defensive turnover rate drops 2.8%.
Arkansas guard Davonte Davis said he saw Lykes' defensive potential during the summer months when he was "really competitive" on the ball.
"He’s a wonderful defender," Davis added. "Off the ball, he had a couple of struggles, but he has gotten better, for sure. As long as he keeps doing those small things on the defensive end such as jumping to the ball when they want, he’s going to be even better.
"He’s going to be a menace to society once it comes to the end of (the season), because he can guard 94 feet, which helps him out a lot."