Not a subscriber? Subscribe for free for 30 days w/code HAWGS30
NEW USERS | RETURNING USERS

FAYETTEVILLE — Jimmy Whitt Jr. was a big reason why Arkansas snapped its two-game skid with a win over TCU on Saturday.

His 20 points jump off the page, but it was his play on the other end of the court - which doesn’t show up in the box score - that made the biggest impact.

Needing someone to slow down Desmond Bane, the Horned Frogs’ best player, head coach Eric Musselman called on his senior graduate transfer to face guard him the entire game and he delivered an “awesome” performance.

Never coming off the floor, Whitt held Bane to just eight points. Most of the time, he prevented TCU’s star from touching the ball, as he was just 3 of 6 from the floor.

“I’ve been around two NBA level defenders: Cody Martin, who’s obviously in the NBA now, and Jimmy Whitt,” Musselman said. “Those are two NBA defenders that I’ve coached at the college level. I don’t know that there’s a college guard defensively that can do anymore than Jimmy Whitt’s doing.”

Martin played for Musselman at Nevada before becoming a second-round pick and playing for the Charlotte Hornets. Whitt, on the other hand, is not being mentioned as a future NBA player.

Instead, he was tasked with guarding a potential draft pick in Bane. Despite the Horned Frogs sometimes running him off triple screens and doing everything they could to get him the ball, the star guard - outside of back-to-back threes in the first two minutes of the second half - couldn’t get going against the Razorbacks.