FAYETTEVILLE — With 5:22 remaining in the second half Wednesday, JD Notae called game.
After Arkansas freshman forward Jaylin Williams rebounded the second of two Alabama misses inside the arc, Razorbacks coach Eric Musselman dialed up a halfcourt set for Notae, the transfer guard who had not played more than 18 minutes in three of the team’s previous four games.
Notae began the action at the top of the key before cutting toward the left corner. Once in the left short corner, he ran the baseline in Jordan Bruner's – his defender – blind spot and circled around to the right wing.
One short pass from Jalen Tate and a perfect stroke from the perimeter later, Arkansas led the No. 6 team in the country 70-54. It was the Razorbacks’ largest lead of the game.
“He's a fearless shot taker and shot maker,” Arkansas guard Moses Moody said. “He hits those shots, and he never hesitates to take them."
Notae’s lack of hesitation to launch shots has come back to bite him at certain points in the season. In the Razorbacks’ first 13 games, he shot 42% on 12.5 field goal attempts.
After a season-high 20 attempts in Arkansas’ blowout loss at LSU in January, Notae’s role noticeably changed offensively. In the nine games that followed prior to Wednesday, he was putting up 7.8 shots per outing.
But the Razorbacks did not see an uptick in his efficiency. He made only 27.1% of his looks in that span.
His gunner mentality, though, paid off against the Crimson Tide and he finished with 12 points on 4 of 9 shooting, including 2 of 4 from three-point range, as freshman Davonte Davis battled foul trouble.
He added three assists as well, his most in a game in six weeks. Arkansas outscored Alabama by 13 points in his seven second-half minutes.
“We’re just trying to kind of teach him how to be a point guard and what a good shot is,” Musselman said. “But he’s an explosive player. He’s a guy the opposition really has to talk about in their game prep.
“He’s perfectly capable of having huge scoring nights.”
Notae rebounded an Alabama three-point miss in the second half and moments later assisted on a Moody triple to put Arkansas up nine with eight minutes to play. He then stopped on a dime and canned a midrange jumper, and the Razorbacks led by 11.
His final bucket, which essentially sealed the win with five minutes to play, was his second consecutive make on a catch-and-shoot three-point attempt. Dating back to Feb. 2, he had missed his previous seven.
The first make from three-point range came late in the first half and less than five seconds after he missed a left-corner three.
"You all know JD is the spark," Moody added. "Whenever you need a bucket, look his way. He always comes in at the right time and takes the shots we need."
According to HoopLens analytics, Alabama scored 1.29 points per possession when Notae was in the lineup for Arkansas, but the guard still made key plays defensively.
He took a charge on Crimson Tide guard Jaden Shackelford for his third foul of the game, and both of his steals led to points. Notae converted an and-1 in transition after picking off an Alabama pass, then his deflection on the perimeter sparked another runout and he hit 1 of 2 free throws.
He ranks No. 8 in SEC play in steal rate, according to KenPom, at 3.4%. Notae also averages a team-high 2.5 steals per 40 minutes in conference play as a result of great defensive anticipation.
“I think he could be much more of a defensive problem for opponents," Musselman said in January. "He is a problem for them jumping in passing lanes and so on and so forth, but we want him to continue to get better.
“That’s a point of emphasis because, again, I think he’s a great reader on defense on passing angles and he’s got long arms. I think he should aspire to be an even better defender than what he’s shown at times. He can block shots at 6-1 and is really good at getting his hands on balls.”