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Arkansas discovered in its season opener that being down two bodies can make a world of difference.
In game No. 2 of SEC play, the Razorbacks may get those bodies back.
Hogs guard JD Notae missed Wednesday’s loss at Mississippi State because of an undisclosed illness. Forward Kamani Johnson missed because he was – and still is – suspended from the team. Notae is the league’s second-leading scorer. Johnson had been coming off his best game of the season.
Johnson is day-to-day with his suspension while Notae is a game-time decision ahead of tip-off against Vanderbilt on Tuesday night.
“I think it’ll just be, hey, has he (Notae) gotten enough reps where our trainer feels comfortable and JD feels comfortable? I think if that’s the case, he’ll play. If they feel that he’s not, then he just won’t play.”
The Commodores will bring the top scorer in the league, and a preseason All-SEC player, in Scottie Pippen Jr. He scored 23 points in Vanderbilt’s two-point win over Brigham Young the last time Vandy took the floor on December 23. The Cougars are the No. 27 team in the KenPom.com rankings, higher than anyone Arkansas has beaten in 2021-22.
Arkansas never vibed against Mississippi State when lacking Notae and Johnson. Forward Stanley Umude and guard Devo Davis shot a combined 14 of 28 and combined for 34 points, but the rest of the team went just 11 of 35 in the 13-point loss.