FAYETTEVILLE — University of Arkansas guard Khalif Battle returned to practice this week and should be ready for the Razorbacks’ SEC opener against No. 25 Auburn on Saturday after sustaining an ankle injury in their previous game.
Battle came out of Arkansas’ 106-90 victory over North Carolina-Wilmington last Saturday with 4:53 left in the first half and didn’t return.
After Battle missed Monday’s practice, Razorbacks Coach Eric Musselman said he went through two-a-day practices on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Battle, a 6-5 fifth-year senior transfer from Temple, has played off the bench in all 13 games this season, but he’s averaging 14.3 points per game to rank third on the team and 23.4 minutes to rank fifth.
“I think K.B. is an explosive offensive player,” Musselman said. “He can really get streaky hot. We want him to continue to have consistency from a defensive standpoint.
“Offensively, high-energy guy. Incredible confidence. Obviously, we run plays for him when he’s in the game.
“He can go get his own shot off the bounce. Has great elevation on his jump shot.
“I think the one thing is just consistency. He’s had some games where he’s lights out and the defense has no answer for him, and then there have been some other games of 2-for-10 nights. I think all offensive players that are explosive scorers go through those nights as well.”
Battle matched his season-low with two points against UNC-Wilmington. He hit 2 of 2 free throws and was 0 of 5 from the field in 7 minutes before the ankle injury. He also scored two points in Arkansas’ 69-66 victory over Lipscomb on 1-of-5 shooting in 11 minutes.
Over a two-game span, Battle shot 3 of 15, including 2 of 10 in Arkansas’ 79-70 loss to No. 11 Oklahoma. He hit 8 of 8 free throws to finish with 13 points against the Sooners.
Battle bounced back from the Lipscomb and Oklahoma games with 18 points in the Razorbacks’ 83-73 victory over Abilene Christian. He hit 5 of 8 shots, including 3 of 4 three-pointers, and 5 of 6 free throws.
When Battle was asked about going a combined 3 of 15 in back-to-back games, he referenced Golden State Warriors star Steph Curry shooting 2 of 12, including 0 of 8 on three-pointers, against Portland earlier this season.
Curry scored 33 points two nights later against Boston and hit 6 of 11 three-pointers.
“Steph Curry couldn’t hit a three-pointer, then the next game he went off for more than 30 points,” Battle said before the UNC-Wilmington game. “So I don’t ever look at it like I have a rough shooting night.
“That’s just how the game goes. You’re not going to have big-time scoring games every single night. But that doesn’t change me at all.”
Battle scored a season-high 25 points against Furman and 21 in games against Alcorn State, Gardner-Webb, No. 15 Memphis and No. 14 Duke.
On the season, Battle is shooting 40.2% from the field (45 of 112), 42.1% on three-pointers (24 of 57) and 83.7% (72 of 86) on free throws.
“We’ve been really happy with him as an offensive threat,” Musselman said. “He’s got deep three-point range, and his free throws attempted numbers are as good as anyone in the country.
“He’s able to do that through isolations. He’s able to do that through broken plays. He’s able to do that in late shot clock situations.”
Battle came to Arkansas with a scoring mentality after averaging 21.4 and 17.9 points the previous two seasons at Temple.
“I mean, he’s going to shoot, which is good,” Musselman said. “He’s got a green light. Whether I say it’s yellow or red, in his mind he’s got a green light. Sometimes that’s a really, really good thing.”