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FAYETTEVILLE — Arkansas could be without its second-leading scorer for an extended period of time.
Sophomore guard Isaiah Joe, who is averaging 16.0 points per game this season, had right knee arthroscopic debridement surgery Tuesday and will be out “indefinitely,” the UA announced about an hour before the Razorbacks’ 79-76 overtime loss to No. 11 Auburn on Tuesday.
Head coach Eric Musselman said he visited Joe - one of the top sharpshooters in the country - at his apartment earlier in the day, but did not lay out any kind of timeline for his possible return to the court.
“He was in good spirits; his mom and dad were with him,” Musselman said. “I don't have any medical… I'm not educated in that field, so it's just going to be a matter of how he feels and his rehab going forward.”
Tuesday was just the second game Joe has missed during his career and they came within four games of each other.
He first experienced knee inflammation following his 34-point effort in Arkansas’ win at Ole Miss on Jan. 11. After shooting 8 of 26 (30.8 percent) from the floor over the next two games, Joe was limited to just five points in a loss at Mississippi State on Jan. 22.
It was during that game, according to a statement by Musselman, that he reaggravated the injury, prompting him to sit out the TCU game. Without Joe, the Razorbacks beat the Horned Frogs 78-67.
Although he managed to score 16 points in last Wednesday’s loss to South Carolina, Joe was obviously not healthy and struggled in Saturday’s game at Alabama. He was held scoreless for the first time in his collegiate career despite playing 21 minutes.
Without him again, Arkansas had an 11-point lead over the No. 11 Tigers on Tuesday, only to squander it over the final six minutes and lose in overtime. Musselman was not happy with the loss, but - like the first time - he didn’t think missing Joe hurt the team too much.
“I think we played phenomenal, I really do,” Musselman said. “I think (against) TCU we were great. I thought we played really good tonight.”
In Joe’s absence, junior Mason Jones scored 40 points and nearly helped the Razorbacks notch a signature win.
The SEC’s leading scorer, he’s now averaging 20.7 points. That would rank seventh on Arkansas’ all-time list for a single season. If Joe is out for a while, he’ll likely have an even heavier workload.
“I really don’t know how tough it’s going to be, to be honest, because Isaiah brings so much,” Jones said. “He’s one of the best players in the country. Having Isaiah tonight, we probably win this game by 10 or 15, but can’t make excuses.”
A native of Fort Smith, Joe is one of the most prolific three-point shooters in school history. He broke the the single-season UA record with 113 threes last season and, even though his percentage has dipped from 41.4% to 34.0%, he was on pace to surpass that mark again this year.
At the halfway point of SEC play in his first year at Arkansas, though, Musselman said he isn’t dwelling on losing one of his star players at a critical point of the season.
“I'm not going to sit here and say I'm any more concerned tonight than I was two nights ago or eight,” Musselman said. “I’m concerned every game on our preparation and trying to get the guys ready to play.”
The Razorbacks will play their third game without Joe at Missouri on Saturday. Tipoff is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. and the game will be televised on the SEC Network.
