Ricky Council IV's big second half leads Arkansas basketball in comeback over Missouri
FAYETTEVILLE — Arkansas basketball looked like a different team Wednesday night in the second half against Missouri than it did in the first. It was thanks in large part to Ricky Council IV.
Council, Arkansas' leading scorer, went 1-for-6 in the first half. His struggles were emblematic of those the whole team faced: Arkansas was having trouble with Missouri's zone defense and playing sloppily. The Razorbacks shot 35% from the field.
Arkansas coach Eric Musselman opted to start freshman guard Joseph Pinion over Council in the second half. Council responded, and he broke out for a huge performance.
He was 5-for-9 in the second half and scored 21 for a team-high 25. He had a pair of rebounds on each end. He was 5-for-5 from the free-throw line in the second half and 11-for-13 overall and the No. 13 Razorbacks (12-2, 1-1 SEC) beat the No. 21 Tigers 74-68 at Bud Walton Arena..
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As Council surged, so did Arkansas. The Razorbacks had been down by as many as 17 in the first half to the Tigers (12-2, 2-1), but they managed to get out in transition and hit more 3-pointers in the second.
"(Council) was absolutely vital scoring the basketball in the second half," Musselman said. "I told him in the locker room, really proud of not starting (in the second half) and then when he got inserted into the game, not letting it discombobulate his brain or his confidence. He looked like a guy that was pretty confident regardless of what I did."
Joseph Pinion's big night
Entering Wednesday's game, Pinion had played an average of about 3.5 minutes per game. His biggest game had been against UNC-Asheville, when he played 19 minutes and scored a career-high 10 points.
Pinion checked in with about 11 minutes to go in the first half. Arkansas was struggling against Missouri's zone defense, and Musselman wanted an option on the perimeter.
Near the end of the first half, Pinion made his first 3-pointer. He hit one from the corner to cap off an 8-0 run that cut Missouri's lead to single-digits at the half. It was Arkansas' second make from beyond the arc as a team.
Pinion's first shot of the second half was another 3-pointer, that cut Missouri's lead to one. His third 3-pointer came three minutes later. It capped a 9-0 Arkansas run that gave the Razorbacks a four-point lead.
"Joseph Pinion really changed our look offensively against that particular zone," Musselman said. "He flattened it out by being a threat in the corner and then knocking shots down."
Pinion's 13 points were a career high, and his three makes from 3-point range were as many as he'd had in his prior 10 appearances combined.
Arkansas' offense vs. Missouri's zone defense
For the second game in a row, Arkansas' offense struggled mightily against a zone defense. LSU had used it previously to limit Arkansas to their second-worst field goal percentage of the season. Missouri went zone, too, and Arkansas started off with a poor shooting performance.
The Razorbacks have relied on their ability to score in the paint. Against the zone, they were forced toward the perimeter. Arkansas isn't a team of consistent sharpshooters, and Missouri took full advantage of it, especially in the first half.
The Razorbacks had success when they managed to get out in transition and players like Pinion hit their range shots. Arkansas finished with 17 second-chance points and 18 points in transition. But Arkansas will likely see more opponents using the zone against them to exploit an apparent weakness.
Nick Smith Jr. absent
Arkansas was again without star freshman Nick Smith Jr. This time, however, he wasn't even on the bench. According to a team spokesperson, Smith was seeing a specialist about the knee injury that has kept him out of nine of the Razorbacks' 14 games.
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: Ricky Council IV second half leads Arkansas basketball past Missouri
