Hogs lead wire to wire, win by 21 at Vandy

Vanderbilt's Ejike Obinna (50) and guard Trey Thomas, center, battle for a loose ball with Arkansas guard Desi Sills (3) during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game Saturday, Jan. 23, 2021, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/Mark Zaleski)

— Moses Moody scored 26 points with eight rebounds Jalen Tate scored 25 and Arkansas led all the way in a 92-71 win over Vanderbilt on Saturday.

D.J. Harvey scored 16 points and Scotty Pippen Jr. scored 15 for Vanderbilt. Vanderbilt was without the services of sophomore Dylan Disu due to contact tracing for covid-19.

Moody scored four points as Arkansas built a 9-0 lead in the first three minutes. The Razorbacks extended the lead to 18-8 before the Commodores scored seven straight to close within three. Ejike Obinna sank a pair of foul shots and threw down a dunk to narrow the deficit to 18-15 with 11:29 before halftime.

Vance Jackson's 3-pointer capped a 9-3 Arkansas run that put the Razorbacks up 40-30. Tate's 3 with a minute before the break made it 43-31, and Arkansas finished the half up 45-35. Justin Smith's layup with 14:54 remaining made it a 57-46 advantage and the Razorbacks led by double figures the rest of the way.

Arkansas had a 39-29 rebounding edge, in part a function of Disu's absence — the SEC's second-leading rebounder at 8.4 per game.

Disu and Pippen had been the only two Commodores to start every game this season while starting the last 24 games together. Disu had started 41 straight games. The only game he hadn’t started was the first game of his freshman year.

Vanderbilt returned to the court for the first time following the SEC canceling its Wednesday night game against Texas A&M due to not having enough players available.

The Razorbacks (12-4, 4-4 Southeastern Conference) have beaten Vanderbilt (4-7, 0-5) seven straight times and are 11-1 against the Commodores in their last 12 meetings.

EARLIER

FINAL — Arkansas wins its second straight game in league play, handling Vanderbilt 92-71. Moses Moody had 26 points, Jalen Tate added 25 points and eight assists. Justin Smith finished with 12 points and seven rebounds. D.J. Harvey had 16 points, Scotty Pippen Jr. with 15 on 14 shots. Razorbacks assisted on 22 of 36 buckets.

1:18, 2H — Desi Sills assists to Jalen Tate for a layup. Tate has 25 points. Moses Moody has 26. Arkansas leads 90-71.

2:01, 2H — Moses Moody with a great pass late in the shot clock to Desi Sills, who adds a layup. Razorbacks lead by 16.

3:03, 2H — JD Notae drives the lane late in the shot clock, gets denied, but Moses Moody grabs the offensive rebound and finishes, plus the foul. He hits the free throw. He’s got 24 points. Been terrific all day. Moody is 9 of 15 from the floor. Arkansas has its biggest lead at 20, 86-66.

3:45, 2H — Desi Sills fouls a Vanderbilt player beyond the arc prior to releasing the shot. Sills almost jumped over him, but landed on him. Not a great foul. No need for that aggressiveness at this point. Razorbacks take a 19-point lead into the final media timeout of the day. Jalen Tate leads the way with 23 points and eight assists. Moses Moody has 21. Razorbacks look to be finishing this game with a small lineup – no Justin Smith, Jaylin Williams or Connor Vanover.

4:06, 2H — Jalen Tate is fouled, sending him to the line. He missed the free throw, but Vance Jackson rebounds, and Tate winds up with another bucket. He has 23 points. Arkansas up 83-64.

5:18, 2H — JD Notae finds Moses Moody for a short jumper. Moody now has 23 points, and Arkansas’ lead is 81-64.

5:37, 2H — Vanderbilt has scored four straight points to trim their deficit to 79-64. Commodores call for time after Scotty Pippen Jr. assists on a layup off a Devo Davis turnover. Shaky shot selection from Jalen Tate and Desi Sills in Arkansas’ last two possessions, too. Tate took a contested 2-point jumper from the left pocket, and Sills jacked up a stepback 3 on the right wing. That’ll drive Eric Musselman crazy. He just wants to milk the clock and get out of Nashville. Moses Moody and Tate each have 21 points.

