Joe catches fire after halftime in Hogs' runaway win

Arkansas' Isaiah Joe goes up for a shot as Texas Southern's Bryson Etienne defends during a game Tuesday, Nov. 19, 2019, in Fayetteville.
Arkansas' Isaiah Joe goes up for a shot as Texas Southern's Bryson Etienne defends during a game Tuesday, Nov. 19, 2019, in Fayetteville.

— It was just a matter of time before one of the nation’s best shooters decided to get going.

Isaiah Joe was 1 for 7 from the floor at halftime and 0 for 4 from 3-point range, but scored 29 of his game-high 33 points in the second half and led Arkansas to a 82-51 victory over Texas Southern on Tuesday night.

Joe finished just one off his career high of 34, set last year against Florida International.

Arkansas did not make a 3-pointer in the first half but led by 13 at the break courtesy of 12 forced turnovers and limited the Tigers to 31 percent shooting from the field.

“That first half we were just so bad shooting the three ball,” Arkansas coach Eric Musselman said. “It’s like there was a lid on the basket. Obviously, he’s the only one that hit one for us tonight, but it opened up the floor for everybody else.”

Jimmy Whitt Jr. had 17 points on 8 of 13 shooting with 10 rebounds and Desi Sills added 10 points for the Razorbacks. The double-double was his first as a Razorback, but he did it five times at Southern Methodist.

“I thought Jimmy Whitt’s mid-range game was phenomenal,” Musselman said. “Our point guards got 15 rebounds between them, which is huge for us at that point guard position for those two guys to combine for 15 boards and Jimmy to get a double-double.”

Texas Southern (0-4), coached by former LSU boss Johnny Jones, was led by Tyrik Armstrong with 15 points.

Musselman coached under Jones while he was at LSU and then Jones returned the favor by working for Musselman at Nevada until taking the Texas Southern position.

“Coach Jones is a mentor, a family friend,” Musselman said. “I’m glad the game is over. Two of the guys who were on the Nevada staff beside coach Jones are with him, so hopefully we'll be able to exchange some ideas and thoughts on each other's basketball team tomorrow.”

BIG PICTURE

Texas Southern: The Tigers have not played a game at home this season and won’t until they host Lamar on Nov. 30. Their opponents thus far have been San Diego State, Wichita State and South Dakota.

Arkansas: The first road test of the season will come on Monday for Arkansas, as it visits Georgia Tech who will have already faced a Southeastern Conference opponent in Georgia in preparation.

DEBUT

Sophomore forward Reggie Chaney made his first appearance of the season for Arkansas after missing the first three games because of a suspension.

“I thought Reggie was really good,” Musselman said. “We were worried about his wind because we don’t do a whole lot of full court stuff in practice between games, we wanted to get his rust off. He protected the paint and rolled hard to rim. I think he’ll get more and more comfortable with our system as we go along.”

3-POINT STREAK

Arkansas was in danger of breaking an impressive streak at halftime when it was 0-for-13 from behind the arc. It has made at least one 3-pointer in every single game it has played since Jan. 7, 1989, a 99-92 victory over Texas.

ALL-TIME SERIES

With the win, Arkansas improved to 8-0 all-time against Texas Southern. The last meeting came in the 2011-12 season, a 77-49 Arkansas victory, and the first meeting was in the 1988-89 season, which was a 97-79 victory in Little Rock.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, COACH

Musselman was assessed his first technical foul of his Arkansas tenure midway through the second half. It also just happened to be his birthday, as the coach turned 55 on Tuesday.

“Walking out the door my wife said, ‘Don’t let them score more than 55. Or if they do, don’t come home,’ so we kept them under 55,” Musselman said.

UP NEXT

Texas Southern is on the road for the fifth straight time on Saturday at Northern Kentucky.

Arkansas hosts South Dakota on Friday in the Collegiate Hoops Roadshow. The Coyotes entered Tuesday’s action leading the nation in 3-point shooting.

EARLIER

Arkansas 82, Texas Southern 51 - Final

The Razorbacks move to 4-0 under Eric Musselman behind a terrific night from Isaiah Joe. The sophomore finished with 33 points, one point shy of a career high set last season against FIU. He knocked down 9 of 20 shots and 6 of 14 attempts from 3-point range.

Joe scored 29 of his points in the second half. No other Razorbacks player added more than six after halftime.

Jimmy Whitt recorded a 17-point, 10-rebound double-double in the win, and Desi Sills added 10 on 4 of 15 shooting.

Texas Southern shot 35.2 percent and turned the ball over 24 times.

We'll have much more from tonight's game later on WholeHogSports.com.

Arkansas 71, Texas Southern 47 - 3:51 left

Jimmy Whitt has the sixth double-double of his career tonight. He has scored 17 points on 8 of 13 shooting and gabbed 10 rebounds - eight on the defensive end. He's been solid all night.

Isaiah Joe remains the game's leading scorer with 26 points.

Tyrik Armstrong is the lone Texas Southern player in double figures with 15 points.

Arkansas 67, Texas Southern 38 - 7:40 left

Eric Musselman didn't much care for a foul call whistled on Desi Sills after he drove left and missed a floater. Musselman was actually assessed his first technical as the Razorbacks' coach. Essentially his entire coaching staff jumped up and stepped between he and the official.

Isaiah Joe has blown up for 26 points, 22 in the second half. He's knocked down 5 of 7 second-half 3s and is 5 of 12 from distance on the night. Jimmy Whitt has 15 points and nine rebounds. Sills is 4 of 15 shooting and 0 of 5 from deep tonight.

Reggie Chaney and Joe each have four steals thus far.

Texas Southern is shooting 31 percent and has turned the ball over 23 times - 11 have come since halftime.

