Against all odds, Arkansas basketball pulled off the second-greatest comeback in Bud Walton Arena history on Wednesday. While they finally threw the "first SEC-win" monkey off their back, there's still a long way to go before fans should feel good about this team game in and game out.
Saturday's test against Oklahoma will be especially challenging, given how vastly different the Sooners compare to Georgia. But Arkansas come out victorious if the frontcourt can make a difference on offense.
First look at Oklahoma
By the numbers
Unlike Georgia, Oklahoma has a good offense, scoring 80 points a game. It's also one of the best three-point shooting teams in the SEC. At 37 percent, the Sooners rank No. 3 in the conference behind Auburn and Texas but only attempt the tenth-most shots (438). From the field, Oklahoma ranks No. 2 behind Auburn, averaging 48.6 percent.
However, defensively, the Sooners give up the 14th-worst field goal percentage (43.5) and points per game (70.9). They're also the 14th-worst in scoring margin (9.9), but unfortunately, the two teams below Oklahoma include Arkansas (8.6).
While the Hogs aren't dominant on the glass, the Sooners make Arkansas look like prime Bill Russell. Oklahoma barely cracks 30 boards a game while giving up 33.7. Defending the rim is also a problem for the Sooners, blocking a league-wost 2.72 shots a game.
Key players
While the philosophies of Georgia and Oklahoma contrast, they have at least one thing in common: a big man leads them in points and rebounds. The Bulldogs have Asa Newell, while the Sooners have forward Jalon Moore.
Moore averages 18.3 points a game and 6.3 rebounds. At 6-foot 7-inches, he's smaller than Newell but essentially plays the same role, except Moore is exceptionally better from beyond the three-point line. In 57 attempts, Moore has knocked down 43.9 percent of his shots while shooting 52.9 from the floor.
At point guard, Oklahoma will mainly play Kobe Elvis (6-foot, 1-inch), but the outstanding freshman, Jeremiah Fears (6-foot, 4-inches), can deliver the ball just as well. Together, Fears and Kobe account for 144 assists this season, 54.7 percent of the team's total. Fears is also the second-leading scorer, averaging 16.8 points a game, and third-leading rebounder with 4.
Oklahoma's schedule
The Sooners will come into Bud Walton unranked, but they're a solid squad that's fallen out of the top 25 after starting 1-4 in SEC play (sound familiar?). In its first five games, Oklahoma has drawn some of the toughest teams in the conference, just like Arkansas. To kick off the conference season, it went to Tuscaloosa to play Alabama, then faced off against a top-10 Texas A&M squad.
Georgia — a bonafide quad-1 team currently — hosted the Sooners in Athens and beat them 72-62. With a 0-3 record, Oklahoma then traveled to Texas for the basketball equivalent of the Red River Rivalry. Finally, they turned the tables against an SEC opponent when the Sooners caught a break against South Carolina, beating the Gamecocks by 20 points.
Conclusion
While the win against Georgia feels great — as it was desperately needed — Oklahoma is a vastly different team. Arkansas beat Georgia with physicality at the rim, drawing fouls, hitting free throws, and knocking down second-chance points. The Hogs proved they could win a game with defense and fought back against adversity. But is it enough to beat Oklahoma?
The Sooners are not as aggressive in the paint, especially on defense. They like to shoot the three and are very efficient from the floor. And impressively, Oklahoma does it without depending on the charity stripe, averaging 20.6 trips per game. Even if they did, the Sooners hit their shots at an 80-percent clip.
One good, second-half defensive game against a lackluster Georgia offense is unlikely to awaken a defensive juggernaut in this Arkansas team. Also, it's had too much difficulty stopping teams from the three-point line, even against Georgia, and Oklahoma has proven it can burn teams from downtown.
Arkansas must find a way to score points, whether at the line, as it did against the Bulldogs, or in a traditional sense — because the Hogs will likely have to prove they can keep up with Oklahoma offensively.
And with the Sooners' defense, there's no reason why Adou Theiro, Jonas Aidoo, Big Z, and Trevon Brazile shouldn't do whatever they want on Saturday. It's time for Arkansas's frontcourt to shine. It's time to let the big dogs eat.