Tag: JD Notae

Turnovers doom out-of-sync Arkansas in loss to Mississippi State

Short-handed Razorbacks falter in second half, drop SEC opener to Mississippi State.

Lacking its best player and one of its top big men, Arkansas was in no position to open SEC play with a win.

Mississippi State took advantage of a short-handed Razorbacks squad and won both teams’ SEC openers, 81-68, on Wednesday evening in Starkville.

Arkansas (10-3, 0-1 in SEC) announced minutes before the game that guard JD Notae, the team’s leading scorer (second in the SEC) would miss the game because of an undisclosed illness. The team also announced Kamani Johnson, who had his best game of the season last time out against Elon, was indefinitely suspended from the team. No reason was given.

The Razorbacks looked disheveled without them. Mississippi State (10-3, 1-0) won nearly every meaningful statistic and took away Arkansas’ strength of getting to the inside on offense. Without Notae, Arkansas forced the issue, committing 17 turnovers, which led to 25 Mississippi State points.

Arkansas entered the game allowing opponents to grab about seven offensive rebounds a game, the best mark in the SEC. But without Johnson on the interior, the Bulldogs racked up 15 offensive boards. Tolu Smith was especially dominant on the interior, scoring 18 points and getting six rebounds.

Shakeel Moore, Iverson Molinar and D.J. Jeffries joined Smith in double figures with 16, 15 and 10 points, respectively.

Stanley Umude led Arkansas in scoring with 19. Devo Davis added 15 points and Chris Lykes had 10.

Arkansas returns to Bud Walton Arena to start SEC play at home on Tuesday against Vanderbilt.

The bounce is back: Hogs hammer Elon

Arkansas used a band of unusual suspects to play one of its most complete games of the season, a 81-55 win over Elon.

There were frustrations to be levied for Arkansas basketball. Poor Elon found itself in the unenviable position of having to take said punishment.

Arkansas ended the first half on a 17-0 run and snapped a two-game losing streak before SEC play begins next week, beating Elon, 81-55.

Razorbacks coach Eric Musselman altered his minutes distribution against the Phoenix. Arkansas looked more like it did at the beginning of the season as it played 11 players with Musselman looking for a spark.

Jaxson Robinson provided a bulk of it.

The Texas A&M transfer came off the bench and made three 3-pointers during the big run that turned a six-point Arkansas deficit to a 12-point edge at halftime. Elon went the final 6:11 of the half without a point.

Robinson scored a career-high 14 points, one of four Razorbacks in double figures. Chris Lykes led the team with 21 points, Kamani Johnson had 15 and JD Notae 14.

Arkansas led by as many as 30 points in the second half. Elon went on a 13-0 run to make the score more respectable. Michael Graham led the Phoenix with 14 points and Darius Burford added 12.

The Razorbacks (10-2) had dropped consecutive games to Oklahoma and Hofstra on the previous two Saturdays, knocking them from No. 12 in the country to unranked. They have time off at Christmas before returning to action January 29 to open SEC play at Mississippi State.

Uh-oh: Razorbacks basketball collapses against Hofstra

Arkansas may be in serious trouble after falling handily to Hofstra on Saturday, 89-81.

Arkansas will not find itself inside the Top 25 when the polls are released Monday.

The Razorbacks fell for the second time this season and the second game in a row on Saturday. Hofstra, a team picked fifth in the Colonial Athletic Association in the preseason, beat Arkansas, 89-81, in North Little Rock.

Arkansas (10-2) was ranked inside the Top 10 in both the Associated Press and Ferris Mowers Coaches polls two weeks ago. Before the Hofstra game, the Hogs had fallen in Tulsa to Oklahoma, 88-66.

Former Arkansas forward Abayomi Ifyiola had 18 points and 14 rebounds for the Pride, which outshot and outrebounded Arkansas. Jalen Ray and Aaron Estrada also scored in double figures for the Pride, netting 22 apiece with Estrada grabbing 10 rebounds.

The Razorbacks pulled within two points with 4:53 left on Devo Davis’ old-fashioned three-point play. But Hofstra countered with an 8-0 run as Arkansas missed four straight shots and committed a turnover on its next five possessions.