7:20, 2H — Jalen Tate hit both free throws out of the timeout, and Arkansas leads by 19 after he gets a floater to drop.

8:00, 2H — Justin Smith played solid defense on D.J. Harvey in the lane but he draws a whistle and hits a tough jumper. Jalen Tate, on the other end, grabs an offensive rebound and is fouled attempting a layup. He will be at the line when play resumes. Tate has 17 points. Razorbacks up 75-60 at the under-8 timeout.

8:43, 2H — Moses Moody with a great cut down the middle of the floor on a sideline out of bounds play. Jalen Tate finds him in the lane, and he draws a foul. He hits both free throws. Arkansas’ lead is 75-57. Moody has 19 points on 7 of 12 shooting.

9:00, 2H — Vance Jackson hit his second 3 of the game from the right wing. Assisted by Moses Moody. He’s deadly on the right side of the floor. Jackson was ready to play his minutes well today. Arkansas up 73-55.

9:41, 2H — Jaylin Williams is stripped on the perimeter by Scotty Pippen Jr. Commodores turn the ball over moments later and Desi Sills finds Jalen Tate for a layup. Arkansas up 70-53.

11:22, 2H — Jalen Tate hits his third 3 of the game. He has 15 points and 8 assists. Later, he finds Desi Sills for a score. Arkansas’ lead is 17. Tate has tied a season-high with three made 3s. He is one off his career-high.

11:50, 2H — Devo Davis hits a left-elbow jumper and is fouled. He missed the free throw. Arkansas is up 63-51 at the under-12 timeout. Moses Moody just dove on the floor for a loose ball. He’s doing it all today. He has 17 points and six rebounds. Jalen Tate and Justin Smith also have 12 points and are flirting with double-doubles. Tate with seven assists (one turnover) and Smith with seven rebounds.

12:37, 2H — Arkansas struggles to come up with a defensive rebound and Vanderbilt scores a layup, plus the foul. Commodores down 61-51 after a 5-0 run.

13:32, 2H — Moses Moody drives the lane and adds a layup. Moody has a game-high 17 points on an efficient 7 of 11 shooting. Big-time bounce back game from him after scoring just five points on Wednesday. This is the Moody we’ve become accustomed to seeing. Arkansas leads 61-46 after a Devo Davis layup.

14:47, 2H — Jalen Tate misses a short jumper, but Justin Smith is there to rebound it and get the stickback. Smith is up to 12 points and seven rebounds — five offensive. Razorbacks lead 57-46 at the under-16 media timeout.

15:25, 2H — Scotty Pippen misses a 3 from the right wing, rebounds the miss and finds a teammate for a corner 3. Commodores on a 5-0 run to cut their deficit to 55-46.

16:12, 2H — Desi Sills finds Justin Smith near the lane following a Vanderbilt score, and Smith is fouled at the rim. He hits both free throws. Razorbacks up 55-41 after a Smith dunk moments later. Jalen Tate up to seven assists.

17:17, 2H — Great change of pace from Moses Moody in transition and he adds a short jumper from the right short corner. Arkansas up 12, 51-39.

18:46, 2H — Connor Vanover assists on a Jalen Tate layup to push the lead back to 10. Tate then scored a layup in transition. Arkansas’ lead is 49-37. Tate has 12 points.

19:42, 2H — Scotty Pippen Jr. took Justin Smith off the bounce for a layup. Commodores cut their deficit to 8. He has nine points on 4 of 8 shooting.

HALF — Arkansas leads 45-35. Moses Moody has a game-high 13 points on 5 of 8 shooting. Jalen Tate has eight points and six assists. The Razorbacks have 14 assists on 17 buckets. Five Arkansas players have at least five points, including five from JD Notae and Connor Vanover, and six from Justin Smith. Smith also has five rebounds and two assists. Scotty Pippen Jr. and Maxwell Evans each have seven points for Vanderbilt.

:30, 1H — Connor Vanover adds a dunk off an assist from Vance Jackson. Razorbacks lead by 12.

