Arkansas Business

This story is from the archives of ArkansasSports360.com.

Why Arkansas Won
Arkansas played its most complete game of the last two seasons, shooting 57.4 percent from the field. Vanderbilt, which lost for the first time at home this year, allowed the Razorbacks to shoot 62.5 percent in the second half. Playing tough on the glass (Arkansas held a 30-22 advantage) also helped the Razorbacks to their first road victory this year. Arkansas (14-6, 4-3) limited its turnovers to nine. The Razorbacks grabbed a 15-14 lead with 13:27 left and built it as high as 16 points in the second half against the Commodores (15-5, 3-3).

Difference Maker
Rotnei Clarke proved he's more than a one-dimensional offensive threat. Clarke scored 36 points and didn’t just launch 3-pointers to get them. Clarke did hit six 3-pointers against Vanderbilt, but relied on drives and mid-range shots early to get into a rhythm.

Defenses that keyed on Clarke and kept him from getting open looks from behind the 3-point line have typically slowed him. Florida held Clarke scoreless a week earlier and he didn’t seem to be able to get open or find a way to score when a 3-point shot wasn’t an option.

Clarke had no such trouble on Saturday. He hit 12 of 16 shots, including 6 of 8 behind the three-point line.

Breakout Performance
Is this what a healthy Michael Sanchez looks like?

Injuries seem to have slowed Sanchez for much of his career at Arkansas, but he played well against the Commodores. Sanchez, who sat out last season with plantar fasciitis and missed 11 games this year because of a stress fracture, finished with a  career-high 20 points.

Sanchez entered the game with 17 total points this season. He hit 8 of 12 shots from the field and even hit 4 of 8 free throws to help clinch the victory.

Unexpected Lift
Arkansas got 39 points from its bench. Vanderbilt only got 15 points from its reserves.

Sanchez wasn’t the only productive player who didn’t start. Julysses Nobles came off the bench to add 7, a total that eclipsed all but one starter. Mardracus Wade and Glann Bryant scored five each, a number that was better than three starters.

Minor Victory
There was one area where the Commodores were clearly superior.

Vanderbilt hit 25 of 26 free throws (96.2 percent). Arkansas hit a respectable 20 of 28 (71.4 percent), but didn’t win the category on Saturday.

Speaking Out
“We played well and got production from a lot of people. (Michael) Sanchez came in and was awesome; Rotnei (Clarke) was amazing. The rebounding was there and this is something to build off of.”
— Arkansas coach John Pelphrey