By Nate Allen
Special to the News-Times
FAYETTEVILLE - If before tossing up the game-opening jump ball the referee says, “May the best team win,” these Arkansas Razorbacks probably ought to wince.
Because coach Billy Kennedy’s nationally No. 21 Texas A&M Aggies, though 17-9, 6-7 in the SEC compared to Arkansas’ 18-8, 7-6, were the prevailing preseason pick to win the SEC for a variety of reasons, reasons they exemplified vanquishing the Razorbacks 80-66 on Jan. 30 at A&M’s Reed Arena in College Station, Texas.
But today’s 3 p.m. ESPN televised SEC game is at Arkansas’ Walton Arena.
And 13 times out of 14, these 2017-2018 Razorbacks of coach Mike Anderson have fared better than their opponents at Walton.
“Our crowd is always fantastic,” Anderson said. “I think it’s worth eight to 10 points. So for the fans, we need your points.”
Likely the Hogs will need every home-court advantage point and then some given how good the Aggies can be.
The Aggies roared 11-1, ranking as high as No. 5 in the country, through a tough non-conference schedule. And they have won four of their last five SEC games after a rash of injuries and suspensions ambushed them during an unfathomably bad 0-5 SEC start.
The 0-5 skid comprised home losses to LSU and Florida and road encounters of the losing kind at Alabama, Kentucky and Tennessee.
Arkansas, in the past often opening the SEC season against the Aggies, this season suffered the misfortune of not drawing their first A&M meeting until Jan. 30.
That’s when A&M started its four-game winning streak that ended in last Saturday’s 62-58 loss in Columbia, Mo., to “a hot Missouri team,” Anderson said.
“I think they are better,” Anderson said of the Aggies now versus than on Jan. 30. “And that was probably their coming out party when we played them. They made some shots.”
Junior 6-9 A&M forward DJ Hogg hit three quick early second-half threes, quickly accelerating the Aggies’ advantage which was just 33-32 at the half.
A&M freshman point guard T.J. Starks hit 4-of-5 treys and scored a stunning team-high 16 points with four rebounds and five assists.
“Starks spearheads them,” Anderson said of the freshman developing while projected point guard J.J. Caldwell encountered disciplinary issues and was eventually dismissed from the team.
A&M’s starting five scored between the 10 points by 6-10 forward Robert Williams, seven rebounds and three blocked shots, and Starks’ 16 with Hogg scoring 11, guard Admon Gilder 13 points with eight rebounds, and 6-10 forward Tyler Davis’ double-double with 15 points and 13 rebounds.
Reserve A&M forward Tonny Troche-Morelos, also 6-10, grabbed five rebounds, as A&M outrebounded Arkansas 45-30.
“They have one of the bigger front lines in the country,” Anderson said.
And one of the best and most experienced that immediately plunged Daniel Gafford, Arkansas’ 6-11 fine freshman from El Dorado, into foul trouble.
However, the Aggies aren’t the only team improved since that Jan. 30 game at College Station.
“I think we’re playing better than we were a month ago,” Anderson said.
Gafford has total 46 points, 21 rebounds and blocked 10 shots for Arkansas’ last three games, SEC successes at Walton over South Carolina and Vanderbilt and on the road at Ole Miss.
Since Hogg and Starks hit their sprees of threes followed by LSU torching them with 15-of-30 threes and beat them 94-86 in Baton Rouge, La., the Razorbacks limited South Carolina to 6-of-18 threes, compelled a good shooting Vandy team to hit an abysmal 3-of-26 tried treys and kept Ole Miss at 7-of-23 while connecting on 8-of-25.
“I think our defense is much better,” Anderson said.
“I think our guys are paying attention to detail and we’re fixing some things on defense.”
And on the boards.
After the Aggies erased them 45-30, Arkansas outrebounded LSU and Vandy and was just down four and down two rebounding against South Carolina and Ole Miss.
Offensively, while of course relying on their SEC scoring leading senior guards Jaylen Barford and Daryl Macon, plus big man Gafford, Anderson is getting more out of his bench, including 6-8 freshman forward Gabe Osabuohien, a rebounding, defensive factor the last three games, and 6-6 freshman guard Darious Hall, whose surprising 13 points and seven rebounds in the first meeting with the Aggies was a forerunner to his double-double of 14 points and 11 rebounds against Ole Miss.
“I think we have more guys ready to play, and I’m trusting them to go out and play,” Anderson said.