1:02, 1H — Jalen Tate has eight points after his second 3 of the game. JD Notae credited with the assist. Notae has done a solid job driving with his head up and is looking for teammates on the perimeter. Arkansas up 43-31. Razorbacks have 13 assists on 16 buckets.

1:57, 1H — JD Notae called for a foul contesting a Vanderbilt 3. Commodores hit 1 of 3 free throws. Eric Musselman thought it was good shot defense from Notae, who has something of a knack for blocking shots even at 6-1.

2:29, 1H — Jalen Tate contests a Scotty Pippen Jr. 3-point attempt and forces an airball. Vance Jackson then hits a 3 from the right wing assisted by Tate. He has six assists. Arkansas up 40-30.

2:55, 1H — Connor Vanoer tries to swing the ball around the perimeter and throws the ball out of bounds. Vance Jackson now in the game for Arkansas.

3:27, 1H — Justin Smith blocks a Vanderbilt layup attempt and it turns into a runout opportunity for Arkansas. Moses Moody adds a layup and now has 13 points on 5 of 8 shooting. Razorbacks lead 37-29 at the under-4 media timeout. Smith has six points, five rebounds, two assists and one block so far. Arkansas is plus-11 when he is in the lineup. Jalen Tate has five points and five assists. Eleven assists on 14 scores for the Razorbacks. That's a great sign offensively.

4:28, 1H — Moses Moody hits the offensive glass after a missed layup and he gets fouled. He makes both shots at the line. Arkansas leads 35-27.

4:51,1H — Moses Moody has hit 4 of 6 shots so far, and he has a game-high nine points. Jalen Tate is up to four assists. Ten assists now on Arkansas’ 13 scores.

5:58, 1H — Scotty Pippen Jr. gets into the lane off the bounce and finds Clevon Brown under the rim for a layup, plus the foul. Arkansas’ lead is 31-27 after a missed free throw.

6:30, 1H — Maxwell Evans drives the lane and hits a runner, plus the foul. Devo Davis whistled for the foul. He completed the three-point play. Vandy trails 31-25.

7:08, 1H — D.J Harvey is called for an offensive foul on Moses Moody. Devo Davis then adds a short jumper on the other end. Arkansas’ lead is 31-23.

7:36, 1H — Arkansas turned Scotty Pippen Jr. over with a trap in the left corner, and Jalen Tate comes up with the errant pass and is fouled on the other end. He’ll have two free throws when play continues. Razorbacks lead 28-23. Moses Moody has seven points, Justin Smith six, JD Notae five. Arkansas has assisted on 9 of 11 scores to this point. Great ball movement in the early stages today. D.J. Harvey leads the Commodores with five early points.

8:39, 1H — Jalen Tate’s third assist of the game goes to JD Notae for a right-wing 3. Arkansas led by 8 before Vanderbilt knocked down a 3.

9:08, 1H — Jalen Tate assists on a Justin Smith layup. Smith was operating in the dunker spot on the baseline. He misses the free throw. Hogs lead 25-20.

9:19, 1H — Moses Moody misses a right-corner 3 then fouls Jordan Wright on a floater attempt from the SEC logo in the lane. He hits both free throws. Arkansas up 23-20.

10:11, 1H — Jaylin Williams hits JD Notae for a layup under the rim. Great vision by the freshman. He has the chance to be one of the better passing bigs Arkansas has had in a long time. Razorbacks up 23-18.

10:46, 1H — JD Notae drives the lane and finds Moses Moody in the right corner for a 3. Arkansas’ lead is 21-15.

11:45, 1H — Desi Sills has been issued a foul on a play that happened prior to the media timeout. It looks like Sills grabbed a Vandy player by the leg and kept him from getting down the floor normally. Kind of ticky-tack. Commodores hit two free throws to cut their deficit to 18-15.

11:45, 1H — Maxwell Evans knocks down Vanderbilt’s first 3 of the game to pull the Commodores within 18-11 at the under-12 media timeout. JD Notae turned the ball over driving in the lane and attempting to hit Desi Sills near the rim. Justin Smith has four points, three rebounds — two offensive — in the first eight minutes. He did not do much in practice following the Auburn game to give his swollen and sore right ankle some rest.

