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Beyond the Box: Tigers dominated Hogs in every phase on Saturday

Auburn came into Fayetteville and outclassed Arkansas basketball in every phase of the game. Here’s a closer look at key numbers and factors.

Pure domination.

That’s the most appropriate description for Arkansas’ 83-51 loss to No. 25 Auburn on Saturday. It was the worst Razorback defeat in Bud Walton Arena’s 31-year history.

“This team has not resembled what we built the last four years from a competitive standpoint, from a defensive standpoint, from a loose-ball-getting standpoint,” [autotag]Eric Musselman[/autotag] said after the game. “So, what are we going to do? We’ve got to try to figure it out as much as we can.”

There’s a lot to figure out for Musselman and his coaching staff, and it’s a little overwhelming deciding which area needs the most work – offense, defense or the intangibles – because everything is bad.

The Hogs still have 18 guaranteed games left on their schedule, but it’s going to be a long three months if they continue to have performances like they did on Saturday.

Let’s take a closer look at Saturday’s loss and discover some of the most glaring issues with this Razorback team.

Does improved second half on Thursday mean Hogs have found answers ahead of SEC play?

Arkansas showed signs of improvement in the second half of Thursday’s win. Here’s a closer look at some key numbers as the Hogs get closer to SEC play.

It was a tale of two halves yet again for [autotag]Arkansas basketball[/autotag] on Thursday night. Unlike their near-loss to Lipscomb last Saturday, the Hogs were looked terrible in the first half, but were able to put together an impressive second half and get the win.

[autotag]Eric Musselman[/autotag] still hasn’t been able to settle on a firm rotation of guys, but the strong second half effort might give him some help in that department. With one game before SEC play begins, the Razorbacks are in desperate need of find some continuity in their rotations before the “real” season begins.

More importantly, though, they need their marquee names to play up to their potential on more consistent basis. Khalif Battle, Tramon Mark, Trevon Brazile and even El Ellis all need to be much more productive on a nightly basis for Arkansas to reach their potential.

Let’s take a closer look at some numbers that bode well and are cause for concern as the Hogs enter gear up for the conference slate.

Beyond the Box: 3-point shooting, defense lifts Hogs over No. 7 Duke, 80-75

In front of a record Bud Walton Arena crowd, the Hogs were able to get back to their winning ways against No. 7 Duke. Here’s some key numbers that helped them do it.

It was another special night in Bud Walton Arena as Eric Musselman’s Hogs were able to upset No. 7 Duke, 80-75, in front of a record 20,344 fans.

Arkansas entered Wednesday night’s game in desperate need of some positive momentum. Losers of three out of their last four contests, including an upset loss to UNC-Greensboro in their most recent home game, the Hogs needed this win in the worst way.

With leading scorer [autotag]Tramon Mark[/autotag] still sidelined with a lower back injury, Arkansas’ two other statistical leaders – [autotag]Trevon Brazile[/autotag] and [autotag]Khalif Battle[/autotag] – were able to rise to the occasion behind a raucous crowd and get the job done.

Over the past four games, the Razorbacks have struggled in basically every facet of the game. However, a stagnant offense, costly turnovers and abysmal transition defense were the three big things that had stood out above the rest.

On Wednesday night, none of those issues were prevalent for much of the night. Arkansas looked like a completely different team than the one we saw in the Bahamas just five days ago.

Let’s take a look at some key numbers from this game and see exactly how they were able to correct their issues from the Battle 4 Atlantis and translate that into a big-time win over Duke.

Beyond the Box: Defense, rebounding lead Hogs past Stanford in double-OT thriller

Arkansas had another abysmal shooting performance on Wednesday night. Let’s take a closer look at how they overcame that and beat Stanford in double-overtime.

A win is a win.

On a night defined by offensive struggles from both teams, Arkansas was able to lean on their defense and rebounding to grind out a dramatic double-overtime win over Stanford, 77-74, in the first round of the Battle 4 Atlantis. With the win, the Hogs move on and face Memphis tomorrow in the second round.

In last Friday’s loss to UNC-Greensboro, the Hogs struggled to get anything going offensively until the second half. However, they also failed to get stops in crucial moments, end possessions with rebounds and create second chances on the offensive glass.

On Wednesday night, the Arkansas offense was really the only issue as the Hogs shot 30.3% on field goal attempts for the entire game. That includes going 0-7 from the field during the first overtime period.

Let’s take a closer look at how the Razorbacks overcame an abysmal shooting performance to beat Stanford and move on in the [autotag]Battle 4 Atlantis[/autotag] Tournament.

Beyond the Box Score: Poor shooting, turnovers sink No. 14 Hogs at home

UNC-Greensboro upset Eric Musselman’s 14th-ranked Hogs at home on Friday. Let’s take a closer look at how it happened.

[autotag]Arkansas basketball[/autotag] got off to another slow start on Friday night, only this time they couldn’t overcome. UNC-Greensboro jumped out to a 38-24 lead going in to halftime and the Hogs never got closer than four the rest of the game.

It was the first loss of the season for Eric Musselman’s squad, but there’s a chance they could be much better for it. They likely won’t struggle to shoot as bad again this year, and hopefully learned their lesson with starting slow against an inferior opponents.

