Arkansas returns to Bud Walton Arena on Tuesday against Vanderbilt. The game is set for 8 p.m. on SEC Network.
The Razorbacks are arguably playing their best and most consistent basketball of the season of late. Dating to the Jan. 31 win at Missouri, they are 4-3 and a couple of plays away at Mississippi State from a 5-2 mark.
Arkansas last Saturday handled the Tigers 88-73 in Fayetteville to move to 14-13 overall and 5-9 inside the SEC. A win over the Commodores would match the Razorbacks’ longest winning streak of the season at three games.
Vanderbilt will come in 7-20 on the season and 2-12 in the league. Jerry Stackhouse’s club has lost its last three games by an average of 20 points.
Here are a handful of things to keep an eye on when the Razorbacks and Commodores meet. This is the 4-Point Play:
• What will Khalif Battle do for an encore?
Grandma knows best.
A dynamite scorer and postgame quote who never lacks confidence, Battle on Saturday gave a shoutout to his after putting up 42 points. He recalled her routinely telling him, “When you know who you are, you know what you do.”
Battle is a high-level scorer. He’s averaging 25 points in Arkansas’ last three outings.
However, as Eric Musselman always says, every game takes on its own identity. Will Battle get loose again?
The game is about matchups, and I like Battle’s chances to score well again on the SEC’s worst defense efficiency-wise (116.4 points allowed per 100 possessions in-conference). Don’t expect another 40-point game, but it’s likely he’ll give Vanderbilt problems.
Battle is also defending well and valuing the basketball this month. Those things will help the guard stay on the floor even if his shot isn’t falling.
• Minutes for Arkansas’ frontcourt pieces
The Razorbacks got forward Trevon Brazile back in the fold against Missouri, but his stay on the court was short-lived.
In his first action since Jan. 24 at Ole Miss, Brazile played four minutes and only recorded a personal foul. What will Tuesday bring for him and others?
Arkansas has found success of late with four-guard groups, and Makhi Mitchell has earned the right in the last eight games to lead the bigs in minutes. It will be interesting to see how Musselman handles playing time for Mitchell, Brazile, Chandler Lawson and Jalen Graham, who is available again after battling a shoulder injury.
But the best bet is Mitchell getting the most run, and deservedly so. He’s averaging 14.0 points, 8.0 rebounds, 1.6 blocks and 1.5 assists since Jan. 27.
• Another ideal team-player outing from Devo Davis?
The senior guard last weekend became just the fifth Arkansas player since 2010-11 to record at least 8 points, 9 rebounds and 6 assists in a game, per SportsReference. The others are JD Notae, Jabril Durham, Coty Clarke and BJ Young.
Davis was also plus-15 in his 34 minutes.
“The good thing about Davonte is you kind of tell him a role and lay out expectations and he plays as hard as he can and does it,” Musselman said.
Davis’ 9 rebounds were his most since Dec. 4 vs. Furman, and the 6 assists were his most since Dec. 30 vs. UNC-Wilmington. The assists generated 18 points, and he set up half of the team’s 10 threes.
Davis stacking quality showings would be a good way to head into March.
• Contain the Commodores’ top weapons
Vanderbilt is a bit of a mess offensively, scoring 96.1 points per 100 possessions in SEC games. That figure places the Commodores in dead last.
While their struggles have been real, they have a few players Arkansas needs to try to limit to ensure another home win.
Tyrin Lawrence, a 6-4 guard, leads Vanderbilt at 13.1 points per game in the league. However, he’s scored just 15 total points in Vanderbilt’s last two road games.
Ezra Manjon (6-0) and Ven-Allen Lubin (6-8) combine for 23.1 points and 9.2 rebounds as well. Lubin is averaging 13.8 points and 6.9 rebounds in the last 8 games, and Manjon hit the game-winner against Texas A&M on Feb. 13 and has 92 assists this season.