A Nice Victory

Washington and Fortson had big games. Washington got a lot of rebound baskets and Fortson continued his brilliant play of late.

One important thing was that we held on to win after Washington fouled out near the end of the game with it close. A young team like this could have lost its composure, but instead they kept the lead and even extended it.

Sanchez was a non-factor. He opened both halves with two quick fouls, so Moore and Clark got some valuable playing time. At this point it looks like Moore is slightly ahead for the No. 3 big man slot.

Pelphrey’s teams don’t seem to defend the three-point shot any better than previous squads and without Sanchez their inside D was a little lacking as well.

My man Marcus Britt got the start over Welsh and played his usual solid game with good tight defense and taking his shots in the flow of the game. Welsh continued his erratic play. For most of the game, he was awful, driving into traffic and turning the ball over and not covering his man defensively, but at the end of the game he was money, making a big three pointer and hitting seven of eight free throws.

Clarke made key three pointers when we needed them, some from Al Dillard range. I am getting more impressed with him.

Officating was awful and very inconsistent.

They announced during the game that Montrell McDonald has left the team and will transfer, so we need Marcus Monk more than ever.

25 for 29 from the line. That’s netter than a poke in the eye with a sharp stick.

One observation I had was that Rotnei Clark (is he the one with the “e” or without) is going to be very, very dangerous. He is no Pat Bradley — or I should say Pat Bradley is no Rotnei Clarke(e). At the end of the game we were ahead 77 to 73 and needed something huge offensively. I was thinking Rotnei needs to hit a 3, and he did from about 25 feet. Cold blooded.

I think he needs more touches and shots and learn to drive some to the basket, but he is incredible for first month of his first year.

Washington continues to impress, looking like an NBA draft pick. Fortson is the toughest point guard we have had since Corey Beck, and he is better than Beck.

Too bad about McDonald. We could have used him.

Anyway, great game.

I was disppointed there were no Austin Peay fans chanting “Let’s Go Peay!”
Other than that, I thought one of the biggest things last night is that the Hogs went from 26 turnovers the previous game to only 11 last night. Austin Peay was undersized inside, but they still look good enough to repeat as OVC champions this year. So this win should look good on the Razorbacks resume come March if they end up having a chance to make the NCAA tourney.

The game was good. Definitely an improvement in ball handling from the previous game, but there were times the youth of this team showed up.

Knight’s description of the game is spot on. Brit is definitely playing better than Welsh, but Welsh did finish the game pretty well. I think Rotnei is a great shooter, but I think he needs to move around more and try to get open. We also need to work on our defense some.

The worst part of the game by far was the officiating. There were several fouls that shouldn’t have been given. Washington was a monster, and some of his fouls should have been called the other way. But even though I don’t agree with all the fouls he got, I’m still worried about how much he uses his elbows to get separation.

For the past six seasons, at this time in December, whenever a Razorback coach tried to substitute at all, whatever the starting five was doing would fall apart with the reserves. John Pelphrey just won a game against a solid opponent while liberally substituting. This is an advance that could mean a lot, if this team doesn’t suffer injuries or more attrition. They sure didn’t need a juco player flying off the handle and quitting on them, like McDonald did.

This team has some aspects that are very difficult to defend against, and this is an outstanding team on the defensive boards. Not giving up offensive rebounds makes up for a lot of other weaknesses, and if they slowly improve the defense they could be quite competitive in the rather flimsy SEC this year.

Just to add to what has already been said, these guys seem to lose their focus or intensity pretty easily. Pelphrey yells at them constantly during the games it seems. We had a 10 point lead twice in the 2nd half and should have been able to extend it both times but made mistakes on defense that let a good shooting team get looks that were too good.

Peay put a blanket on Rotnei in the 2nd half and he only got 1 basket but it was a good one. If he goes a while without getting a look he will force his shot. When he’s set he’s money but he pretty much has to be set.