12:32, 1H — Desi Sills attacks the rim off the bounce and gets to the foul line, which was what got him going against Auburn. He splits the pair. Arkansas’ lead is 10. Jaylin Williams has checked into the game for Connor Vanover. JD Notae also in the lineup.

13:13, 1H — Desi Sills airballed a 3 from the right wing, but Justin Smith cleans it up with a rebound and putback. Arkansas up 17-8.

13:56, 1H — Devo Davis subs in and immediately finds Justin Smith for a layup. Razorbacks up 15-8. Jalen Tate split a pair of free throws out of the media timeout. Arkansas has five assists on six buckets so far.

15:10, 1H — Jalen Tate buries a right-corner 3 assisted by Justin Smith. Hogs up 12-8 at the first media timeout of the game. Moses Moody has four points to lead Arkansas, and Jalen Tate and Connor Vanover have three apiece. Scotty Pippen Jr. has four points for the Commodores.

15:30, 1H — Vanderbilt scores three times to cut Arkansas’ lead to 9-6. Moses Moody had a bad turnover in that sequence trying to make something happen off the bounce.

17:20, 1H — Justin Smith’s activity on the offensive glass results in a Connor Vanover 3 in the left corner. It is Vanover’s third 3 in conference play. That’s big. Moses Moody then adds a layup. Razorbacks out to a 9-0 lead, which is what you want to see vs. a shorthanded Vandy club.

18:25, 1H — Moses Moody gets into the lane and drills a floater from the SEC logo. Good start for him. He didn’t get his first bucket vs. Auburn until the second half. Arkansas up 4-0.

19:06, 1H — Desi Sills turned the ball over on his first touch of the game. He tried to squeeze an entry pass in to Justin Smith. But on Arkansas’ next possession, Jalen Tate hit Sills for a score at the rim.

Pregame

Arkansas’ starting lineup: Jalen Tate, Desi Sills, Moses Moody, Justin Smith and Connor Vanover.

The Razorbacks will look to continue their solid second-half play against Auburn today. Sills broke out of a big-time slump with 22 points against the Tigers on Wednesday. Entering that game he was 5 of 20 at the rim in January. He finished six times at the rim earlier in the week, and he also added a runner just outside the lane. Arkansas needs that same energy from him today.

Smith did not do much in practice the last two days after playing 27 minutes on Wednesday. With Vanderbilt thin along its frontline, this is an opportunity for him and the Razorbacks to take advantage on the interior. Vanover could use a bounce-back performance, too. He has largely been a non-factor the last four games, scoring just five points to go with seven rebounds and zero blocks.

Vanderbilt’s starters: Jordan Wright, Scotty Pippen, D.J. Harvey, Myles Stute and Clevon Brown.

Today is the Commodores’ first game since last Saturday. They had Wednesday’s game against Texas A&M called off due to covid-19-related reasons. Vanderbilt is 4-6 this season and 0-4 in SEC play. Jerry Stackhouse’s team is 4-3 at home.

Pippen is one of the league’s best playmaking guards. He is averaging 21.2 points and 5.3 assists per game. He has scored 18 points in all four of the Commodores’ conference games. He added a career-high 12 assists against Mississippi State on Jan. 9. Pippen is 3 of 18 from 3-point range in league play but has hit 35.1% from deep for the season.

The Commodores will be without Disu, who is averaging a team-high 8.4 rebounds per game and is second on the team in scoring at 13.3 per outing. He leads the conference in SEC-only games in defensive rebound rate, grabbing 25.2% of available defensive boards.

Stute, a 6-7 freshman, has hit 8 of 18 3-point attempts, and Trey Thomas, a 5-11 freshman guard, has knocked down 10 of 22 looks from deep. As a team, Vanderbilt is third in the league in 3-point percentage, but it ranks last finishing 2-point field goal attempts (44.6%).

The Commodores have allowed 118.9 points per 100 possessions in conference play. That figure, as you might imagine, is dead last in the SEC.