Now, Arkansas embarks on an important stretch of their non-conference schedule after having been humbled at home by a team who looked like they just flat-out wanted it more. Musselman will have five days to correct some of his team’s glaring issues before they see another step up in competition.

Let’s take a closer look at some of things that plagued this Arkansas team and allowed UNC-Greensboro to walk out of Bud Walton victorious on Friday night.

Beyond the Box Score: Hogs overcome slow start to beat Gardner-Webb, 86-68

The 14th-ranked Hogs were able to overcome a very slow start to beat Garnder-Webb on Friday. Here’s some key numbers behind the 86-68 win.

Through 13 minutes of action in Bud Walton Arena on Friday night, Arkansas looked like a shell of the undefeated team we had seen through two exhibitions and a season opener.

Poor shot selection, failed closeouts, missed rotations and an overall lack of effort had the Hogs in a dogfight – no pun intended – with Gardner-Webb. Luckily, Eric Musselman’s squad came to life behind Khalif Battle’s hot shooting to close out the half with a 48-36 lead.

The second half started out fast as Arkansas was able to quickly jump out to a 20-point lead before resting their starters with a few minutes left. The Hogs were able to put the Runnin’ Bulldogs away 86-68 and improve to 2-0 on the year.

Let’s take a closer look at some of the key numbers from Friday’s regular season win and see how the Razorbacks were able to stay undefeated on this very young season.

Beyond the Box Score: Hogs cruise in season opener over Alcorn State

The 14th-ranked Hogs made quick work of Alcorn State behind stellar shooting and stifling defense. Here’s a look at some key numbers from Monday night’s win.

For the fifth time under [autotag]Eric Musselman[/autotag], No. 14 Arkansas basketball took care of business to open the season. The Hogs were able to cruise to an impressive 93-59 victory over Alcorn State on Monday night inside Bud Walton Arena.

It was a pretty routine season-opener for this Arkansas basketball program, as the Hogs remain a perfect 31-0 in such games at Bud Walton Arena. All 15 players on the roster, including walk-ons Cade Arbogast and Lawson Blake, were able to see the floor and 12 of 15 Razorbacks scored.

While the Braves weren’t able to keep this game close, they did give Musselman and his team a laundry list of things to improve on before Friday night. Couple that learning experience with the fact that the Hogs were still able to win in convincing fashion while avoiding injury, and that’s makes Monday night the definition of a success.

Let’s take a look a closer look at some of the numbers behind Arkansas’ season-opening victory.

Beyond the Box Score: Arkansas ends multiple losing streaks with win over Florida

How exactly did Arkansas come out with the win over Florida? Let’s take a closer look at the numbers behind this impressive Razorback victory.

Arkansas hasn’t had a lot go their way this season. That changed on Saturday as the Hogs were, finally, on the other end of a one-possession ballgame.

With the 39-36 overtime win in Gainesville, [autotag]Sam Pittman[/autotag]’s team did something that no other Razorback team had ever been able to do before – win in “The Swamp.”

The Hogs were also able to snap their six-game losing skid and remain in contention for bowl berth, as hard as that may be to believe.

Saturday’s win felt like a major win for the program and one that could give the team momentum to keep those victories coming. Pittman likely saved his job for another season and [autotag]Kenny Guiton[/autotag] made an impactful statement in his first audition for the permanent offensive coordinator gig.

Let’s take a closer look at the numbers behind Arkansas’ impressive and historic overtime win over the Florida Gators.

Beyond the Box Score: Arkansas’ timely hits and scattered staff lift Diamond Hogs

The phrase ‘clutch’ gets thrown around a lot. It was applicable Friday for Arkansas.

Great is overrated. Good is usually good enough.

That was the case for Arkansas baseball on Friday as the Razorbacks knocked off Santa Clara in the opening game of the Fayetteville Regional, 13-6. The top-seeded Diamond Hogs stayed on the winner’s side of the four-team bracket and will play either Texas Christian or Arizona on Saturday.

But things weren’t easy against the fourth-seeded Broncos. Santa Clara outhit Arkansas 13 to 10 and even had more extra-base knocks. The difference was when those hits came.

Well, that and Santa Clara’s separate issues on the mound.

Let’s take a quick look at the details that allowed the host team to open the NCAA Tournament with a win.

Beyond the Box: Dominant UConn ends Arkansas’ tournament run

UConn dominated the Hogs from wire-to-wire on Thursday. Here’s a closer look at why Arkansas’ season ended in Vegas.

It’s officially the offseason for the Arkansas Razorbacks basketball team after the UConn Huskies ended their magical tournament run in the Sweet 16 with a dominant 88-65 win.

Arkansas was very much overmatched from the start as the Huskies didn’t trail a single time in Thursday night’s contest and led by as much as 29 points in the second half.

The Huskies were led by Jordan Hawkins’ 24 points and Adama Sanogo’s 18 points and 8 rebounds. The Razorbacks were led by [autotag]Anthony Black[/autotag]’s 20 points, 4 rebounds and 5 steals while [autotag]Ricky Council[/autotag] added 17 points of his own.

Despite the tough loss, Arkansas basketball capped off a tumultuous season with a tournament run that many didn’t see coming. For that reason, this season could be considered a success.

As for Thursday’s game, it was decided in a few areas that were predictably going to be factors in the outcome. Let’s take a closer look and examine what UConn did to end Arkansas’ season in Las Vegas.