Muss after Mizzou win: 'It was a team that was ready to play'
The Arkansas Razorbacks (11-10, 2-6 SEC) have not had the type of season they wanted to have, but Wednesday evening's 91-84 victory for the Hogs at Missouri was a great example of a team that is still playing together.
Led by the efforts of Makhi Mitchell (19 points, 14 rebounds) and Jalen Graham (13 points, 4 steals) in the frontcourt, plus Tramon Mark (22 points) and Keyon Menifield Jr. (16 points) in the backcourt, the Razorbacks picked up their second conference win in convincing fashion.
RELATED: Mitchell’s birthday double-double paves way for victory at Missouri
"I thought we played great basketball," head coach Eric Musselman said postgame. "There was a renewed sense of urgency, a focus, a disposition pregame. It was a team that was ready to play. I’m proud of their toughness tonight, proud of the way that we defended in the first half.
"In the second half when you’re playing with a lead defensively, you don’t want to put them at the foul line and have the clock stopped, so defensively we’ve got some things we have to clean up before we go to Baton Rouge on Saturday for an early tip. But the team had fun tonight. You could see it. They competed, they had fun while they were out there and just, again, when’s the last time we had 10 steals in a game this year?"
To answer Musselman's question, the Razorbacks hadn't notched 10 steals in a game since the 79-70 loss to Oklahoma on Dec. 9. Arkansas has recorded 10 steals just one other time this season — the season-opening victory over Alcorn State on Nov. 6.
Arkansas also knocked down 29 shots from the field, which is easily its best showing in conference play. That total also tied for the season-high along with the 97-83 win over Furman on Dec. 4. The Hogs' 119.1 offensive efficiency rating was their best mark of SEC play.
"I thought our offense was really good, I mean, 91 points on the road is a large number and I thought we played consistently offensively both halves," Musselman said.
Arkansas scored 56 points in the paint and it scored on 58.9% of its possessions. Mitchell and Mark both knocked down eight shots from the field, and five of Mitchell's 14 boards came on the offensive end.
"The coaches gave us a good game plan," Mitchell said postgame. "We call it zone 1 points which is paint points, that’s what we wanted mostly. Huge credit to the coaching staff."
WATCH: Makhi Mitchell postgame - Arkansas 91, Missouri 84
Musselman began his postgame press conference by saying points in the paint were "more than a point of emphasis."
"It was a mandate to score in what we call zone 1," Musselman said. "If you settled for threes tonight, you probably were going to come out and not go back in. We did not want to take a lot of three-point shots tonight. This Razorback basketball team for the last 80 minutes of play has played really good basketball.
"Tonight’s 40 minutes, we played very well against Kentucky. Lost the game, they got loose on some threes, and the last four minutes of that game not good tonight. But to go on the road and lead for 37 minutes is really, really hard to do. Really proud of us offensively scoring 47 and 44 in the two halves. I thought we did a phenomenal job sharing the basketball."
In the backcourt, Menifield and Mark both scored in double-digits, but freshman Layden Blocker earned the start and added nine points, three rebounds, two assists and one steal in 29 minutes. Him stepping up, along with Menifield's outing after not playing against Kentucky, was big for the Hogs.
ALSO READ: Point guard play was 'A-plus' for Arkansas in win at Mizzou
"Point guard play was phenomenal," Musselman said. "I give it an A-plus... Keyon the last two days at practice, he was focused, so he got the nod tonight getting 32 minutes. His free throws were very important going 6 for 6 and the ball flows really well when he’s out there. I thought he made a couple of great pocket passes that might not have gone down as assists because maybe one of our bigs took two or three dribbles."
Up next, the Hogs will travel to Baton Rouge, Louisiana, for a matchup against the LSU Tigers on Saturday. Tipoff is set for 11 p.m. CT and it will be broadcast on ESPN2.