Hogs Look to Avoid Only Second Loss to Aggies in Fayetteville in 36 Years

A&M has only won two games in 'Fayette-nam' since Van Eman's first season in February, 1971

Kent Smith | Jan 22, 2022

After figuring out that Arkansas coach Eric Musselman actually knows what he's talking about when he emphasizes defense as the key to winning in the SEC, the Razorback basketball team looks to extend its three-game wining streak by kicking off its revenge tour with Texas A&M at Bud Walton Arena tonight at 7:30 p.m. on the SEC Network.

The Aggies, who are looking for respect of their own after taking a 15-2 record into a game against Kentucky earlier this week without a projected spot in the NCAA tournament while barely registering in the "Others Receiving Votes" category for the Top 25 rankings, took down the Hogs 86-81 in College Station two weeks ago.

While the Kentucky game may not have moved the meter for national pundits, it definitely furthered the level of respect given by Arkansas coaches.

"That was as good of a game as you could have watched," assistant coach Gus Argenal said while stepping in for Musselman at this week's press conference. "The physicality, how tough they are. Turning Kentucky over 18 times like they did us pressuring the ball. It came down to the wire in a great environment. We definitely have seen the improvement in their team."

The Aggies may be continuing to grow as a team, history isn't on the Aggies side. The Razorbacks are 26-2 against A&M in Fayetteville over the past 51 years.

Meanwhile, the Hogs have definitely improved.

Since these two teams last met, Arkansas hasn't lost a game. The Hogs have held opponents to an average of 53 points while winning by a 23-point average margin.

Keith Smart-LSU — Stephen Lew / USA TODAY Sports

Davonte Davis-LSU — Stephen Lew / USA TODAY Sports

Trey Wade-LSU — Stephen Lew / USA TODAY Sports

LSU-Net-Scoreboard — Stephen Lew / USA TODAY Sports

"We had the Missouri game that really got us out of a hole," Argenal said. "We played a great 40 minutes of basketball. And then to go from there and not have a hangover in some sense into LSU to play well there and scrap a win out, and then to come home and not let down.

"We’re really proud of the maturity, and now it’s trying to get another win and not take a step back."

According to Argenal, part of the development is understanding how much Razorback fans respond to hard work.

Arkansas Razorbacks forward Jaylin Williams (10) dunks the ball in the second half against the Missouri Tigers at Bud Walton Arena. Arkansas won 87-43. Poor free throw shooting by South Carolina will take pressure off the Hogs to avoid fouls, allowing them to be more aggressive when attacking the basket. — Nelson Chenault-USA TODAY Sports

Kamani Johnson-Missouri — Michael Morrison / allHOGS Images

Trey Wade-Missouri — Nelson Chenault / USA TODAY Sports

The other part of it is to me as a coach watching this group is how you can get the fans ignited with your play," Argenal said. "I think you’ve seen that the last two home games just the fans getting excited about young men playing super hard."

The home environment has been such an advantage for Arkansas that the Aggies have only won once in Fayetteville since March 3, 1986 at Barnhill Arena during Nolan Richardson's first year as coach. The most recent win at that time was Feb. 6, 1971 during the first year of then Arkansas head coach Larry Van Eman.

"It's an incredible environment," Texas A&M coach Buzz Williams said. "As far as college basketball, I've never been there for a football game, but I think when you think of a college town playing in a high major league, Saturday afternoons it's a priority whether its the fall or the winter, and you feel that."

Davonte Davis-Texas Tech — C. Morgan Engal / NCAA Photos

But for those fans and the Bud Walton environment to matter, Arkansas will have to continue building on the skills that have led to the dramatic shift in success these past three games.

Argenal said improvement has come because focus from the coaching staff has been on using more passes to create better shots, and to continued to emphasis on the importance of defense, and players are starting to see the fruits of that philosophy.

Guard Stanley Umude said coaches have also emphasized focused improvement on individual skills where a player might not be reaching his full potential.

The coaching staff has been on me to use my athleticism to get more rebounds," Umude said. "Even when I score well, he’s on me about rebounding. He knows I can score, I just have got to make sure I am doing all the other things to help us win."

The emphasis has worked. Starting with the A&M loss, fans would have to go all the way back to the loss to Oklahoma in Tulsa to get as many total rebounds for Umude as he's collected during this three-game winning streak. He's also scored in double-digits four of his last six games, including a season high 28 against Vanderbilt.

Stanley Umude-South Carolina — Nelson Chenault / USA TODAY Sports

Stanley Umude-Mercer dunk — Nelson Chenault/USA TODAY Images

The improvement in rebounding hasn't been lost on Texas A&M head coach Buzz Williams.

"Arkansas hasn't lost since they were here," Williams said. "They haven't necessarily changed their plays, they've changed how they're playing their personnel. They've been tremendous on the glass. They're playing multiple guys that put pressure on the rim off the bounce, multiple guys that put pressure on the rim on the glass."

For Williams, the change in emphasis on rebounding has put Arkansas in line with Kentucky, which has led the conference in rebounding by a wide margin at over 42 rebounds per game.

"They had 20 offensive rebounds here that were 20 points by nine different guys, and they're rebounding the ball at an even higher clip over the last three games. They have been dominant on the glass, and a lot of that, I think, is because of how their personnel has changed. They're almost Kentucky-like in regard to offensive rebounds. It's not two guys like it is against Kentucky, it's four. They're sending four guys to the glass every time, and I think that's probably why they're doing what they're doing and they're having a lot of success with it."

One of the biggest changes for the Hogs has been the offensive production of Jaylin Williams. The forward was one rebound away from having three consecutive double-doubles while setting a new career high with 19 points against South Carolina.

Kamani Johnson-Jaylin Williams-Missouri — Nelson Chenault / USA TODAY Sports

Jaylin Williams-Missouri — Michael Morrison / allHOGS Images

Jaylin Williams-South Carolina — Andy Hodges / allHOGS Images

Jaylin Williams-Little Rock — Andy Hodges/allHOGS Images

"It gives us a lot more confidence and we're able to have a lot more options when [Williams is] clicking on offense like that," guard Stanley Umude said. "Before he got a little injury, all summer he was really doing that, he was hitting threes, he was getting all the boards and putting them back up, he was scoring really well in the summer.

"I think that injury kinda slowed him down a little bit, but he’s starting to get in stride at a good time."

• Return to allHogs home page

• Graphix look back at Hogs' football

• Want to join in on the discussion? Click here to become a member of the allHOGS message board community today!

• Follow allHOGS on Twitter and Facebook.

Published Jan 22, 2022

KENT SMITH

Kent Smith has been in the world of media and film for nearly 30 years. From Nolan Richardson's final seasons, former Razorback quarterback Clint Stoerner trying to throw to anyone and anything in the blazing heat of Cowboys training camp in Wichita Falls, the first high school and college games after 9/11, to Troy Aikman's retirement and Alex Rodriguez's signing of his quarter billion dollar contract, Smith has been there to report on some of the region's biggest moments.