Trevon Brazile: Racist Remarks Lead to Suspension…..

Despite rumors of suspensions making the rounds on social media and message boards this week, the Razorbacks won a close one at close to full strength in Arkansas vs Georgia.

While Trevon Brazile is still out with knee soreness, the rest of the team went through pregame warmups and some of those who had been essentially MIA showed out against the Bulldogs in a hard-fought 78-75 win.

Davonte Davis, who returned to the team this week after stepping away from the program for three games, played the role of distributor, racking up three assists and four rebounds. He made the only field goal, a three-pointer, he attempted. Afterward, Arkansas basketball coach Eric Musselman said he had come into practice this week with renewed vigor.

“We wear whatever those jackets are called where you can monitor work load and he really busted his behind this week to play catch-up a little bit from a conditioning standpoint,” Musselman said afterward. “He did ask to come out tonight, which (laughs) since I’ve been coaching him, that’s the first time I can ever remember him asking to get a quick blow.”

Khalif Battle and El Ellis, both of whom were rumored to be suspended, both played.

Battle chipped in a foul and miss of a corner three attempt in a brief appearance, but El Ellis started and was huge, pouring in 15 points on 3 of 6 three-pointers, 5 rebounds and 3 assists. He also might have had his best defensive game as a Razorback with 3 steals, included a vital one down the stretch that helped Arkansas fend off the Bulldogs as they clawed back.

“Actually, El Ellis defended their 4 for probably about 20-22 minutes tonight,” Musselman said, referring to Georgia’s Jabri Abdur-Rahim and and RJ Melendez. “I thought he did a great job defending the 4 and we didn’t get hurt in the post at that position at all.”

That’s a shift in the way things had been going lately, considering the five turnovers that Ellis committed in the loss to Kentucky, which led to DNPs vs Missouri and LSU.

Battle’s playing time, meanwhile, has dipped of late, including just 9 first-half minutes at LSU. He didn’t play at all in the second half because of a coach’s decision. On Friday, Battle seemingly downplayed the rumors involving him with this tweet:

Chandler Lawson knocked down a couple of early shots, but also picked up two early fouls and had to check out. It wasn’t the worst start for Arkansas on offense, but its defense has allowed several easy buckets for Georgia. Devo Davis was the first player off the bench for the Hogs and received a nice ovation.