Photo by Associated Press

The importance of pace

 Connecticut guard Jalen Adams converted a layup with 14:02 left in the first half to cut into an early Arkansas lead.

Six seconds later, C.J. Jones' baseline jumper splashed through the net.

In between, Arkansas didn't waste any time. Daniel Gafford grabbed the ball out of the net after Adams' make, inbounding to Anton Beard, who pushed it with three quick dribbles and fired a hit-ahead pass to Jones.





The sophomore guard was open and pulled the trigger. Quick shot? Yes. Good look? Definitely.





Beard airballs the shot, but this is where good coaches are process-based and not result-driven. Barford pushed the ball and found Beard wide-open for a wing 3. He simply missed a good look.

The possessions were indicative of an early season trend, the Razorbacks' desire to push the pace after makes, misses and turnovers alike. Arkansas ranks 18th in the nation in tempo (74.7 possessions per game) and 43rd in offensive pace (15.5 seconds per possession).

It isn't exactly breaking news that it is easier to score early in the clock against defenses that are still running back. Finding driving lanes and open cutters and shooters is simpler against a defense that isn't set. Duh.

Arkansas, like many good teams, searches out looks in early offense by pushing the pace, encouraging players to put up good looks even if its just a few seconds into the clock.

The Hogs have had success playing like this under Mike Anderson his first six years and this year. They can get into trouble at times when they don't.

That's what happened against North Carolina, particularly in the first half of the 87-68 loss. Arkansas got stuck in the mud.

The Hogs weren't able to push the basketball, scoring zero fast-break points. They didn't get much out of semi-transition or early offense, either. Essentially, the Tar Heels made it a halfcourt game.

Arkansas struggled. The Hogs averaged 20 seconds per possession in the opening half, a massive difference from their season mark.

Of their 34 first-half possessions, a whopping nine ended with the shot clock reaching less than 10 seconds, with seven of those dipping to lower than 5 ticks. They only managed five points.

Arkansas' senior guards, particularly Jaylen Barford and Daryl Macon, provide late-clock shotmaking. The Hogs still rank in the 99th percentile nationally in offense with less than four seconds on the shot clock, averaging a preposterous 1.323 points per possession. That'll be tougher to sustain against better competition, which is what we saw against North Carolina.

The Hogs' motion offense was gummed up. Too often, players didn't cut and screen with enough vigor to open up off-the-ball options. The result was a lot of late-clock forced shots the Tar Heels were able to contest.

Arkansas ran sets, too. The Hogs tried to get untracked by calling a few different plays on several trips down the court, but largely to no avail: they only shot 32 percent and posted a 76.5 offensive rating in the first half.





The Hogs go with a little weave action early in the possession, but fail to gain any traction and shift into setting up for a ball screen. But Trey Thompson is late to get out and set the screen, allowing the North Carolina defense to re-set and load up instead of arriving sooner and allowing Beard to zoom into the pick. Instead, Beard has to wait, North Carolina shows and blows up the play and no other off-ball movement leads to a forced 3-pointer.

It's often harder to put forth consistent effort on both ends of the court when shots aren't falling. Heads lower. Shoulders slump. Beard was 3 of 9 in the first half, Macon 1 of 9.

Fortunately for Arkansas, the first half was the exception to this season. The Hogs were zippier in the second half, averaging 14 seconds per possession. When they push the pace, regardless of the situation, good stuff happens.

Some NBA teams track their halfcourt offensive efficiency based on how much time is left on the shot clock the ball crosses midcourt. The correlation between pace and offensive efficiency is apparent. The earlier teams get the ball across halfcourt and get into their offense, the easier it is to score. It's easier to generate good shots early in the clock before the defense can set itself.

That proved true for Arkansas in Portland.

Cat and mouse

Thompson is a large human being.

Not exactly breaking news. At 6-foot-9, 260 pounds, the senior is Arkansas' second-tallest player and easily its heaviest.

Arkansas' guards take advantage of his frame.

Often, the Razorbacks are at their best in the halfcourt when Thompson handles the ball on the perimeter, with the other four players screening and cutting off of each other. Overaggressive defenders leave the door open for back cuts and layups. Any miscommunication off the ball can lead to an easy score with Thompson scouring the floor for a crevice to fit a pass in.

