Tuesday night was a good one in college hoops, and the slate was headlined by a wild and whacky finish down in Fayetteville, Arkansas.
The Razorbacks grabbed their twelfth win of the season thanks to a 87-85 overtime thriller that saw them win it at the very end. They utilized an athletic and versatile group of guards to pressure Kentucky into turnovers. The win was incredibly impressive given how much size they were giving away in their front court.
Arkansas improved to 1-2 in conference play, but they now have an interesting test up ahead in Georgia. Situationally speaking, this is a good spot for the Bulldogs as Arkansas will have to play Tennessee following this one, making it a classic “sandwich” spot.
Georgia has at times been awful this season, but the majority of their losses have come at the hands of quality opponents. But their offense has been the most critical of issues, and it was on display in Gainesville on Tuesday.
The Bulldogs have only three players averaging in double figures. Their roster is littered with sophomores and inexperienced juniors and nowhere is it more apparent than at the point guard position. This group is ranked 221 in offensive turnover efficiency, and that is a major problem given their opponent.
Arkansas loves to bring the heat and their full court attitude is detrimental for any squad which lacks the skill to beat it. Georgia has some hope in the game because they love to play slow and that could cause problems for Mike Anderson’s team. But the key to that working will be their ability to avoid turnovers.
Georgia is also a very mediocre team defensively. They rank barely inside the top 200 when it comes to three point defense, and Arkansas counters that with three weapons who can each get going from long distance in Michael Qualls, Rashad Madden and Kikko Haydar.
This game interests me because the Razorbacks have a good chance at mixing things up in the SEC again this season. Handling a road game like this will be critical in determining how legitimate they are. Georgia poses some value from a situational perspective, but this number should be closer to 4/4.5 than where it is now (2.5).
