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Frenetic Razorback Start Sets the Stage for the Calipari Era

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Frenetic Razorback Start Sets the Stage for the Calipari Era


FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Coach John Calipari and Arkansas could have done anything in the scrimmage against No. 1 Kansas and the sold out crowd at Bud Walton Arena probably would have gone nuts. Students waited days for this moment and Calipari delivered quite a treat ahe Razorbacks defeated the Jayhawks, 85-69.

“They had two of their better players out,” coach John Calipari said. “Let’s not do triple backflips, but what I liked was we really guarded the ball pretty good. For a team that’s not been together long, for a team that has practiced with five guys for probably two weeks, we only had three turnovers at half.”

The Razorbacks played at a frantic pace and made their first six shots, culminated by a dunk by Trevon Brazile. Arkansas only made its first six shots in a game once in 35 games (including exhibitions) under former coach Eric Musselman last year.

Ironically, Calipari was on the other sideline coaching the Kentucky Wildcats. Arkansas fans are still on the honeymoon phase of Calipari and it shows no sign of slowing down.

Senior guard D.J Wagner made two threes within the first two minutes of the game. Never mind that the Hogs missed 12 of their next 13 shots from beyond the arc because it just felt different.

Arkansas seemedsure of itself. Once it got the lead, it never slipped under double-digits in the second half and the Hogs stretched the lead out to as much as 20 as Three players — Zvonimir Ivisic, Boogie Fland and Wagner — all scored more than 15 points.

“I was having fun out there,” Fland said. “I was smiling up and down the court. It was just so surreal you know, to get to this point, you know. It was amazing though.”  

In between all the highlight dunks and displays of athleticism was sound basketball. It wasn’t always pretty, but for a first scrimmage against the top team in the country, Arkansas played clean, which was a far cry from the 2023-24 season.

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The Hogs forced 14 turnovers, attempted 28 free throws and made 23 of them, compared to just six attempts for Kansas. The Hogs also created 12 steals and, despite not having Jonas Aidoo inside, kept the rebounding battle close, 35-34. Granted Kansas was also without star center Hunter Dickinson.

For all the minor issues, the Calipari era couldn’t have gotten off to a better start. Arkansas will play its second scrimmage against TCU 7 p.m. Friday in Fort Worth, Texas.

• Five reasons why Arkansas will win, lose against Mississippi State

• Fland, Wagner send Hogs fans into frenzy against Kansas Friday night

• Live Blog: Arkansas Razorbacks vs. Kansas Jayhawks

• Of Razorbacks’ complaints, not many coming about Devin Bale

• What Razorback Fans Can Expect Against Kansas

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Arkansas

No. 1 Arkansas leads SEC Indoor after first day finals

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No. 1 Arkansas leads SEC Indoor after first day finals



COLLEGE STATION – A victory in the 5,000m by Nick Busienei and third place in the distance medley relay had No. 1 Arkansas leading the team score with 18 points on the first day of the SEC Indoor Championships.

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The Razorbacks produced 12 of those points in the 5,000m as Nick Busienei won the race in a meet record of 13;31.86, which ranks him No. 7 on the UA all-time list. Busienei bettered the meet record of 13:37.52 set by Razorback Patrick Kiprop in 2025.

James Sankei added two more points in placing seventh with a time of 13:44.57.

Dating back to 1992 when Arkansas competed in its first SEC Indoor meet, Busienei claimed the 21st title for the program and is the 14th Razorback to win the indoor 5,000m.

Six more points were added in the distance medley relay as Arkansas posted a time of 9:30.84 from the foursome of Owan Logorodi (2:58.46), Zyaire Nuriddin (46.51), Julian Carter (1:49.10), and Brian Masai (3:56.77).

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South Carolina won the race in 9:30.08 with Ole Miss runner-up in 9:30.34. Florida originally placed third in 9:30.37 but was disqualified for spiking the baton at the conclusion of the race.

Jelani Watkins led the Razorback crew in the 200m prelims as three Arkansas sprinters advanced to the final. Watkins produced an indoor career best of 20.42 rank second overall to a 20.38 by Florida’s Wayna McCoy. Watkins remains No. 2 on the UA all-time list as he improved his previous time of 20.43.

Dapriest Hogans followed with a 20.63 that equaled his career best and his No. 8 ranking on the UA all-time list. Tevijon Williams clocked 20.65 to reach the final where 20.71 was the cutoff time. Jamarion Stubbs ran 20.87 in his prelim heat.

Cooper Williams completed the first day of the heptathlon in sixth place with 2,862 points. He started with a 7.43 in the 60m (736), then added a 21-9.5 (6.64) long jump (729). In the shot put, a mark of 36-8.25 (11.18) picked up 557 points. Williams wrapped up day one by topping the field in the high jump with a clearance of 6-8.25 for 840 points.

Link Lindsey placed 15 in the long jump with a mark of 23-6.75 (7.18).

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The wall goes back up: Arkansas embraces defiant isolation

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The wall goes back up: Arkansas embraces defiant isolation


“Arkansans have been made better economically, intellectually and socially by letting go of the ‘terrified truculence’ toward outsiders in recent decades. Sadly, as we’ve experienced this sad winter, all signs are that many similar seasons of defiant isolation are in our state’s future,” writes political scholar Jay Barth.



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Man arrested in Arkansas connected to Jan. 2026 fatal hit-and-run in Dallas

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Man arrested in Arkansas connected to Jan. 2026 fatal hit-and-run in Dallas


Authorities in Arkansas have arrested a man accused of being behind the wheel during a January car crash that left one man dead.

Suspect arrested in Arkansas for Dallas hit-and-run

What we know:

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U.S. Marshals tracked down 22-year-old Enrique Hernandez in De Queen, a southwest Arkansas town about three hours away from Dallas and an hour north of Texarkana.

Hernandez has been charged with collision involving death, a second-degree felony, in connection with the case. He is currently being held in an Arkansas jail before he is transferred to a jail in Dallas County.

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What we don’t know:

Dallas police haven’t said if the suspect has any ties to the victim or the area of Arkansas where he was arrested.

The backstory:

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The fatal hit-and-run occurred around 3 a.m. on Sunday, Jan. 11 near W. Davis St. and N. Westmoreland Dr. in Dallas.

26-year-old Johnathan Rodriguez was dropped off by friends outside his Dallas neighborhood early Sunday morning after celebrating his birthday.

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Surveillance video shows Rodriguez in the media area of the road when a dark-colored SUV hits him and drives away.

Rodriguez was left with severe head trauma, later dying from his injuries.

A bittersweet victory for the family

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What they’re saying:

John Rodriguez, the victim’s father, struggled to find the words to describe the news he received.

“It’s not going to bring him back, bring my son back,” Rodriguez told FOX 4’s Peyton Yager. “It hurts every day, every minute. I wake up every morning, and he is not here. We are really going to miss him.”

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The Rodriguez family worked with police to help find their son’s killer. They found more surveillance video near the scene of the accident that helped authorities find and arrest Hernandez in Arkansas.

“We are going to fight for justice. Long live Johnny, and we are going to keep on fighting,” Rodriguez said.

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The Source: Information in this story came from current and previous FOX 4 reporting.

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