By Brant Daughtry
I’m floored by this team. Over and over again they manage to overcome situations that would bury lesser teams. Against Alabama, they withstood multiple 10-0 runs or worse, and yet never gave up the lead at any point. When the moment demanded they step up, they kept finding ways to do so. And not just one guy either. Every guy that saw the floor contributed. Scoring, defense, rebounding, usually some combination of all of it. This team is so incredibly deep and has not let up.
Denver Jones has been named the Oscar Robertson National Player of the Week for his efforts. While many contributed, I think he deserves the honor. Three point shooting, finishing, and amazing defense over two games, including locking down one of the best scoring guards in America. Bruce Pearl has loudly been campaigning to get him more national recognition, and it’s well deserved.
This is another massive win in a season full of them. Auburn avoided the let down and played with an effort that was astounding. When they play like that, they have a chance to beat anyone in the country. It’s up to the players and coaches to make sure that level of effort continues over the next few weeks to close the conference schedule.
Arkansas is coached by John Calipari, who comes to Arky after a very long stay as the coach at Kentucky. A lot has been said about Coach Cal, but the fact remains he wins more often than not. His team’s are big, athletic, and supremely talented. While he doesn’t have the machine rolling quite like he did at Kentucky yet, this team is still a tough out.
In fact, this has been something of a tale of two seasons for the Hogs. Arkansas opened the season with a win over then-number one Kansas, and overall had a decently successful non conference that wound up not blowing anyone away. Once the conference season started, things bottomed out in a hurry. They started out 0-5 in the conference, and people were winding how long the Cal era would last in Fayettville.
Since then though, the schedule has relaxed some, and Arky is 4-3 since, including a 10-point win over Kentucky in Cal’s return to Lexington. Certainly not blowing anyone away, but back on the right track and reasonably on the bubble for a Tournament spot. They’re playing significantly better and a win over Auburn would be the big name takedown they’d need to boost that resume.
Here’s the thing though. Outside of Kentucky, they don’t have a win over a good team. Georgia, Texas, and LSU just aren’t the cream of the SEC crop this year. They have a few Quad 1 wins, but the fact remains they don’t have anything that really turns people’s heads. As I stated before though, this Auburn team would be exactly the game they need to fill any gaps.
Arkansas has dealt with some injuries though. Early in conference play, they lost their super talented freshman guard Boogie Fland, who was averaging about 13 a game in the conference, to a hand injury that’s going to keep him out the rest of the season. It’s a testament to how good a coach Calipari really is that the team didn’t collapse without him. This team isn’t great, but they’ve shown they can stay on the court with just about anyone.
Players to Watch For:
Forward Ado Thiero, #3- Thiero is one of a few guys who followed Calipari from Kentucky to Arkansas, and you can see the skill you’re used to seeing from a Cal signing. Thiero is big, fast, and strong, coming in at 6-8, 220. He’s averaging a bout 14 points and 6 rebounds per game in conference play, which both lead the team. He’s not a three point shooter by any means, but he’s not scared to try and has knocked down 10 this year in 38 tries.
Center Zvonimir Ivišić, #44- They call him Big Z, and it’s easy to see why. One, it’s a lot easier to pronounce. For another, this kid is huge. Another Kentucky transfer, by way of Croatia, Big Z stands at 7-2, 245, and is a modern big in every sense of the word. Since midway through their conference schedule, he’s been getting more and more minutes, and is producing off of it. He’s obviously a defensive weapon, having 49 blocks on the year and a decent number of rebounds, but the thing that concerns teams most is his three point shooting. He’s hitting 45% of his three point attempts to this point, and is putting up a decent number of them. He stretches the floor like few bigs can.
Depending on your book, Auburn is favored by about 15 tomorrow, give or take a few points. I think that’s fair, although they can’t afford to have any kind of hangover. Auburn is, statistically, the best team in the country, but we’ve seen what this team looks like when they’re on, and how it looks when they’re off. Arkansas sees this as a massive opportunity. Auburn will have to keep playing to their standard if they want to keep winning.