Arkansas shot just 45% from the field and committed 16 turnovers. Hofstra scored 22 points of those miscues and shot 48% themselves. JD Notae led the Razorbacks with 20 points. Chris Lykes added another 19. Notae, Lykes and Devo Davis all fouled out.

The Hogs have one final chance to right the ship before SEC play begins when they host Elon back Bud Walton Arena on December 21. They travel to Mississippi State on January 29 to open things in the league.

Arkansas overwhelms Charlotte, starts 9-0

Arkansas’ size, strength lift Razorbacks over Charlotte, 86-66.

Charlotte pulled within single digits late, but Arkansas held off the charge and beat the 49ers, 86-66, on Tuesday night at Bud Walton Arena.

The win makes Arkansas 9-0 on the season, tying the second best start for the program since 1993-94, the year the Razorbacks won the national championship.

A 7-0 Charlotte run cut Arkansas’ lead to nine with just 5:03 left, but the visitors missed their next six shots from the field, allowing the Hogs to pull away.

JD Notae led all players with 23 points for Arkansas. He managed a double-double, too, grabbing a season-high 10 rebounds. Three other players joined him in double figures, including Jaylin Williams, who scored a career-high 15 points.

Austin Butler led Charlotte with  points, while Devo Davis (18) and Chris Lykes (13) joined Notae and Williams in double figures.

Arkansas travels to Tulsa, Oklahoma, on Saturday to play future SEC foe Oklahoma at the BOk Center at 12:30 p.m.

Behind the box score: Hogs’ two best players lead the charge against Little Rock

Arkansas had a number of impressive ways to get past Little Rock on Saturday.

Arkansas dismantled Little Rock on Saturday, 93-78, with a number of Razorbacks players contributing.

The visiting Trojans were making their first-ever trip to Bud Walton Arena and were clearly the inferior of the two teams. Arkansas coach Eric Musselman mixed up his usual rotations in favor of some new looks and the Hogs made it work.

Little Rock, which was picked to finished middle of the Sun Belt pack, simply had no answer for Arkansas’ size and speed. Five Hogs players scored in double figures led by Au’Diese Toney, who had 16 of his 18 in the first half, and JD Notae, who had 16 of his 18 in the second half.

Stanley Umude, Devo Davis and Chris Lykes also scored in double figures for the Razorbacks.

Central Arkansas zero match for the Razorbacks in Arkansas’ blowout win

Arkansas had its biggest blowout win over the year Wednesday night, beating Central Arkansas 97-60.

Finally.

After a few easy-but-not-too-easy wins at Bud Walton Arena this season, No. 9 Arkansas achieved its first true blowout of the season, beating Central Arkansas 97-60 on Wednesday night.

Stanley Umude scored 17 points off the bench to lead four Razorbacks in double figures. Devo Davis netted a season-high 16 points, Au’Diese Toney scored 14 of his 16 in the second half and JD Notae had 10 points, giving him double-figures scoring in each of Arkansas’ first seven games.

UCA troubled the Razorbacks a bit for a half behind the strength of 7-of-10 shooting from 3-point range. But 14 second-half turnovers, and 25 in the game, led to 29 Arkansas points off those miscues and an 11-3 run to start the second and a 13-0 run later in the half all but finished things.

Fayetteville High graduate Collin Cooper led the Bears with 13 points and former Razorbacks forward Darious Hall added another 12.

Arkansas next plays at home on Saturday against another team from the Natural State: Little Rock. Tip is set for 3 p.m.

Arkansas takes big lead, holds off Penn late

Arkansas showed itself stronger and more athletic than Penn on Sunday afternoon.

Arkansas built a lead of 22 points in the second half, but a bout of sloppiness helped Penn pull within 10 before the Razorbacks tightened things in a 76-60 win on Sunday afternoon.

JD Notae scored 28 points and Stanley Umude added 19 more to help the No. 13 Razorbacks (6-0) build the large lead. But during a four-minute stretch in the second half, Arkansas missed four shots, two free throws and committed three turnovers, allowing the Quakers back into the game.

Arkansas’ size and athleticism ultimately proved the difference as the Hogs outrebounded Penn, 44-28, and outscored them on the fast break by seven.

