What Stood Out: Razorbacks fall at Rupp, 111-102

Arkansas men’s basketball fell to No. 16 Kentucky on the road at Rupp Arena Saturday afternoon, 111-102.

The loss drops the Razorbacks to 14-15 overall and 5-11 in SEC play on the season.

It was a back-and-forth track meet that featured a dozen ties, 17 lead changes and the Hogs seeing a nine-point lead evaporate in the final nine minutes.

Here are five things that stood out from the contest:

Defense optional in Lexington

The first time Arkansas and Kentucky met, the two teams combined for 120 points in a six-point Razorback loss at Bud Walton Arena on Jan. 27.

Saturday, the Hogs and ‘Cats played at a blistering pace with 213 points scored between the two teams. Both teams surpassed their total points from the first contest by the 14:25 mark of the second half.

It was an impressive offensive showing by Arkansas, which finished with .531/.412/.964 shooting splits and the most points scored in an SEC game since dropping 110 on Ole Miss in 2014.

“I thought it was by far out best offensive game, not even close,” Musselman said.

The flip side: The 111 points allowed by the Razorbacks is the most since the program joined the SEC in 1991.

It was the sixth 100-point scoring game for the Wildcats this season, and they had seven players score in double-figures.

“Defensively, we weren’t that good, but this team has done that to other teams, especially in their own building,” Musselman said.

Every detail matters…

Arkansas played two of its better games of the season against Kentucky, but it was almost a deja vu experience when it comes to what cost the Hogs late.

In the first meeting in Fayetteville, it was two brutal late turnovers by El Ellis and Khalif Battle that put the game out of reach.

Saturday in Lexington, it was three turnovers in less than a minute down the stretch by Tramon Mark and Jeremiah Davenport that effectively iced things in addition to defensive breakdowns guarding baseline inbounds plays and handling the Wildcats in basic pick-and-roll action.

“The couple turnovers and baseline out of bounds defense. Those are two areas that I thought changed the complexion of the game,” Musselman said.

FTA’s loom large in loss

Eric Musselman could have pointed to dozens of issues in the loss, and in fairness, he did acknowledge numerous problem areas for the Hogs.

However, the head Hog kept coming back to one glaring area on the box score, which was a free-throw discrepancy of 42-28 in favor of the home team.

“The 42 free throws attempted, really hard to overcome,” Musselman said. “Not sure I’ve been around a team that went 27-28 from the foul line, had 10 steals, 13 assists and come away with a loss.

“You look at the field goals made, and it’s 34-34. The three-point shots, seven to nine. We took three less. Rebounding, close enough for us. But 28-42 is the number that sticks out to me.”

Khalif Battle continues heater

Arkansas senior guard Khalif Battle picked up right where he let off the previous two games with another incredible effort against Kentucky.

Battle finished with a game-high 34 points on 8-of-16 shooting from the field and a 17 for 18 clip at the charity stripe to go along with eight rebounds.

He is averaging 37.3 points in his last three games and joins Mason Jones (2019-20) as just the second Razorback to log three consecutive games of 30 or more points scored.

“I can see his confidence. I can see him being more aggressive when he drives the lane,” said teammate Tramon Mark.

“He shot 18 free throws, 17 for 18 free throws. I just seem him being aggressive and confident and getting those calls. Knocking down free throws and knocking down shots. He played good tonight.”

For those who subscribe to moral victories

A loss is a loss, and Arkansas has taken more of those than wins this season, but the Razorbacks at least gave an effort the fanbase can appreciate compared to what they displayed at Bud Walton earlier in the week.

Had the Hogs played the way against Vanderbilt that they did at Kentucky, they would have ran the Commodores off the floor. But that’s not how basketball works, unfortunately.

The inconsistencies with the Razorbacks this season will probably never be understood, but Saturday was refreshing despite the loss because it showed this team has not fully let go of the rope.

“We had a chance to beat a team that has a chance to win the national championship,” Musselman said. “Did we lose? Absolutely. All the credit goes to Coach Calipari and Kentucky.

“In that locker room that we represent, I’m extremely proud to be associated with their effort and the way they battled tonight. It’s all you can ask of a group of young men, and that’s what they went out and did.”