The theme of Arkansas' 65-63 win at South Carolina on Saturday was "road rage," and though the contest was closer than it likely should have been, the Hoop Hogs emerged with their first road win of the season.
Arkansas controlled a 13-point lead over the Gamecocks in the second half, but eventually South Carolina gained the lead at the 4:03 mark. A strong late-game defensive effort propelled the Razorbacks to their fourth straight conference win, but it probably should have come a bit easier.
"Yeah, road rage was our game theme coming into tonight," head coach Eric Musselman said. "We tried to do something to loosen the mood. I probably should have talked about it at halftime. I didn't. But I thought it helped us get off to a good start as we had a little bit of fun with it pregame."
A loss to South Carolina would've been detrimental to Arkansas' metrics, but the Hogs currently sit at No. 29 in the NET rankings and they are an 11-seed (last four byes) in Joe Lunardi's latest bracketology. Forward Jalen Graham said it didn't matter how it happened, it just mattered that they won.
"Our coach was talking about road rage, just having rage, we need this win, so we’re all happy," Graham said. "We’re all just glad we got the dub. No one really cares about the stats or what happened or how we got it. We’re just glad we got the dub."
A quick turnaround results in a tough Tuesday night matchup at a thriving Kentucky team, who were winners in six of their last seven games. If the Razorbacks want to get a resume-building win in front of a tough Rupp Arena crowd, they will need to keep up that road rage.
"Four (wins) in a row, that’ll boost anybody, any team," Graham said. "But we’ve got to stay humble and realize playing in Rupp Arena, it's a big deal. Not a lot of people win there, so we’ve got to play team basketball and come out with a dub."
The Wildcats boast a the nation's No. 19 adjusted offensive efficiency rating, and their offensive rebound percentage of 37.5% ranks 5th nationally, according to KenPom. A big reason for those rating is senior standout Oscar Tshiebwe, who is averaging a double-double with 15.9 points and an SEC-leading 13.6 rebounds per game.
"The biggest thing is he plays volleyball with offensive rebounds," Musselman said. "He's so quick off his feet. He draws fouls around the rim. All those things."
Allowing opponents offensive rebounds has been an issue of late for the Hogs, who gave up 32 combined offensive board to Texas A&M and South Carolina last week.
Though the Hogs boast a No. 13 ranking in adjusted defensive efficiency on KenPom, Kentucky has four players averaging double-digit points per game, including Antonio Reeves, who scores 13 points per game off the bench as a transfer from Illinois State.
"You've got to ID him as he crosses half court," Musselman said. "He's a really good transition 3-ball shooter. He and (CJ) Fredrick both stretch the defense out because of their ability to score the basketball. He can get really hot. Streaky shooter, a guy that was a focal point offensively at his prior university and a go-to guy prior to coming to Kentucky."
KenPom projects the Wildcats to beat the Hogs by a score of 72-70, and it gives the Razorbacks just a 41% chance to win the game. Getting a win at Rupp Arena will be tough, but it would be extremely beneficial for an Arkansas team that, like Kentucky, is trying to get off the bubble.
"Four SEC wins in a row," Ricky Council IV said. "We’re on a hot streak. Hopefully we’ll move up another spot in the standings, and Kentucky’s a good team. They started off the season slow. People were having their own comments about them, but they’re still a good team with a really good coach. So, I know they’re going to be ready to play, and we’ve got to be ready to play as well."
The Hogs and Wildcats will tipoff at 8 p.m. CT Tuesday inside Rupp Arena. The game will be televised on ESPN.
