Long time coming: Vanover impresses in first Hog game

FAYETTEVILLE -- University of Arkansas Coach Eric Musselman wasn't sure what to expect from Connor Vanover when the Razorbacks opened the season on Wednesday night against Mississippi Valley State.

Vanover, a 7-3 sophomore from Little Rock, redshirted last season after transferring from California, and he missed about three weeks of preseason practice recovering from a non-coronavirus illness.

"Connor is still playing catch-up on a lot of things," Musselman said Monday. "But the good thing is, he's got a really, really high basketball IQ, and he's got a really great skill set, so those two things have kind of saved him while he's missed time.

"He still knows our offense as well as anybody."

Vanover showed off his knowledge of the offense -- as well as perimeter shooting, rebounding and rim protecting -- to help Arkansas pound Mississippi Valley State 142-62 in Walton Arena before an announced crowd of 4,400.

Playing in a game that counted for the first time in 623 days -- since California lost to Colorado 55-51 in the Pac-12 Tournament on March 13, 2019 -- Vanover looked anything but rusty.

It took him 53 seconds after entering Wednesday night's game with 14:52 left in the first half to score his first basket as a Razorback on an offensive rebound.

Vanover finished with a team-high 23 points, 8 rebounds and 3 blocked shots in 18 minutes. He hit 8 of 11 shots, including 4 of 5 three pointers, and 3 of 3 free throws.

"I didn't really surprise myself," Vanover said. "I've been waiting for this for a year and a half, to get back to playing games.

"I always knew deep down [he'd be ready], but it's been a grind since I've been sick this whole offseason, just getting back to where I was."

Vanover said he started feeling 100% healthy about two weeks ago.

"I just keep pushing every day," he said. "My goal was to be as good as I could be for this first game and then continue getting better going forward, because right now I feel like I'm in a good spot. I can definitely get better from here."

Vanover fell one point shy of matching his career high in scoring in his next-to-last game at California when he had 24 points in 33 minutes in a 64-59 victory at Stanford.

As a freshman, Vanover averaged 7.5 points, but over the last 11 games he averaged 11.8.

"I don't know what it is with Connor," Musselman said. "Whenever the lights are on he's just a different player.

"He did a phenomenal job of getting his feet set [on three-pointers], and he did a good job on the defensive backboards as well."

Vanover called it a "surreal" experience to play for Arkansas.

"I think this is amazing to come back to Arkansas, [put on] an Arkansas uniform, back where I grew up," he said. "I've watched them on TV, so it's just special to come back here and really put a performance on for this state."

Vance Jackson, a senior forward and graduate transfer from New Mexico who scored 15 points for the Razorbacks, said Vanover's strong performance was just the start for him this season.

"Connor, man, that's what he does," Jackson said. "I expect that. Fans should expect to see lots of that all year."

Vanover's eight rebounds matched his career-high -- he also had eight against Southern California -- but he said it's a part of his game that needs to improve.

"My freshman year, I was never good at rebounding," said Vanover, who averaged 3.0 rebounds at California. "So coming in, I knew I needed to be a big presence inside.

"I feel like [Wednesday night] was a great start in that direction with eight boards. I wish I would have gotten more. I'm always going to strive for more, and blocking shots, but I feel like being a presence inside is huge for us.

"Getting those numbers up is a big step in the right direction."

In beating Mississippi Valley State -- which the analytics website Kenpom.com ranked last among NCAA Division I teams at No. 357 -- by 80 points, the Razorbacks had their second-highest scoring total and margin of victory after a 166-101 victory over U.S. International during the 1989-90 season.

It was the most points one of Musselman's college teams have scored in six seasons, surpassing Nevada's 119-70 victory over Fresno Pacific -- an NCAA Division II team -- during the 2015-16 season.

Eight Razorbacks scored at least 12 points.

"We definitely have a lot of weapons," Vanover said. "We've seen this all throughout the offseason.

"We just have more people who are threats on offense and defense, and everybody has been doing it on different days.

"Switching all the teams up throughout the practices, we really got to see what everybody had to offer on the court. Seeing this first game, there's still plenty more we can build on."