This article originally appeared on December 17, 2013 on The Arkansas Traveler website, uatrav.com.
Defense is a point of emphasis in head coach Mike Anderson’s “Fastest 40” system and, through nine games, it is evident that Arkansas will make a living off of it.
The Razorbacks’ plus-5.7 turnover margin per game is the best in the Southeastern Conference and seventh-best in the NCAA. Dating back to last season, Arkansas has won the turnover battle in 13 straight games.
Not only is Arkansas forcing turnovers, but it is capitalizing on them, scoring 21.4 points off turnovers per game.
Of the 18 turnovers the Razorbacks force per game, seven are steals, which is sixth in the SEC.
Despite not having an individual player ranked in the top 85 in the NCAA in blocked shots, Arkansas averages six per game and is tied for fourth in the SEC and 29th in the NCAA in shots blocked per game.
The Razorbacks are just one of six teams in the top 30 in blocked shots per game as a team that doesn’t have a single player averaging at least two blocks per game.
This aggressive defense should help Arkansas during SEC play.
This is the fourth of a series of short articles about the Arkansas basketball team. Each day leading up to SEC play, I will post an entry about something basketball related that starts with the next letter of the alphabet. Here are the previous entries, as well as the dates for the next five...
A - Anderson
E - Dec. 18
F - Dec. 19
G - Dec. 20
H - Dec. 21
I - Dec. 22
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