Arkansas 60, Texas Southern 35 - 11:30 left

Isaiah Joe has woken up from 3-point range. He has a game-high 19 points on 5 of 12 from deep to go with three rebounds and three steals. He is 3 of 9 on catch-and-shoot 3s tonight - 2 of 2 from the right wing. Joe has 15 points since halftime.

Jimmy Whitt is the only other Razorbacks player two score more than two points after the break. He has four - 15 for the game.

Texas Southern is 4 of 10 from the floor in the second half with six turnovers.

Arkansas 49, Texas Southern 28 - 15:22 left

Adrio Bailey just swatted another shot away. He has five blocks, matching a career high. He blocked five shots in Nov. 2017 against North Carolina in the PK80 in Portland, too.

Isaiah Joe knocked down the Razorbacks' first 3 of the night from the right wing. Bailey set a nice pick and Joe dribbled into an open triple. He later buried the team's second 3 in front of Arkansas' bench.

Jimmy Whitt has a team-high 13 points, Desi Sills has 10 and Joe has 10 as well. Whitt is two rebounds shy of a double-double.

Arkansas 37, Texas Southern 24 - Half

The Razorbacks finish the first half 0 of 14 from 3-point range. Isaiah Joe missed all five of his attempts, and Sills misfired on four as well. Mason Jones has six points, but turned the ball over four times. Eric Musselman chewed him a couple of times before the break for careless mistakes.

Jimmy Whitt is having perhaps his best game in his return to Arkansas. He has a team-high 11 points and seven rebounds to this point. He is 5 of 6 from the floor and the rest of the team is 10 of 28.

Desi Sills cannot buy a 3 right now, but you have to credit him for not settling and instead attacking the rim fearlessly. He's scored six of his eight points on four dribble drives to the rim.

Adrio Bailey did not score in the first half, but he has four blocks. The Razorbacks have blocked a season-high seven shots.

Texas Southern guard Tyrik Armstrong has a team-high 11 points. He has scored in double figures in each of the Tigers' first four games. Texas Southern shot 31 percent in the first half, 1 of 6 from deep and turned the ball over 12 times.

Arkansas 33, Texas Southern 14 - 3:21 left first half

The Razorbacks are 0 of 11 from 3-point range, but it hasn't mattered much at all. Texas Southern has been extremely sloppy handling the ball and is shooting 24 percent from the floor. The Tigers also have 12 turnovers to go with 19 missed shots.

Adrio Bailey has four blocks tonight. It is his second career game with four blocks. He finished with four in Arkansas' win over Florida International last December.

Reggie Chaney has three steals in seven minutes as well.

Arkansas 28, Texas Southern 12 - 7:32 left first half

Jimmy Whitt leads all scorers with nine points and Desi Sills has eight to this point. Sills has been ultra-aggressive attacking the rim tonight. He is 2 of 3 on 2-point attempts off the dribble, and he also drew a foul, went to the line and hit two free throws in another instance.

Twenty of the Razorbacks' 28 points have come in the paint. Arkansas is 0 of 7 from deep, but 12 of 16 inside the arc. Reggie Chaney's first bucket was impressive. He caught at the high post, squared up, put the ball on the floor moving right then shot-faked a TSU defender before kissing a floater off the glass.

The Tigers are 5 of 23 from the floor tonight, 0 of 5 from deep and have committed eight turnovers.

Arkansas 17, Texas Southern 7 - 11:52 left first half

Desi Sills is struggling from 3-point range to begin the season, but he's still taking the ball hard to the rim. He added a layup in transition almost immediately after the first stoppage in play. He has four points early.

Jalen Harris also used a shot fake beyond the arc and in front of the Texas Southern bench to get a defender off his feet. He then drove roughly to the SEC logo before tossing in a contested floater.

Jimmy Whitt will be at the line when play resumes. Isaiah Joe made a good find before the break, hitting a slashing Whitt under the rim, where he was fouled.

Arkansas 13, Texas Southern 5 - 14:27 left first half

Pretty exciting start on both ends of the floor for the Razorbacks. Adrio Bailey blocked three Tigers shots in the opening two minutes, 10 second of the game, and on top of that, Desi Sills and Mason Jones stripped Texas Southern guards on the perimeter and turned the takeaways into points.

Offensively, Jimmy Whitt has a team-high six points. He buried a nice 15-foot jumper from the right elbow just before the under-16 media timeout. Sills and Isaiah Joe each have a bucket. Razorbacks are 0 of 3 from deep, but shooting 50 percent in the early stages.

Pregame

Arkansas' starting lineup: Isaiah Joe, Mason Jones, Desi Sills, Jimmy Whitt and Adrio Bailey.

Jones has been the Razorbacks' star through three games. He is averaging 22.3 points per outing and coming off a 19-point night against Montana on Saturday. Entering tonight's game, Jones is No. 6 in the KenPom player of the year standings.

This lineup still has not found its stride offensively, scoring .83 points per possession over 52 trips, but it has held opponents to .54 PPP in 54 defensive possessions. That's rock solid. Rice, North Texas and Montana have combined to make just 25.7 percent of their 2-point looks and 21.4 percent from 3-point range against this group.

I'll also be looking for Joe to have something of a bounce-back game beyond the arc. He was an uncharacteristic 2 of 9 from deep against Montana. Let's see if his catch-and-shoot numbers spike in this game. Coming in, he's 8 of 22 on such 3s this season.

Also, sophomore forward Reggie Chaney is available for the first time this year. He was previously suspended for a violation of team rules. Eric Musselman lifted the suspension Tuesday morning.

Texas Southern's starters: Yahuza Rasas, Tyrik Armstrong, Justin Hopkins, John Jones and John Walker III.

Running updates by Scottie Bordelon of WholeHogSports.com

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