If nothing presents itself off the ball, one of Arkansas' guards will typically come get it from Thompson. Sometimes he'll flip it to them as they run by. Other times, he'll perform a dribble hand-off. Either way, he's setting a screen for them as they receive the ball, a situation that is difficult for the defense to guard and can result in high-quality looks.

Arkansas has done a great job utilizing this in the halfcourt this year, ranking in the 96th percentile nationally by averaging a blistering 1.357 points per possession on hand-offs.

Macon and Thompson have developed great chemistry, reading the defense in unison to lead to openings.





Young goes under the hand-off to meet Macon on the other side, so Macon parks it behind Thompson and drills the open shot.





Look at all the space Barford has from this DHO. His man ducks under the screen and Thompson's stays attached to him, leaving Barford with plenty of room. If or how defenses adjust to Barford's hot early season 3-point shooting (50 percent on a healthy five attempts per game) will be worth watching.

His defender's decision to go under the screen and try to meet him on the other side is a bit forgivable. The last thing defenses want to do is give the senior a running start to the rim, where he is shooting 71.4 percent in the halfcourt, good for the 80th percentile nationally.





He got the corner here. Game over.

The threat of a dribble hand-off can result in open looks with smart off-ball movement by the guards.





Trae Young was determined to fight over the screen, so Macon, reading this, just flared back out to the wing for an open look. Thompson read it the whole way, too, delivering the on-time, on-target pass.

Thompson's 19.9 assist percentage is second on the team to Barford's 20.7. That means both players assist on about one-fifth of the team's shots while they're on the floor.

That's a great number for a big. Thompson and Arkansas' guards have great chemistry and it can lead to a lot of good looks.

When he is on the court, DHOs can exist as sort of a fail-safe. They typically always lead to decent shots.

Smart Sooners

Both Anderson and OU coach Lon Kruger brought up Arkansas' press after the Razorbacks' 92-83 win in the opener Thursday.

Kruger thought the pressure sped his team up, particularly in the first half, leading to poor decisions like turnovers or rushed shots.

But the veteran coach had a solid game plan for attacking the man press and it led to a number of easy looks in the second half.

Sophomore forward Matt Freeman was tasked with taking the ball out. At 6-foot-10, he doesn't fit the mold of playmaker with the ball in his hands, but that's exactly how the Sooners used him.

In its man press, Arkansas generally doubles the ballhandler after the ball is inbounded. For a lot of teams, the player inbounding the ball is a big who doesn't possess great ballhandling skills. Freeman was different.

He was comfortable with the ball in his hands, so whoever received the inbounds pass, typically freshman Trae Young, would just toss it back to him once the double team came and let him go.





It essentially created a 4 on 3 fast-break situation. Easy bucket. That wasn't an isolated situation. No one rotated and stopped the ball for Arkansas and the result was a dunk.

Anderson called those buckets 'Fools Gold,' emphasizing that while some situations allowed OU to create numbers and score quickly, others led to rushed shots while coaxing OU into playing super fast, which may have contributed to the Sooners fading down the stretch.

He has valid points. Kruger and Co. also did a nice job to counteract the pressure and turn it into easy offense at times.

Great setting, great ball

I walked into one of the famous Voodoo Doughnut stores in downtown Portland at about 1 a.m. local time Friday night/Saturday morning, waited in line and had my order ready to go.

Didn't work out like I'd hoped. They didn't have two of their speciality donuts — the Memphis Mafia and Maple Blazer Blunt — ready. And they only accepted cash. And their ATM was broken.

So much for that. I went back the next night, with cash, to find they had the treats in question this time around. I was in luck, so I thought. The donuts were OK, maybe a tad overhyped (except for the Memphis Mafia, my goodness banana, cinnamon, chocolate and peanut butter is a heck of a combo).

Hurts Donut in Fayetteville is comparable, if not superior. But the good news was the Voodo experience was the only part of the trip to Portland that didn't exceed my unreasonably high expectations.

I've long loved the idea of the Pacific Northwest, with its nature and foggy, dreary days. Finally experiencing it was a treat. I got to explore some of the local sites and wasn't disappointed. There were so many hole-in-the-wall places all around the city and the scenery was fantastic the farther you ventured out.