Umude, a transfer from South Dakota, had his best game at Arkansas, adding another seven rebounds. He, Notae and Toney, who was ejected, combined to shoot 25 of 41 from the field. As team, Arkansas shot 3 for 17 from 3-point range.

The Razorbacks will return to Bud Walton Arena on Wednesday when they host Central Arkansas. Tip is at 7 p.m.

Arkansas dispatches Cincinnati to win Hall of Fame Classic on Tuesday night

Arkansas basketball holds off Cincinnati to stay undefeated, 73-67.

Entering Tuesday night’s game against Cincinnati, it was expected the Bearcats would provide Arkansas with its hardest challenge of the early season.

Expectations were correct.

Neither team led by more than six in the game and the teams exchanged the lead nine times in the second half. With Arkansas ahead by a point with 21.8 seconds left, Cincinnati was forced to foul after the Razorbacks collected two offensive rebounds on their possession, draining 50 seconds off the clock. Guard Chris Lykes canned both free throws to make it a three-point game and Cincinnati was called for a charge on its ensuing possession, sealing Arkansas’ 5-0 start, 73-67.

The No. 12 Razorbacks shot just 35% on the night and didn’t make their first 3-pointer until the second half, ultimately going 3 for 17 from deep. But offensive rebounding – Arkansas grabbed 18 of its own misses – led to 14 second-chance points and proved the edge.

Pittsburgh transfer Au’Diese Toney turned in his best game of the season, scoring a team-high 19 points and grabbing nine rebounds. Lykes and JD Notae joined him in double figures with 15 and 13 points, but combined to shoot just 7 of 29 from the field.

Au’Diese Toney put Arkansas ahead by a point, 66-65, on a putback with 2:52 left. David DeJulius, who finished with a game-high 24 points, put Cincinnati (4-1) back ahead with a pair of free throws on the Bearcats’ next possession. But after Arkansas missed on its next trip, DeJulius had his pocket picked by JD Notae and Toney, on the run, was fouled at the rim with 1:37 left and he made both free throws, leading to the final frantic minute-and-a-half.

The win gave Arkansas the tournament title at the Hall of Fame Classic in Kansas City. The Hogs return to Bud Walton Arena on Sunday to face Pennsylvania.

Crunch-time Hogs show up big in defeat of Northern Iowa

Arkansas’ late run sparks come-from-behind win over Northern Iowa, 93-80.

Whew.

Arkansas’ penchant for giving up the 3-pointer almost bit the Razorbacks. But coach Eric Musselman’s team turned on the gas in the final three minutes, ending the game on a 16-2 run to beat Northern Iowa on Wednesday, 93-80.

Chris Lykes, the 5-foot-7 transfer from Miami (FL), led the Hogs with 26 points off the bench. Five other Arkansas players scored in double figures, too, with JD Notae leading the way among them with 17.

Northern Iowa hung around because of its shooting from deep. The Panthers 17 of 37 from deep, which paved the way for 18 lead changes and 10 ties.

The final Razorbacks run was sparked by a putback from Jaylin Williams with 2:48 left. Au’Diese Toney followed on the next possession with a 3-pointer from the corner, then after his steal, Williams scored another lay-up, forcing a Northern Iowa timeout as the Hogs went from down one to up six with 1:27 left.

After wins over Mercer, Gardner-Webb and Northern Iowa, Arkansas will play its first power-conference opponent on Monday night when they take on Kansas State in the Hall of Fame Classic in Kansas City.

Behind the box score: Vanover, Davis, Notae – the returners – lead the way against Gardner-Webb

The numbers tell only part of the story in Arkansas’ 86-69 win over Gardner-Webb.

A 27-5 run late in the first half was plenty for Arkansas to defeat Gardner-Webb on Saturday at Bud Walton Arena, 86-69.

The Razorbacks received scoring from up and down the roster, outrebounded the Runnin’ Bulldogs, committed fewer turnovers and handled, all the way around, the visitors from North Carolina.

It was a positive step for a team that struggled for 30 of the 40 minutes against Mercer in the season opener Tuesday night. Arkansas’ players looked more comfortable with each other and the Hogs showcased a roster that can go 11 deep with relative ease.

Games are more than box scores, though. Here’s what to take away from the numbers as No. 15 Arkansas looks ahead to its next game, Wednesday against Northern Iowa.