FAYETTEVILLE — Despite fouling out late in regulation and scoring below his season average with 17 points against Texas A&M, guard JD Notae regained the SEC scoring lead he has been passing back and forth with Vanderbilt’s Scotty Pippen Jr. all season.
Notae enters tonight’s game against Ole Miss with 335 points and an 18.6 scoring average, while Pippen has 325 points and an 18.06 average.
Notae also owns the edge in conference-only scoring with a 19.8 average in SEC games. Mississippi State’s Iverson Molinar is next at 19.3, followed by Pippen (18.0) and Alabama’s Jaden Shackleford (17.1).
Pippen held a one-point lead on Notae for the overall scoring lead entering last Saturday, but he was held to 6 points on 1-of-10 shooting, including 1 of 5 from three-point range and 3 of 6 free throws in the Commodores’ 61-42 loss at Florida.
Personnel update
Arkansas forward Kamani Johnson should be closer to full go against Ole Miss after missing two games and most of a third with an ankle sprain.
Coach Eric Musselman projected on Monday that Johnson was “probably looking at it being right around 90 to 95% as we look into [tonight’s] game in Oxford. What his role will be will depend on the guys that are in front of him right now, and what the team needs on that given night.
“But he will be completely available and ready to play without a minute’s restriction or anything come [tonight].”
More from WholeHogSports: Arkansas at Ole Miss, how to watch and listen
Arkansas assistant coach Clay Moser, who did not attend Saturday’s win over Texas A&M due to “safety protocols” didn’t make the trip to Oxford for tonight’s game with Ole Miss.
Ole Miss will be without leading scorer Jarkel Joiner yet again tonight as he recovers from a lower back injury that required a procedure.
Joiner, who was averaging 13.6 points, 3.2 rebounds and 2.6 assists through 13 games, was expected to miss four to six weeks after the announcement on his back procedure, which came during a 67-51 loss at Texas A&M on Jan. 11. Freshman Daeshun Ruffin (11.9 ppg) has made seven starts and taken over much of Joiner’s lost minutes.
Taking charge
Arkansas sophomore Jaylin Williams, the reigning SEC co-player of the week, drew two more charges in Saturday’s win over Texas A&M to take his count to a team-high 23 for the season. Williams took four charges in wins over Cincinnati and LSU and three charges in a win over Gardner-Webb and a loss at Texas A&M.
Williams is the only SEC player to rank in the top 20 in the conference in rebounds (third, 8.9) and assists (17th, 3.2).
In his past five games, Williams is averaging 13.4 points, 10.8 rebounds, 2.6 steals, 2.2 assists and 1.2 blocks per game and is shooting 51.2% from the floor and 91.3% from the line.
Streak stats
During the Razorbacks’ current four-game winning streak they have held each opponent to less than 40% field goal shooting, including a 29.2% effort from Missouri in Arkansas’ 87-43 win on Jan. 12.
Each of Arkansas’ opponents has shot less than 31% from three-point range during the winning streak over Missouri, at LSU, South Carolina and Texas A&M.
Arkansas has won the rebounding battle in each of its past five games, including a 46-32 margin in a loss at Texas A&M that preceded the winning streak.
The Razorbacks have forced at least 16 turnovers in every game during the streak and
‘MussTix’ transfer
Coach Eric Musselman and the UA Athletics Department announced a new ticket-transfer initiative on Tuesday to help increase attendance at sold-out Walton Arena.
Season-ticket holders who cannot attend games but have not transferred their tickets to anyone can now transfer them to the Razorback Ticket Center. The returned tickets will be allowed for additional student seating or donated to charitable children’s organizations in Northwest Arkansas, the UA said in a release.
Season ticket holders can transfer their tickets by initiating a transfer and using musstix@uark.edu as the transfer recipient. To take advantage of this new transfer option, fans should initiate the transfer 48 hours or more before tipoff.
Fans can transfer their tickets by logging in to their ticketing account through the Razorback app or on ArkansasRazorbacks.com.
Inside the series
Ole Miss is the second-most played opponent among SEC teams for the Razorbacks. Arkansas owns a 50-33 overall edge, but the series has been exceptionally tight since the Razorbacks joined the SEC for the 1991-92 season. Arkansas is 28-27 against the Rebels as an SEC opponent.
Arkansas is 17-11 at home, 24-2 at neutral sites (largely Little Rock and Memphis, but also Blytheville and Shreveport) and 9-20 in Oxford, Miss.
The Razorbacks have a 2-2 record at the Pavilion at Ole Miss, which opened on Jan. 7, 2016.
Arkansas has won three in a row and seven of the past eight meetings, including a 74-59 decision last Jan. 27 at Walton Arena, and a 76-72 come-from-behind win on Jan. 11, 2020, in their last meeting at the Pavilion.
Lineup news
Arkansas is 3-0 with the starting lineup of guards JD Notae, Au’Diese Toney and Stanley Umude and forwards Trey Wade and Jaylin Williams.
The group has started each of the last three games, beginning with the opening tipoff in a 65-58 upset at No. 12 LSU on Jan. 15, which was their first time on the floor together this season.