FAYETTEVILLE — One thing is a near-absolute certainty when Arkansas wing Au’Diese Toney is mentioned in a pre-game or post-game press conference.
In the most complimentary way possible, either Toney’s teammates or Arkansas coach Eric Musselman — or both — will bring up the fact that Arkansas never runs designed plays for the Pittsburgh transfer. Musselman did so again Wednesday after the 77-76 victory over LSU.
On the offensive end, Toney made countless effort plays and finished with 18 points on 6-of-9 shooting, including 3 of 3 following cuts to the rim. The 18 points were his most in an SEC game since Jan. 4. vs. Vanderbilt (20).
“I think the biggest thing (with his cutting) is just an innate ability to read the defense, an ability to slash and find open gaps, and then you add in the fact that a lot of eyes are on JD (Notae),” Musselman said Thursday. “When teams focus the game plan on JD, it opens things up for guys like Au’Diese, who can really read the backside of the defense. He’s usually playing underneath the defense in a lot of areas.
“He’s great against a zone (with his) cutting. Everyone has a gift. Like, he has a real gift to offensive rebound and a real gift to be crafty and sneaky around the rim without the ball in his hands.”
In the last 4 games, Toney has scored 7 times on 10 shots after a cut. But for all the praise he receives when his activity is at its peak with the Razorbacks on offense, Toney is perhaps more integral to the success Arkansas has had defensively during its 14-1 stretch.
Given his length and athleticism, he routinely draws challenging matchups with opposing teams’ premier perimeter players or ball handlers. Musselman’s team leads the SEC in defensive efficiency, according to KenPom data, allowing 92.4 points per 100 possessions, and Toney is a key reason why.
He was at his best Wednesday against LSU. Toney led the charge in the Razorbacks limiting the effectiveness of Tigers guard Xavier Pinson, who finished 5 of 21 from the floor for 12 points.
With Toney as the nearest Arkansas defender, Pinson missed all five of his shots.
Toney defended 10 LSU shots and allowed one score. Excluding the second Missouri game in which he played only six minutes, it was the fewest field goals he had given up since the 77-68 win over West Virginia on Jan. 29 (1 of 8).
“He’s been phenomenal defensively,” Musselman said. “I think when you look back to when we changed the starting lineup, one of the biggest things was he was now guarding perimeter guys instead of interior guys. It made us bigger, stronger, more physical at the guard spot.
“We started blocking shots at the guard spot. There’s not many teams that can block shots at the 1 and the 2.”
According to CBB Analytics, the Razorbacks reject 4.3 shots per 40 minutes when Toney plays, up from 3.2 when he sits. Arkansas’ block percentage also rises 3.5% — the second-highest figure on the team behind Jaylin Williams — in league play when he is in the lineup.
After not blocking a shot for 9 consecutive games from Jan. 18 to Feb. 15, Toney has 4 blocks in the last 4 games — 2 each against Kentucky and Tennessee.
The Wildcats (7%) and Volunteers (9.4%) are Nos. 1 and 3, respectively, in SEC games in terms of percentage of two-point attempts that are blocked, according to KenPom.
“JD is a pretty good shot blocker for his position,” Musselman said, “and certainly Au’Diese can change the trajectory of shots based on his length and athleticism.”