Behind a 25-0 Start and 45 Fast-Break Points, No. 12 Arkansas Routs UAPB 106-61
No. 12 Arkansas beat Arkansas-Pine Bluff 106-61 on Tuesday night at Bud Walton Arena in Fayetteville after opening the game on a 25-0 run.
Photo: Arkansas Razorbacks. Official roster headshot of Jeremiah Wilkinson, guard, Arkansas men's basketball, 2026-27 season.
No. 12 Arkansas beat Arkansas-Pine Bluff 106-61 on Tuesday night at Bud Walton Arena in Fayetteville after opening the game on a 25-0 run. The Razorbacks scored 45 fast-break points, a program record, per WholeHogSports. Jeremiah Wilkinson led Arkansas with 23 points and five steals.
Wilkinson shot 7 of 11 from the field, 4 of 7 from 3-point range and 5 of 7 at the line in 21 minutes, per ESPN's box score. He added six rebounds and three assists. His 3-pointer started the 25-0 run, per WholeHogSports.
Freshman Jordan Smith Jr. scored 20 on 7-of-11 shooting, with 6 of 10 free throws and three steals. Arkansas freshmen combined for 65 of the 106 points, per the Associated Press. Twelve of the 13 Razorbacks who played scored.
The 25-0 run, and the 26-22 stretch after it
UAPB scored the first basket of the night, a Creed Williamson layup. Arkansas answered with 25 straight points between 19:10 and 11:55, and the Golden Lions went 7 minutes and 56 seconds without a field goal, from 19:24 to 11:28 of the first half, by our count from the play-by-play.
UAPB outscored Arkansas 26-22 over the final 11:28 of the half, per WholeHogSports. Arkansas also went 6 minutes and 44 seconds without a field goal from late in the first half into the second, from 5:56 before the break to 19:12 after it, by our count.
John Calipari pointed at UAPB's zone looks, a 1-3-1 and a 2-3. "We looked confused," he said, per WholeHogSports.
Arkansas led 47-28 at halftime. A 23-3 run in the second half, per WholeHogSports, put it away. The 45-point final margin was also Arkansas's largest lead, per ESPN.
How the points were scored
Team totals, per ESPN's box score:
| Category | Arkansas | UAPB | | --- | --- | --- | | Field goals | 35-64 (54.7%) | 21-54 (38.9%) | | 3-pointers | 6-18 | 6-21 | | Free throws | 30-42 | 13-19 | | Rebounds | 43 | 27 | | Turnovers | 11 | 24 | | Fast-break points | 45 | 6 | | Points in the paint | 54 | 30 | | Points off turnovers | 32 | 12 |
Arkansas made only six 3-pointers, so 88 of its 106 points came on 2-pointers and free throws, by our count. The 45 fast-break points were 7.5 times UAPB's total of six, by our count.
The Razorbacks forced 24 turnovers with 16 steals and seven blocks. Calipari singled out Wilkinson after the game. "He should lead the country in steals," he said, per WholeHogSports.
Free throws were the one shaky number. Arkansas missed 12 of 42 attempts. That followed a combined 32-of-57 showing at the line across exhibitions against Gonzaga and Memphis, per WholeHogSports. UAPB was called for 28 fouls.
The freshmen
Smith was the top scorer among the freshmen. Maper Maker, a 7-foot freshman from Perth, Australia, had six points, eight rebounds and two blocks, and Arkansas was plus-51 in his 23 minutes, per WholeHogSports.
Miikka Muurinen added 10 points. Abdou Toure scored 12 on 4-of-7 shooting, and Cooper Bowser had eight points and seven rebounds on 4-of-4 shooting. Davion Thompson added seven points and a team-high four assists.
For UAPB
Jalen Tatum led the Golden Lions with 16 points, going 7 of 8 at the line, but he also committed six turnovers. Williamson, the son of former Razorbacks star Corliss Williamson, scored 13 before fouling out, per WholeHogSports.
This was the first meeting between the two programs, per WholeHogSports. Arkansas has now won 54 straight home openers.
Arkansas entered the season No. 12 in the AP Top 25. It plays No. 9 Virginia on Sunday in Washington, D.C. Virginia had 18 steals in its own opener Tuesday night, an 89-60 win over Drexel.
Sources:
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