Arkansas has a rocky relationship with the three-point line

While college basketball writers spent weeks criticizing Kentucky‘s archaic offense for primarily scoring from inside the three-point line, the Arkansas Razorbacks were laying bricks from behind the arc.

Six times this season Eric Musselman’s team has shot 20% or less from behind the three-point line, including three losses in SEC play. The Razorbacks currently rank No. 323 out of 363 Division I basketball teams, shooting just 30.6% from behind the three-point line. Only 20.3% of Arkansas’ points come from behind the three-point line, averaging five makes per game, fewer than any other team in the SEC. They are also attempting the fewest three-pointers of any team in the SEC by a wide margin.

The Razorbacks have zero contributors averaging better than 35% from three. Only two — Anthony Black and Devo Davis — are shooting threes better than a 30% clip.

While they struggle to score from behind the arc, they’re just as good at limiting opponents from knocking down three-point buckets. They are the best in league play at limiting their opponents from attempting three-pointers. Arkansas’ foes are only making 31.4% from three-point land.

Recent Arkansas Improvement from Three-Point Land

The Razorbacks enter Rupp Arena seeking their second straight win on the road. They picked up their first of the season over the weekend at South Carolina. It would not have been possible without Devo Davis’ heroics. The 6-foot-4 guard sunk 4-of-10 shots from downtown to score 15 points in the two-point win.

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Davis has now scored in double-figures in a career-best eight straight games. In the first 81 games of his career he shot 23% from three and averaged 8.3 points per game. In this eight-game stretch he’s averaging 16.6 points by knocking down 44.4% of his three-point attempts (20-of-45).

As Davis has improved from downtown, so have the rest of his teammates. Arkansas shot 19.4% from three in its first four SEC games. In the seven league games since they’re making 35.8% of their three-pointers.

The Razorbacks are not a great shooting team from beyond the arc, but they’re trending in the right direction. You know what that means: expect them to get hot from downtown tonight at Rupp Arena.