The scenery at the Moda Center — Rose Garden, to locals — was great, too. Obviously I was there to cover Arkansas, but I got to watch a ton of great basketball at an awesome venue.

Oklahoma's Trae Young was incredible. Getting to see high lottery talent like Texas' Mo Bamba and Duke's Marvin Bagley was a treat. The atmosphere for Friday night's Florida-Gonzaga game was phenomenal, with most of the arena filled with Zag fans. Sunday's crowd for a great Duke-Florida showdown was excellent.

It was a weekend that made me remember how fortunate I am to have my job. Here's to hoping the event becomes an annual one and Arkansas makes a return trip.

Cool Gafford

Daniel Gafford's foul troubles may have actually been a blessing in disguise for Arkansas in Portland.

Sure, the Hogs would preferred if he hadn't picked up 13 fouls in three games, fouling out in the UConn blowout. But in a tournament full of future NBA talent in venues swarming with NBA personnel, the foul issues may have allowed him to fly under the radar a bit.

Now, there's no arguing NBA people know all about him. Draft media were courtside to watch him. There were scouts in the stands taking it in, too. His athleticism and frame make him a future pro, without doubt.

But the three scouts sitting near me during the UConn game were disappointed by his lack of discipline on a few of his fouls. Obviously it's an area he will improve in as he gains more experience, but having his playing time limited might not have been the worst thing ever.

Of course, he had plenty of highlights when he was out there, namely some more massive dunks.

But he also continued to show off the potential he has as a passer, a skill he's flashed several times this year. It was most prevalent against OU when the Sooners tried to trap him on the block.

Even for experienced bigs, being double-teamed can lead to disaster, whether it be getting stripped, throwing a bad pass or forcing up a rushed shot. But Gafford handled the double teams calm and cool, perusing the floor and hitting cutters with on-point passes.





Really impressive stuff. Gafford accepts the double and makes the correct read with a good dish. He has only turned it over twice on post-ups this year.

He only has five assists this year, but also has just seven turnovers in six games. He's taken care of the ball and shown some flashes of passing ability that will become even more valuable as he turns into more of a scoring threat.

We already knew he could use his athleticism to produce highlight-reel plays. We'd seen him lift Arkansas' defense when on the court.

But we got to see the latter at work against a higher level of competition and it was fascinating. There was no drop-off from the early season blowout wins.

Arkansas had an elite defense with Gafford on the court in Portland, allowing just 76.7 points per 100 possessions, according to HoopLens.com, a number that would rank second in the nation on the team level for the season. Through six games, the Hogs have a 79.9 defensive rating with Gafford out there.

The on-off numbers for the 6-11 freshman are eye-opening.

With him on the floor, Arkansas forces turnovers on 28 percent of opponent possessions and holds teams to 43.9 shooting on 2-pointers. Without him, the turnover rate dips to 14.8 and the shooing percentage on 2s jumps to 52.9.

It's early and a small sample size, but the eye test backs up the data so far. The Hogs are a markedly different team on defense when he's on the floor.

His length changes everything. Finishes at the rim have to be shot a little higher.





Nice job helping on the curl off the pindown to thwart the drive and then influencing the shot and forcing a tough floater that missed.

When the Hogs drop into a zone, he's chilling on the back line mucking everything up for the opposing offense with his length.

Arkansas went on 9-0 and 10-0 runs in the second half of the UNC game with Gafford on the court. His presence makes a massive difference.

Portland was an interesting experience for Gafford. He only averaged 18 minutes per game, but there is little question that he is a game-changing specimen and will be hell for opponents once he starts to figure it out, in more ways than with just his athleticism, too.

CJ's breakout

C.J. Jones wears No. 23 but he plays like a certain No. 24 at times.

When the sophomore guard is feeling it or sees a defender closing out hard, he likes to extend his right leg, a move straight from the great Kobe Bryant.





Problem was, he hadn't been feeling it often when the Hogs headed to Portland. Or in the OU win. He entered the North Carolina game just 2 of 10 from 3-point range in the Hogs' first four games, a bad start for a player who's best skill is, far and away, his ability to shoot the basketball.

Much as we may look back at Gafford's foul troubles over the weekend as a silver lining, perhaps Macon's injury against North Carolina was the same. His absence forced Jones into a bigger role, necessitating he play a career-high 26 minutes.

