While many visiting players have hovered around the 6-foot-9 to 6-foot-11 range, only a select few have crossed the 7-foot threshold as they entered Reed Arena. However, the list got a name longer as junior forward Pharrel Payne had the honor of going head-to-head against Razorback 7-foot-2 sophomore F Zvonimir Ivisic. 

Though a seemingly daunting task at first, the Minnesota transfer brushed off the height difference and invited the titan to meet him down low — and he did, overpowering him for two poster dunks en route to a 69-61 win over Arkansas.

As the Aggies added on to their win streak, here are some keys to how No. 8 A&M overcame the John Calipari-led squad. 

Solomon Washington’s daunting switch-all defense

Though coach Buzz Williams has employed the switch-all defense the entire season, it was on full display and executed to near perfection against the Razorbacks — all led by junior F Solomon Washington.

The fiery Louisiana native had this game marked in his calendar before the season began — specifically against graduate guard Johnell Davis. 

“A matchup I’m looking forward to is Arkansas,” Washington said in October 2024. “Especially against Johnell Davis. Last year, he got the best of me, so I’m looking forward to that [rematch].”

Fast forward to present day, and Washington can check the matchup off the rematch list after forcing a 3-for-13 shooting performance from Davis, including multiple air balls that elicited jeering chants from the Reed Rowdies. However, the highlight of the day for Washington was a head-on block when Davis drove to the basket and put up a shot that Washington tracked the whole way to send it right back.

Though he had his sights set on Davis, Washington’s defensive presence spread as he picked up everyone and got himself another block and a steal in a dominant “solo” defensive performance.

While he was the main cog in the machine, the rest of the team fed off of Washington’s clapping hands and slap-on-the-floor energy as well. Though graduate G Wade Taylor IV had a rough first half, he picked up the slack on the other end, getting three first-half steals to drive off Arkansas set plays. While Taylor picked it up in the second half shooting wise, Washington’s staunch defense kept the Aggies on top.

The luxury of having offensive sparks and adjustments

As mentioned before, Taylor’s first half shooting performance was one to forget, shooting just 1-for-6, with five of those attempts coming from beyond the arc. Though in previous seasons that would’ve resulted in a team-wide poor offensive performance, A&M has the luxury of having multiple options this season, from ball handler junior G Zhuric Phelps and big man Payne to drawing up set plays for sharpshooter graduate G CJ Wilcher — and it paid off again. 

The Razorbacks came out of the game gunning to go up 8-0 early and honed in on Payne defensively, sending in double teams as soon as he put the ball on the floor. Arkansas also had the luxury of a 7-foot presence in Ivisic to disrupt any paint play, and it stonewalled the Aggies headed into the first timeout.

Then, Payne got to work and made the perfect adjustment, dragging Ivisic out of the paint and now, finally isolated, ripping through to get to the basket for an easy dunk to kick off an A&M 9-0 scoring run. In the midst of the avalanche that got Reed Arena rocking, Payne got another bucket, getting into his footwork bag and shimmied to throw Ivisic off.

In a perfect joint partnership, Phelps’ dribbling and shot-making ability freed up space for the big man. He kickstarted the early run with a pull-up elbow jumper and built off of it with a step-back three — similar to the ankle-breaker he had against Georgia — and ended the half with seven much-needed points. 

While the usual suspects for A&M got going, reserved offensive scoring players also played a hand in sparking up the offense following Arkansas’s 8-0 run. Washington and senior F Anderrson Garcia checked in and made an impact immediately on both ends. Offensively, both players got aggressive and scored down low despite the swarming defense, while Wilcher stretched the floor, knocking down two 3-pointers off of catch-and-shoot opportunities.

Despite some dry spells and slow starts, A&M’s wins have personified grit, with points on the board coming from everywhere and anyone. The Maroon and White’s persistence was on full-blast again with the Razorbacks as the victims this time.

Back on the road, the Aggies head to Mississippi on Tuesday, Feb. 18, to take on No. 22 Mississippi State in an important ranked matchup with NCAA Tournament seeding implications.