This article originally appeared on February 8, 2014 on The Arkansas Traveler website, uatrav.com.
**NOTE: Because this was written Feb. 7, the stats do not include games played Feb. 8. For example, Arkansas' win at Vanderbilt came after this was written and published.**
Earlier this year, The Traveler brought you a daily A-Z series to help you get to know the Arkansas men’s basketball team leading up to its first Southeastern Conference game, at Texas A&M.
The Razorbacks are halfway through their SEC schedule and things have not gone the way many fans had hoped. Let’s revisit each letter and see how it has affected Arkansas so far.
A - Anderson
Head coach Mike Anderson’s seat is getting warmer by the minute. The NCAA Tournament was the team’s goal before the season, but at this point, it doesn’t look like the Razorbacks will even make the NIT.
B - Balance
The Razorbacks have been pretty balanced, scoring 37.4 percent of their points in the paint and 28.5 percent on three-pointers.
C - Charity Stripe
Free throws have been extremely hit-and-miss for Arkansas. Against No. 10 Florida, missed free throws at the end of regulation and in overtime cost the Razorbacks a win. However, against LSU, Arkansas shot 25-of-27 from the charity stripe, which is 92.6 percent, the second-highest percentage in an SEC game in UA history.
D - Defense
Despite the losses, Arkansas’ defense has steadily produced. The Razorbacks have forced 15.9 turnovers per game and average eight steals per game in SEC play.
E - Expectations
As mentioned above, Arkansas was projected to make the NCAA Tournament during nonconference play, but have completely dropped out of Joe Lunardi’s “First Four Out” and “Next Four Out” on ESPN.com.
F - Fastest 40
In a January report, The Traveler found that Anderson’s Fastest 40 style of basketball works great at home, but fails miserably on the road. The stats in the article are not up to date, but they haven’t changed much.
G - Gulley
There was a four game stretch during SEC play that Gulley was one of Arkansas’ best shooters. From the Kentucky game to the Auburn game, he averaged 10.5 points per game and shot 66.7 percent from the field. His overall averages during conference play are not as high, but still solid: 6.2 points per game on 52.5 percent shooting.
H - Harris
After averaging 10.5 points per game during nonconference play, Harris’ scoring has dropped to 6.6 per game against SEC opponents. He was also suspended by Anderson and missed the LSU game for undisclosed reasons.
I - Identity
The Razorbacks have struggled to find an identity of anything other than: they run a lot, they play 12 people, they live off of turnovers and they can’t win on the road.
J - JUCO Transfer
Coty Clarke has been one of Arkansas’ most consistent players. His nonconference and conference averages are very similar. In fact, his points, rebounding and assist averages have all increased slightly in SEC play.
K - Kingsley
Moses Kingsley hasn’t been much of a scorer in SEC play, but he has proven to be a decent shot blocker, blocking 1.4 shots per game. He has also hauled in 2.8 rebounds per game against conference opponents.
L - Lackadaisical
Without even mentioning any of Arkansas’ losses, the Razorbacks have escaped a couple lackadaisical performances with wins this season. Against Auburn, they shot 31.4 percent from the field in the first half. Against Alabama, they scored only 24 points in the first half. Luckily for the Razorbacks, neither Auburn or Alabama are very good and Arkansas was able to win both games.
M - Madden
Probably the biggest surprise of the conference season has been Rashad Madden. His scoring average has jumped from 10.6 per game in conference play to 16.1 per game against SEC opponents. That’s an increase of 51.9 percent. Madden was also the third player in UA history to lead the Razorbacks in scoring in each of the first three SEC games of the season, joining Todd Day and Scotty Thurman.
N - Natives
Of Arkansas’ 11 players that average more than 10 minutes per game, five are from Arkansas, including leading scorer and rebounder Bobby Portis.
O - Offense
Despite Arkansas scoring nearly 15 less points per game against SEC opponents than nonconference opponents, the Razorbacks are still averaging 81.2 points per game. That is first in the SEC and 21st in the country.
P - Portis
As mentioned above, Portis leads the Razorbacks with 13.3 points and 6.6 rebounds per game. He also had a monster performance against Alabama, scoring 35 points to break Thurman’s UA freshman record of 34. Portis had nine rebounds and six blocked shots in the game, as well.
Q - Qualls
Other than his buzzer-beating dunk to beat No. 13 Kentucky, Michael Qualls has all but disappeared in conference play. Qualls was Arkansas’ leading scorer in nonconference play, but has scored only 7.1 points per game against SEC opponents. He was also suspended for a game for undisclosed reasons.
R - Rebounding
The Razorbacks have been outrebounded in six of their nine SEC games. They’re minus-7.8 per game and have been outrebounded by 22 against Georgia, 18 against Kentucky and 16 against Missouri.
S - Southeastern Conference
Like most experts predicted, the SEC is having a down year. No. 3 Florida is the conference’s highest ranked team and a legitimate National Championship contender. Beyond the Gators, though, nothing is certain. No. 18 Kentucky will likely make the NCAA Tournament, but the Wildcats have losses to Arkansas and LSU, which aren’t locks for anything.
T - Turnovers
Arkansas has won the turnover battle in all but one SEC game this season and has a plus-4.7 turnover margin in conference play.
U - Underdogs
Coming off a big win over No. 13 Kentucky, it seemed like Arkansas had gotten back on track, but it laid an egg against Georgia, which was 8-7 at the time and is now 10-10.
V - Victories on the Road
The Razorbacks still can’t win on the road. There’s not much more to say than that.
W - Wade and Williams
Coming into the season, most people expected Mardracus Wade to have a larger impact than Jacorey Williams. However, that has not been the case. Williams is one of six Razorbacks to appear in all 22 games this year. He is averaging 3.5 points and 2.4 rebounds per game, compared to Wade’s 2.6 points and 0.9 rebounds.
X - X-factor
In the A-Z series, Kikko Haydar was called Arkansas’ “x-factor.” He continues to bring a lot of energy off the bench and even scored a career high 15 points against LSU. Even when he doesn’t score, Haydar finds a way to contribute. For example, he had five rebounds against Alabama, despite being only 5-feet-10-inches tall.
Y - Youth
Arkansas’ underclassmen have accounted for 40.3 percent of its scoring and 47.1 percent of its rebounding in SEC play.
Z - Zilch
The Razorbacks’ nonconference schedule really means nothing at this point because they have played so poorly in conference games. However, if Arkansas suddenly started winning SEC games, its nonconference schedule continues to look better and better.
Minnesota, the only team Arkansas beat at the Maui Invitational, is 15-8 and has wins over No. 11 Ohio State and No. 9 Wisconsin. SMU, which Arkansas beat by 11 points, is 18-5 and third in a very good American Athletic Conference. One of the teams that beat Arkansas in the Maui Invitational, Cal, knocked off No. 1 Arizona Saturday and is tied for third in the Pac-12.
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