When the Arkansas Razorbacks basketball team (8-4, 0-0 SEC) enters Bud Walton Arena on Saturday to face off against the UNC Wilmington Seahawks (9-2, 0-0 CAA), the outcome will likely be determined by both team's benches.
"It’s really comforting to look down the bench and be able to have a go-to scorer," head coach Eric Musselman said on Thursday. "We did it with JD Notae a few years ago. If you just start your five scorers, or however you want to word it, and then you get down in a game, it puts you in a dilemma then."
As things currently stand, the Hogs rank seventh in the country in bench points per game at 37.75. In its most recent win against Abilene Christian, Arkansas scored 62 of its 83 points off the bench.
"We want it to correlate to our record," Musselman said. "If you look at our non-conference, it’s not been as much firepower as I hoped. Or, we’ve got to defend. Maybe we’ve got enough firepower off the bench, and defensively things got to change and get better."
The two biggest contributors to that feat are guards Khalif Battle and Tramon Mark. After starting in his first seven appearances as a Razorback, Mark has come off the bench in three of his last four games. Battle hasn't made a single start all year, but both players play enough minutes for it to not matter too much. The duo combined for 43 points against Abilene Christian.
"In all seriousness, those two guys scoring off the bench, those numbers are insane," Musselman said. "Our bench plus-minus has been great, especially of late. But having said that, we’ve got to put everything together through 40 minutes and we’ve got to figure out a way to generate more wins."
While Arkansas does excel in creating offense from its bench, UNC Wilmington is even better. Currently ranked first in the nation in bench points per game, the Seahawks generate 40.82 points from their substitutions which is a big reason why they're such a threat.
"Like I’ve mentioned, we’ve studied their substitution patterns," Musselman said. "Normally, we don’t study substitution patterns other than maybe a sixth or seventh man. If we’re studying their third-string center as well as their second-string center and see the impact they’ve had in different games, then obviously that shows you how deep they are.
"I haven’t mentioned No. 22, (Shemar Rathan) Mays, who comes off the bench as a backup point guard and he played minutes against Kentucky. He’s a guy that can make three balls, especially when you look in his career at his threes."
In its 80-73 win over No. 12 Kentucky on Dec. 2, UNC Wilmington scored 46 points off the bench. The Seahawks substituted five players at a time like a "hockey-line sub" according to Musselman. The Razorbacks will have to make the necessary adjustments to avoid a similar upset.
"The team that is coming into Bud Walton on Saturday uses their bench and is as deep as any team that we’ve played all year," Musselman said. "And probably as deep as any team we will play all season long, and uses their bench as effectively as any team that we’ve played all season and certainly anybody that will play."
Arkansas and UNC Wilmington will meet in the battle of the benches on Saturday in Fayetteville. The game will tip off at 4:00 p.m. and will be broadcast on the SEC Network.
