Macon joins elite company for newly ranked Razorbacks
FAYETTEVILLE — For the second time in the last three weeks and the third time in his career, Arkansas senior guard Daryl Macon earned Southeastern Conference Player of the Week honors from the league office following his performances against No. 19 Tennessee and California State University, Bakersfield.
Macon is the fourth player in program history to be named SEC Player of the Week three different times and is one of seven Razorbacks to earn the honor twice in the same year since Arkansas joined the conference in the 1991–92 season. He joins current assistant coach Scotty Thurman as the only players to earn the award twice in a threeweek span.
Riding a six-game winning streak, including two wins over
top-20 programs, the Arkansas men’s basketball team entered the Associated Press Top 25 poll Monday, debuting at No. 22. The
top-25 ranking is the program’s first since the final poll of the
2014–15 season. Arkansas has a 396-111 record all-time as a ranked program, including a
14-8 mark under head coach Mike Anderson, all during the
2014–15 season.
The Razorbacks’ 95-93 overtime victory over No. 19 Tennessee on Saturday was the 10th AP Top 25 victory in the Anderson era. The win gave the Razorbacks multiple top-20 wins in a season for the seventh time in the last 13 years.
Following the win over No.
19 Tennessee, the Razorbacks jumped to No. 4 in the NCAA’s official RPI rankings. Arkansas is 2-1 against top 15 RPI teams with wins over the Volunteers, who sit at No. 12, and Oklahoma, who is No. 3 in the nation.
Macon recorded his fourth
20-point effort and first 30-point performance of the season with a 33-point outing to defeat the Volunteers in overtime. Going
10-of-18 from the floor, including 5-of-9 from behind the arc,
it was Macon’s second career
30-point game, both coming against conference foes.
The 6-1 guard is just the sixth Razorback since Arkansas joined the SEC to record multiple 30-point games in a career against conference opponents. He combined with fellow senior guard Jaylen Barford to score 61 points in the come-from-behind win, including 31 of Arkansas’ final 41 points. The Little Rock native went 3-for-3 from the field in overtime, including 6-of6 from the free throw line to hold off the Volunteers, scoring
13 of Arkansas’ program record
22 overtime points.
In the last six games, Macon has 34 assists to just six turnovers in 185 minutes of action, including three seven-plus assist performances. Last week against Bakersfield, Macon tied his career high with eight assists and did not register a turnover.
Macon is shooting 46.2 percent, 67-for-145, from the floor during his senior year, including an impressive 45 percent, 36-for80, from behind the arc. After starting the season making his first 17 free throws, he is shooting 87 percent from the charity stripe after going 8-for-8 against Tennessee and 6-for-8 against Bakersfield.
The Razorbacks lead the SEC in scoring offense, 90.4 points per game; scoring margin, plus-15.8; 3-point field goal percentage, 40.9 percent; turnover margin, plus-5.5; and assist-to-turnover ratio, 1.6.
The Razorbacks return to action this week, hitting the road for the first time in SEC play. Arkansas travels to Mississippi State (12-1) today for an 8 p.m. tip on SEC Network (Resort Channel 79), followed by a Saturday showdown at Auburn (121) at 5 p.m. on ESPNU.