The Arkansas Razorbacks (9-2, 0-0 SEC) never trailed in an 82-57 win over the Central Arkansas Bears (2-8, 0-0 ASUN) on Saturday at Simmons Bank Arena in North Little Rock.
Arkansas' offense was efficient and well-rounded, as six players scored in double figures. As a team, the Razorbacks shot 60% from the field (a season-high) and 45% from deep.
Freshman point guard Boogie Fland led all scorers with 16 points and flirted with a double-double as he finished with nine assists, which is the most in his young college career so far.
The Razorbacks' size and length overwhelmed the Bears, who shot just 33.3% from the field. UCA turned the ball over nine times in the contest and Arkansas scored 11 points off those.
That length also proved to be an advantage on the boards and at the rim for the Razorbacks, who out rebounded UCA 36-22 and blocked nine shots. Arkansas forward Trevon Brazile led in both of those categories as he had five blocks and seven rebounds.
Here's some of HawgBeat's takeaways from the win...
Arkansas' offensive onslaught
The Razorbacks had no problem scoring against UCA, and shot a season-high 60% from the floor. Six Razorbacks — Jonas Aidoo, Trevon Brazile, Boogie Fland, Johnell Davis, D.J. Wagner and Karter Knox — scored in double figures, and Fland led all scorers in the game with 16.
Arkansas also connected on nine of its 20 shots from deep, and both Davis and Wagner connected on three a piece.
One piece that was vital to Arkansas' offensive success was ball movement. The Razorbacks finished with 23 assists on 33 made baskets and they didn't take very many ill-advised shots.
"I’m trying to convince these guys, like Karter, singles, I don’t need grand slam home runs," Arkansas head coach John Calipari said postgame. "If you don’t have something, let’s just move the ball. I had to do some stuff today to get us to move the ball from one side of the court to the other, structured motion. Just move it. And then we play."
Big men feast down low
Arkansas had a major size advantage in the game, and it showed in the post. The Razorbacks out rebounded the Bears 36-22, and Brazile had the most in the game with seven. His length also allowed him to finish the game with a team-high five blocks.
Arkansas forward Billy Richmond finished with five, three of which were offensive boards. He was only 2-of-4 in the game but both of those buckets came directly off offensive rebounds.
In regards to offense down low, Aidoo finished with 13 points on a perfect 6-of-6 shooting. He had a major size advantage and used his length to block two shots.
As a team, the Razorbacks had 44 of their 82 points in the paint and had 11 second-chance points as well.
Arkansas' fast start leads to no drama in Little Rock
Over the last few years, Arkansas has had letdowns in Little Rock, like when they beat Lipscomb last year by three, and a 89-81 upset loss to Hofstra in 2021. Coming off an adrenaline-filled win over Michigan on Tuesday, there was no letdown for the Razorbacks on Saturday.
Arkansas led from start to finish. The Hogs had a fast start, something that has been lacking in previous games, and jumped out to an early 9-2 lead less than three minutes into the game.
That lead swelled to 20 by the time the two teams went to the locker room, and Arkansas' defense in the second half stifled any possible opportunity for the Bears to even make the game competitive.
The most notable thing about Saturday's win was it didn't require theatrics in the second half. Arkansas has had issues with bipolar halves where the team needed a spark in the second half to pull away, but that wasn't a concern against UCA.
