Hot-shooting Hogs roll to win at Kentucky; Muss gets win 200
LEXINGTON, Ky. – Arkansas used a red-hot second half to roll to an 88-73 win at Kentucky on Tuesday night at Rupp Arena. It marked the fifth-straight SEC win for the Razorbacks and gave Head Coach Eric Musselman his 200th win as a collegiate head coach (the 90th at Arkansas).
The Razorbacks went 18-for-25 (72.0%) from the field in the second half and shot 62.7% overall in the win. In fact, the 62.7% shooting from the field for the game ties a Razorback record for the best shooting percentage in an SEC game. (Arkansas was also 62.7% in a win over Mizzou on Jan. 12, 2016.)
Leading by one coming out of halftime, back-to-back steals and dunks from Anthony Black spurred a 6-0 run to set the tone early in the second half. The Hogs’ defense led to the offense scoring 23 points off of turnovers, highlighted by a second half that saw the team match their missed field goals (7) with just as many steals (7) en route to outscoring the Wildcats 47-33. Makhel Mitchell was impressive on both ends of the floor, shining offensively with a season-high 15 points on 7-of-9 shooting while shutting down Kentucky star Oscar Tshiebwe. Mitchell blocked five shots and collected four boards with his twin brother Makhi adding a team-high nine rebounds.
Five Razorbacks reached double digits in scoring led by Ricky Council IV’S 20 points on 5-of-9 shooting to go with 8-for-10 from the free throw line. Black added 19 points, five assists and five steals with Davonte Davis chipping in 15 points and seven assists. The second assists were a season high and tied his SEC career high. Jordan Walsh was perfect shooting the ball, scoring 13 points on 4-for-4 shooting from the field.
The Hogs dominated the majority of the game, leading for over 32 minutes. That domination was evident in the paint, outscoring Kentucky 46-28, and in transition, outscoring UK 20-10 in fast break points.
Arkansas returns home to host Mississippi State on Saturday (Feb. 11). Tipoff is set for 5 pm (CT) at Bud Walton Arena and the game will be televised on ESPNU.