Arkansas' talented guards will provide biggest challenge for Kentucky

Even without projected NBA lottery pick Nick Smith Jr., who came into the 2022-23 season as a heralded five-star shooting guard out of high school, the Arkansas Razorbacks’ backcourt has no shortage of talented guards. A three-headed monster of fellow five-star freshman Anthony Black and juniors Ricky Council IV and Davonte Davis has created a very dangerous attack for head coach Eric Musselman, who leans on that triad to provide the heavy bulk of production for his group.

Even though Arkansas, much like Kentucky, has failed to live up to lofty preseason expectations, the Razorbacks are still one of the SEC’s most dangerous teams, mainly because of what the three guards mentioned above bring to the table. They quite literally play more minutes than almost any other player in the conference. According to KenPom, Davis leads the SEC in percentage of minutes played during league games with Black in third and Council in fourth (Kentucky’s Oscar Tshiebwe claims the second spot).

Arkansas goes as far as those three guards take them, which has resulted in a 16-7 (5-5 SEC) record thus far. When the backcourt is firing on all cylinders, the Razorbacks are tough to take down. Arkansas is 5-2 (including four straight wins coming into this week) during conference play when those three combine to shoot higher than 40 percent for the game, but a winless 0-3 when they dip below that figure.

“It’s a tough matchup,” Kentucky assistant coach Orlando Antigua told reporters on Monday. “Those three guards are playing 30-plus minutes a game and they all bring their own talent and abilities to the table. Ricky Council is certainly one of those guys that on any given night can go off for 30 (points). We have a great challenge in terms of trying to contain him and Davonte Davis has been playing ridiculously in those last four games, as well as Anthony Black.”

Council (14.5 PPG), Black (12.9 PPG), and Davis (14.5 PPG) lead Arkansas in scoring by a significant margin during SEC games. The next highest-scoring available players for Coach Musselman are five-star freshman forward Jordan Walsh, who will provide his own unique challenge to Kentucky’s defense, and senior Makhi Mitchell — both of which are at 7.2 points per game.

While two-thirds of this trio isn’t exactly the most efficient at shooting the ball (as you’ll see in the stats below), they all rebound well and play impactful defense. Council made the cut for the Oscar Robertson Midseason Player of the Year Watch list, while Davis, now in year three with Arkansas, has picked up his scoring numbers in league play. Black is a force with the ball in his hands as a legit 6-foot-7 point guard possessing elite vision

“6-7 point guard, 200-pound guard that can really pass the ball,” Antigua said of Black. “Has a great feel for the game and they put him in position so he can have success.”

Arkansas’ backcourt numbers through 10 SEC games

Ricky Council: 34.9 MPG – 14.5 PPG, 3.6 RPG, 2.1 APG, 1.2 SPG | 37.0 FG%/21.7 3PT%/77.4 FT%

Anthony Black: 37.3 MPG – 12.9 PPG, 5.7 RPG, 4.6 APG, 1.7 SPG | 38.2 FG%/25.0 3PT%/69.8 FT%

Davonte Davis: 37.0 MPG – 14.5 PPG, 5.2 RPG, 3.2 APG, 1.4 SPG | 49.3 FG%/40.0 3PT%/73.3 FT%

Arkansas almost has no choice at this point but to go all-in on its backcourt. Smith Jr. has only played five games this season after being sidelined with a knee injury in December. Trevon Brazile, one of the top transfer options available this past offseason, is out with a knee injury of his own after just nine games. Both were expected to have major roles on this team, which has forced Coach Musselman into feeding more minutes deeper down the bench.

With Council, Black, and Davis soaking up most of the minutes in SEC games, Arkansas rolls out a short rotation. Walsh is part of that at 26.1 minutes per outing while twin brothers Makhi (22.1 MPG) and Makhel Mitchell (17.1 MPG) are right there, too. But outside of those six, no other Razorback averages more than 12 minutes per contest. Musselman is constantly fidgeting with lineups, having already played six different starting five groups through 10 conference outings.

Arkansas will bring a four-game conference win streak into Rupp Arena when Kentucky (which has won six straight SEC games in its own right) plays host on Tuesday night. Finding ways to slow down the Razorbacks’ backcourt trio could be the key for the ‘Cats.

“Expecting a tough challenge. They’ve won four in a row in conference. They’ve got a really talented team, three of the best guards in the league and they’re gonna be well-prepared,” Antigua said. “They’ve got a great coach in Coach Musselman. We know that games in conference right now at this point in the season, in February, they’re all hard. We need to be at our best and we’re playing at a great pace, a great rhythm right now, and want to continue that.”

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