Arkansas Sports 360 - ArkansasSports360.com

12/1/2010 at 10:49pm

Arkansas 84, Oklahoma 74

Why Arkansas Won
Selective shooting and a harassing defensive effort were key in the victory for Arkansas (4-1). Rather than force shots in the halfcourt, the Razorbacks were patient, finishing 50.9 percent from the field. Oklahoma (3-4) committed 24 turnovers - the fourth time in five games Arkansas has forced at least 20. Those turnovers led to easy points and helped the lead grow as large as 17 in the second half.

Gamebreaker
Pick a category on the stat sheet and junior point guard Jeff Peterson made an impact. He scored 15 points with five assists, three steals and two rebounds. Peterson was 8 of 9 at the free-throw line as the Razorbacks hit 23 of 26 (88.5 percent) of their attempts.

Quick Trigger
No Arkansas player has reached 200 3-pointers faster than junior guard Rotnei Clarke. He ranks fifth all-time and is eight behind Lee Mayberry after just 66 games.

Clarke finished with a game-high 20 points. He hit 7 of 12 shots, including 3 of 5 3-pointers that moved him up the career list.

Reaching fourth place wasn’t something Clarke spent much time discussing postgame.

“We’ve got a lot of other games to play” Clarke said. “That’s not what is important to me.”

Coach John Pelphrey jokingly took credit for Clarke’s accomplishment. He quickly followed up with praise for the Oklahoma native’s work ethic.

“His coach is doing a wonderful job getting him shots. Fastest Razorback ever to 200, huh? Good for him. He’s worked hard,” Pelphrey said. “I’m proud of him. Hope he can get a few more in.”

Taking Charge
There’s more to defense than forcing turnovers or altering shots. Arkansas displayed one additional facet Thursday by drawing six charges, including two taken by Peterson.

Entering the game, the Razorbacks had taken just five charges through four games.

Needs Improvement
Oklahoma nearly doubled up Arkansas when it came to rebounding. The Sooners finished with 42, including 18 defensive rebounds.

Arkansas had 23 total rebounds, but did shoot a high percentage. Marvell Waithe led the team with six rebounds, a much lower total than Pelphrey would like to see from the category leader.

“When somebody is leading our team with six that’s not very good,” Pelphrey said.

Rough Night
Not only does Marshawn Powell have good and bad days. He apparently has good and bad halves.

Powell, who is fighting to recover form a broken foot, seemed to show progress in the first half. He played only two minutes after halftime and ended the night with two points and two rebounds in 12 minutes.

“We need him to get healthy,” Pelphrey said.

Star Power
Razorback greats are on display for every game as part of a new highlight video package commissioned by the UA athletic marketing department. Wednesday the stars were there in person.

Former Razorback greats Ron Brewer Sr. and Sidney Moncrief were among the 10,047 in attendance. Also on hand was Clint McDaniel, the defensive star from the Razorbacks’ 1994 national title team.

"It means a lot. Those guys are a huge part of what make it special to be a Razorback from the basketball side of it. We are so proud of our past. We celebrate it," Pelphrey said. "I’m glad those guys were here. Glad we could perform good enough for a win. Those guys set a standard pretty high. One we try to live up to. It’s great to have them around."

Speaking Out
“I thought this was a team victory. Everybody had a chance to impact and be a part of it.”
—Arkansas Coach John Pelphrey

Speaking Out II
“What did us in was our inability to defend. We had 74 points. That should have been enough to win.”
—Oklahoma Coach Jeff Capel

Up Next
Arkansas hosts Troy at 2 p.m. Saturday.

Tagged: Arkansas Razorbacks, Jeff Peterson, John Pelphrey, Jeff Capel, Oklahoma Sooners, Clint McDaniel, Sidney Moncrief, Ron Brewer