The No. 23 Arkansas Razorbacks (11-2) defeated the Oakland Grizzlies (4-10), 92-62, Monday night in front of a relatively sparse crowd inside Bud Walton Arena.
From the tip, it was evident Arkansas would be in a battle with the program that eliminated John Calipari's Kentucky Wildcats from the 2023 NCAA Tournament.
The first half featured a back-and-forth contest with highlights and lowlights, particularly in the interior for the Razorbacks. The Grizzlies shot just 1-of-5 from distance in the first 20 minutes, but racked up 30 points in the paint against Arkansas center Jonas Aidoo and company.
On the bright side, forward Adou Thiero (16 points) looked like his normal self and freshman wing Karter Knox (10 points) was perfect from the field. Freshman guard Boogie Fland was less-than-steller, as he ended the first half 0-of-6 from the field with just one point off a free throw.
Everything changed in the second half, however, as Fland popped off to finish with 22 points on 8-of-15 shooting, while Thiero also had 22 points and Knox added 17 points himself.
Behind their efforts, Arkansas was able to secure a lead and it never looked back. A late three-point barrage grew the Hogs' lead to 20+, a farcry difference from earlier in the game.
As a team, the Razorbacks shot 35-of-58 from the field, 10-of-22 from beyond the arc and 12-of-14 from the charity stripe. Arkansas turned the ball over 13 times, but recorded eight steals with 10 blocks.
Fans and media on X made their thoughts about the Razorbacks known throughout the final non-conference victory:
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