He started 2 of 8 from 3-point range, missing several of what felt like key 3s in the second half as Arkansas tried to rally: down 9 with 14:55 left, down 7 with 12:34 left.

But then it clicked. He hit 3-pointers on back-to-back possessions late in the game that, coupled with an and-1 by Barford, pulled Arkansas to within 74-68.





The Hogs didn't win, but that stretch could wind up being huge. Jones' confidence carried over to the UConn game, where he scored a career-high 19 points on eight shots, knocking down 3 of 6 from deep for a solid 5 of 8 finish to the weekend.

It was a welcome sign for a team playing its three seniors big minutes. Beard and Barford are averaging more than 30 per game and the injury is the only thing keeping Macon from joining them.

Arkansas needs Jones to be able to play 20 to 25 minutes a night so those cats can get breathers. He'll have to shoot the ball well in order to earn the minutes. His defense is still suspect at times, but his shot is pure and he can put up points in a hurry when he gets in a groove.

This trip was proof to everyone else and probably most importantly him.

No doubting Thomas

Anderson immediately inserted the senior forward into the rotation in a sizable role.

With Thomas' suspension over, Anderson played him 20 minutes per game over the weekend and had him out there in crunch time in his season debut against Oklahoma.

Thomas' production was a mixed bag.

He was a fantastic offensive rebounder, snaring 11 percent of Arkansas misses while on the court. He made 8 of 10 free throws and had a few nice, aggressive drives to the rim. He made a handful of good rotations on defense, plays you'd expect a fifth-year senior to make.

He also allowed 11 points defending nine isolation, struggling to shuffle his feet quickly enough. He made just 1 of 4 jumpers and threw up one particularly ugly brick. And he turned the ball over on 35.4 percent of his possessions, a massive number.

It stands to reason Thomas will get better. After all, last weekend was the first time he'd played this year. He has displayed good passing ability and savvy in the past, but he looked out of sorts often over the weekend as the ball stuck when it got to him.





He isn't the finisher or rim protector Adrio Bailey is because he doesn't possess that type of athleticism. Bailey's 10.2 block rate ranks fifth in the SEC and he has meshed well with the starters, a group that is easily the most utilized lineup on the team and is sporting a massive plus-33.8 net rating.

Bailey's starting job would seem safe for now, but Thomas has already cut into his minutes. It will be worth tracking to see how the distribution is handled moving forward.

Aggressive Hall

Thomas' 35.4 turnover percentage is bad, but he at least offers some passing and playmaking skill. Hall doesn't have that excuse, yet possesses a 28.7 turnover rate.

That's a shoddy number for a low-usage role player who isn't asked to be an offensive threat. Hall doesn't have great quickness off the bounce against wings and guards and has appeared hesitant to use his left hand. He's overdribbled and gotten himself into trouble. He's averaging the ninth-most minutes on the team but has the fourth-most total turnovers.

Still, some of his miscues are the result of him being overly aggressive, trying to do too much.

At the same time, he's a freshman. Mistakes are going to happen. You'd rather miscues stem from overaggressiveness than the opposite.





Two good takes. He is a straight-line driver at this point, but his frame and physicality should make him tough to match up with down the road as his skill level improves.

Hall's playing time has been sporadic, even with the lack of great backcourt depth. He played just a combined 12 minutes in the OU and UNC games before playing 14 in the UConn blowout.

He'll have to prove to Anderson he's worthy of minutes, a potentially hard sell given his offensive limitations. Jones is going to get minutes as the top bench guard and Anderson has been cautious about running out lineups with just one of the senior guards on the court.

They've actually fared well to this point, including averaging 114.6 in Portland with only one of Beard, Barford and Macon on the floor. But that level of efficiency probably isn't sustainable and places a massive playmaking burden on whoever is out there of the trio.

Still, Hall can provide a lift defensively.

He is still learning rotations, but has shown signs of being a menace as a defender. His length is a huge asset.





He is the fill man, stunting into the lane to discourage the drive and take away any cutters. He can look intimidating with his 7-foot wingspan. He helps dissuade the drive and still recovers to get a good contest on his man on the wing. Impressive little sequence.

Having a player like him to guard bigger wings could come in handy later in the season. Him improving offensively will be important for him to be out there in position to make a difference.