'He’s one of the best players in the country': Notae shines again on national stage

Arkansas guard JD Notae dunks the ball over Kentucky defenders during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game Saturday, Feb. 26, 2022, in Fayetteville, Ark. (AP Photo/Michael Woods)

FAYETTEVILLE — When asked Saturday for his thoughts on the contributions of Arkansas’ complementary players, Razorbacks coach Eric Musselman first mentioned the number of shots JD Notae attempted.

Musselman didn’t bring up the star guard’s 26 field goal attempts because he was irritated with or upset by the volume. Plain and simple, he knew 18th-ranked Arkansas needed the ball in the hands of its best playmaker in order to take down No. 6 Kentucky.

“We felt that might be a way for us to win,” Musselman said.

Notae, who is making a push not only for SEC player of the year but an All-America nod, hit 13 of those 26 looks and scored 30 points in the Razorbacks’ 75-73 victory over the Wildcats at Bud Walton Arena. He came up one point shy of matching a season high set at Texas A&M on Jan. 8.

The senior has scored 30-plus points three times this season and 20 or more in 10 games.

“I think he’s one of the best players in the country,” Musselman said. “He’s growing, too. He’s been a scorer his whole life. He’s a natural 2-guard that needs to continue to convert to play that 1 spot, and he continues to get better. He’s going to keep getting better, too, because he’s seeing the game a little bit different as a point guard of late.

“Tonight, we needed him to score a lot.”

Kentucky, a top-20 team nationally in defensive efficiency entering the weekend, according to KenPom data, found out firsthand how nightmarish of a cover is Notae. He had arguably his best game of the season in terms of getting to the rim and in the midrange.

Of Notae’s 13 scores, 8 came following drives toward the rim on 14 attempts. He also added his first dunk of the season and knocked down 3 of 4 two-point jumpers.

The guard had a stretch in the first half in which he knocked down five consecutive shots. It was his longest string of consecutive makes since Arkansas’ win at LSU in January.

Then, in the second half following a 2-of-10 stretch, he made four in a row.

“(I was) just really taking what the defense gives me,” Notae said. “(They) put Oscar (Tshiebwe) in a pick-and-roll, knowing he's not that good of a pick-and-roll defender. I just get to my spots and just trust in the work that we put in each and every day.

“I just go out there and play with confidence.”

Stanley Umude, the transfer from South Dakota who added 13 points on 5-of-10 shooting and 3 of 5 from three-point range, agreed with Musselman about Notae’s talent. He added that playing with a gifted all-around player like Notae has been special for him.

Notae can at times receive criticism for his gunner mentality, but the Razorbacks are 6-1 in games in which he attempts 20-plus shots, including 4-1 in SEC play.

He is averaging 22.5 points in four games against teams ranked in The Associated Press Top 25.

“It’s incredible,” Umude said of Notae’s play. “It’s comforting knowing you are going into a game with a guy like that, playing in a big game. He takes pressure off all of us just knowing what he can do out there, and it shows what type of player he is showing up in these big games like this.

“(He was) 50% and (scored) 30 points against one of the best teams in the nation at home.”

Notae did more than just pester Kentucky as a scorer. He was strong as a distributor and in Arkansas’ pick-and-roll actions, finishing with eight assists, his most in a game since Nov. 17 against Northern Iowa (9).

His assists led to 17 points for the Razorbacks, and he spread them among 5 different teammates — Jaylin Williams 3, Trey Wade 2, and Au’Diese Toney 1, Umude 1 and Kamani Johnson 1.

“I thought he made some great reads tonight after we addressed maybe a step-back three that we weren’t real pumped up about,” Musselman said. “And then he comes back and makes two dimes to roll men and gets easy baskets for us.”

Five of Notae’s assists came in the second half. He had three in the final 6:40, including on Williams' leaner that put the Razorbacks ahead for good at 71-70 with 1:22 remaining.

“That's big-time,” Umude said. “Whenever the defense collapses, he does a good job of finding us. We just know we put a lot of trust in him and we know we rely on him to do a lot of things for us. 

“It’s not surprising to see him put up numbers like this with the work he puts in every day.”