The Arkansas Razorbacks (12-6, 3-2 SEC) unleashed their 40 Minutes of Hell defense on Wednesday night.
The Razorbacks suffocating pressure defense forced the Mississippi State Bulldogs (7-10, 2-3 SEC) into 29 turnovers, and they ran away with a lopsided 96-70 victory in Bud Walton Arena.
“Our guys were very unselfish on defense," said Razorback head coach Mike Anderson after the game. "What that means is our pressure defense is designed to take people out of what they want to do, and I thought we did a good job of that. Even when they broke through our press, I thought the guy that got beat got to the other spot to fix it on defense. Then it translated on the offensive end as well.”
Junior forward Marshawn Powell led the Hogs in scoring with 17 points on 6-of-12 shooting from the field.
BJ Young, the Razorbacks leading scorer, started the game on the bench as Coach Mike Anderson changed his starting lineup. Anderson went with a three guard lineup that included Fred Gulley, Ky Madden, and Rickey Scott.
The move payed off for the head Hog, as they jumped out to a quick 14-3 lead.
“Ky Madden, as well as Fred Gulley and Ricky Scott, those three guys really impacted the game," Coach Anderson said. "They set the tone.”
The Hogs used a 16-0 run in the second half to bury the Bulldogs and put them ahead by a score of 75-47. From that point, the rout was on and they were able to start celebrating their 3rd SEC victory of the season.
The Razorbacks will look to take their defense on the road with them when they face the South Carolina Gamecocks on Saturday. Tip-off is scheduled for 12:30 p.m.
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