How bad is Arkansas? Bad enough to be unable to beat an Ole Miss team coming off two disappointing losses with only seven scholarship players and three guards in the rotation. It is tough to say just how good of a job AK did here. Yeah, I know it was Arkansas. I know they are 2-13 in the SEC now. I know I said they were awful in my last post. But we just beat them in Arkansas, with seven players, and played 45 minutes of basketball.
The Rebels won because of their fully loaded anemic back court. Terrico White was phenomenal. Surprise, Surprise. He went 9-16 from the floor, 6-9 from the charity stripe and 5-8 from three point land. Ridiculous. He is with out a doubt SEC freshman of the year and may get some consideration for national freshman of the year.
Zach Graham did not let the fact that he has one knee hinder him either. A good friend of mine once called him a "pussy." While I didn't agree with him at the time, I didn't really refute the point. However, after watching Showcase continue to be consistent with a bum knee I don't see how you can say that (this was before we knew the knee was as bad as it is). Graham put up 20 points tonight and hit a big three in overtime which basically ended the game. Hopefully his offseason knee surgery will not cause him to miss some time next season.
The final piece to the Rebel victory tonight was... Will Bogan? Will "Stand up for the champions" Bogan looked like an SEC point guard tonight. 16 points, 7 assists and a block for good measure on the night. I did not see that coming and neither did you.
This team drives me insane with its inconsistencies and letdowns, but the heart it showed tonight says quite a bit. It looks like the NIT is a real possibility, if not a certainty now, and I expect them to make a decent run in the SEC Tournament. Who knows, maybe even host another NIT game during Spring Break that no one is going to attend.
By the way, Pelphrey may want to hire an assistant who knows a thing or two about defense. 98 points?