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Arkansas basketball snaps four-game losing streak with win over Ole Miss

christina long, fort smith times record
·2 min read
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FAYETTEVILLE — No. 25 Arkansas men's basketball snapped its four-game losing streak Saturday with a 69-57 win over Ole Miss.

The Razorbacks dominated the second half and forced 17 Ole Miss turnovers to secure their second SEC win.

"(Coach Eric Musselman) told us every game from now on is our Super Bowl," forward Jordan Walsh said. "We went in treating it like that."

Second-half turnaround

Arkansas (13-6, 2-5 SEC) had trouble containing Ole Miss' offense early. The Rebels (9-10, 1-6) aren't typically a dominant offensive team, ranking No. 9 in the SEC with a 43% field goal percentage.

The Razorbacks were generating turnovers, but the Rebels shot 50% from the field in the first half to Arkansas' 43%. That meant Arkansas held a narrow 3-point lead at the break.

The Razorbacks built a lead early in the second half as the defense ramped up. Ole Miss made just one its first six shots from the field and had six turnovers in the first six minutes after halftime. Arkansas held the Rebels to 37% from the field in the second half.

The early defensive effort allowed Arkansas to put together a 9-0 run over about three minutes, and the Razorbacks led by double digits for the rest of the game.

"I thought in the first half, we weren’t making shots; the flow wasn’t what we wanted offensively," Musselman said. "But I thought in the second half... We were kind of doing what we do, which is create offense through our defense."

Arkansas cleans up turnovers

In Arkansas' loss to Missouri on Wednesday, the Razorbacks had 21 turnovers. They entered Saturday's game averaging 14 giveaways per game in SEC play.

Arkansas took better care of the ball Saturday, totaling 11 turnovers. It was the Razorbacks' lowest mark since the conference opener against LSU.

"If you turn the ball over in football, you're probably not going to win," Musselman said. "For us, the way we go through droughts scoring, we can't turn the ball over. If we don't, I think you'll see results like our defense tonight."

Arkansas won the turnover battle with plus-6, the first time it had forced more than it gave away since conference play began. The Razorbacks scored 15 points off Ole Miss' 17 turnovers.

Makhel Mitchell injured late

Bench forward Makhel Mitchell left the game late with a right foot injury. Musselman did not immediately know the extent of the injury but said Mitchell would be evaluated and X-rayed. He had four points and five rebounds in 21 minutes Saturday.

Christina Long covers the Arkansas Razorbacks for the Southwest Times Record and USA Today Network. You can follow her on Twitter @christinalong00 or email her at clong@swtimes.com.

This article originally appeared on Fort Smith Times Record: Arkansas basketball snaps losing streak with win over Ole Miss