The University of Arkansas men’s basketball team scored on 10 of its first 11 possessions and rolled to a 82-57 victory over Central Arkansas on Saturday at Simmons Bank Arena in North Little Rock.
The Razorbacks (9-2) won their fourth consecutive game and put themselves in contention to be ranked again when The Associated Press top 25 poll is updated Monday. Arkansas defeated No. 14 Michigan 89-87 in New York earlier in the week.
Arkansas opened the game on a 22-7 run before the first timeout. Boogie Fland had steals that led to easy layups on consecutive possessions to force a UCA timeout with 14:43 to play in the first half.
Fland scored seven points and Trevon Brazile six during the opening blitz. Arkansas led by as many as 21 points in the first half and led 46-28 at halftime.
Coach John Calipari said the Razorbacks had a “terrific” practice Friday before leaving Fayetteville. He said the shootaround prior to Saturday’s game was one of the team’s best this season.
“So I felt good coming into the game,” Calipari said.
The Razorbacks also opened the second half well, hitting 4 of 6, including 2 of 2 from three-point range, coming out of halftime to go ahead 58-35 at the under-16 media timeout.
A 6-0 run later in the half put Arkansas ahead 66-38, forcing a UCA timeout with 12:04 remaining.
The Razorbacks led by 31 points before inserting some backups, allowing the Bears (2-8) to close the gap by the end of the game.
It was an easy win at an arena that has been notoriously difficult for Arkansas to put away mid-major opponents. The Razorbacks improved their all-time record to 15-10 at Simmons Bank Arena and won by their largest margin there since an 88-63 victory over Troy in December 2017.
“They’re really well coached,” UCA Coach John Shulman said. “To get all the talent and to try that hard defensively against little old Central Arkansas — sometime or another, y’all have got to give (Calipari) some credit because that guy can coach and more power to them. They were prepared. They played hard.”
Arkansas shot 60% (33 of 55) from the floor and 45% (9 of 20) from three-point range. The Razorbacks outscored the Bears 44-18 in the paint and 21-0 in fast-break points.
“I have said if we get 9, 10, 11 threes in a game, we’ll be hard to beat,” Calipari said, “because we’re pretty good defensively.”
UCA shot 33% (18 of 54) overall and 25% (7 of 28) from three. The Bears were 14 of 18 at the free-throw line. Arkansas fouled UCA three-point shooters four times.
Fland scored 16 points and added 9 assists, 5 steals and 5 rebounds in 34 minutes. His assist and steal totals were career highs.
Karter Knox added 14 points in 22 minutes and D.J. Wagner scored 13 in 25 minutes.
Jonas Aidoo tallied 13 points, 6 rebounds and 2 blocks in 24 minutes. Brazile put up 11 points, 7 rebounds and 5 blocks in 21 minutes. The Razorbacks had nine blocks.
Elias Cato scored 15 points to lead UCA. The Bears lost their fourth consecutive game, including the past three to in-state foes.
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“They’ve lost some games, but let me just say this: stay the course,” Calipari said of UCA. “They’re playing in a way that’s different, and it’s going to stun some people. You watch.”
The Razorbacks played without leading scorer Adou Thiero, who puts up 18 points per game and has been battling the flu.
Thiero was limited to 22 minutes and scored 13 points when Arkansas defeated Michigan earlier in the week.
“He didn’t practice for three days,” Calipari said. “I made him go through the shootaround today, but he’s off tomorrow, then we’ve got to start getting him back. For him to play in that Michigan game — listen folks, he had no business playing. For him to get seven straight points, which settled us down, without him we don’t win that game.”
Calipari said Thiero’s fever spiked following the game.
