The No. 23 Arkansas Razorbacks (11-2, 0-0 SEC) win streak extended to six games after a 92-62 win over the Oakland Golden Grizzlies (4-10, 1-2 Horizon) on Monday night.

Arkansas came out somewhat sloppy, committed nine turnovers in the first half and only led by three points at the half. But as the Hogs have done many times this season, a second-half explosion propelled the team to a 30-point win by the time the game was over.

Freshman point guard Boogie Fland had just one point in the first half but scored 23 in the second. He connected five times from deep, all of which came in the second half. Forward Adou Thiero, on the other hand, was a constant source of offense in the first half. He scored 16 points in the first and four in the second — all of which came off free throws.

Oakland had a penchant for shooting the three ball and Arkansas made a concerted effort to run them off the three-point line. The Golden Grizzlies only attempted 17 threes — eight less than their average — and only connected twice.

Where the Golden Grizzlies got most of their points was in the paint. Oakland center Allen Mukeba finished with 18 points and had tons of easy looks in the paint.

HawgBeat grades the team’s performance overall from Monday night’s win…

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What’s hurting Arkansas’ grade on offense is the 13 turnovers, because outside of some sloppy stretches the Hogs were mostly efficient. Arkansas had 21 assists — their third straight game with at least 21. Thiero and Fland contributed six a piece and Billy Richmond had four of his own.

The Hogs had three players score in double figures with Fland (24) leading all scorers. Thiero had 20 and was a constant in a first half when Arkansas’ play was a bit disconnected and Fland wasn’t shooting well.

Fland’s impact was almost entirely felt in the second half, as he scored all but one point in the final 20 minutes. Thiero and Karter Knox kept the Hogs from getting into a big hole with 16 and 10 first-half points, respectively.

“He works really hard, but here’s the biggest thing — he and Billy (Richmond) both — when you watch them, what do you see?” Calipari said of Knox postgame. “Energy, effort, diving on the floor, mixing it up, good size, long. You know what I’m saying? They’re both. But the biggest thing they give you is a spirited effort. Their energy is contagious. Both of them. I’m really happy that Karter got this opportunity to go play through some mistakes and do stuff.”

Richmond played a really efficient game, which is big as the Hogs head into conference play. He had the second-highest offensive rating behind Fland and his 75% shooting from the field was tied with Jonas Aidoo and Karter Knox for the best on the team.

He also got to join the highlight reel with a slam dunk from an alley-oop, off-the-backboard pass from Fland.

D.J. Wagner had a quiet night offensively with just eight points, but his three-point shooting continues to impress. He finished 2-of-5 from deep and is now shooting 41.3% from deep.

As a team, the Razorbacks hit 10 threes and shot 45.5% from beyond the arc. Half of those makes came from Fland, but for a team that struggled to connect from long range earlier in the season it’s a good sign for the Hogs as they head into conference play.

“We got guys shooting in their 40s from the three,” Calipari said. “But this whole thing will come down to the toughness, finishing games, coming up with some different ways to work on situations that aren’t just on the floor because there are going to be many many games come down to the last two possessions. That’s what it’s gonna be. And if not, that meant you made 12 threes, and that ain’t gonna happen much.”

Arkansas deserves a lot of praise for running Oakland off the three-point line, as the Golden Grizzlies only got two shots from deep to fall in 17 attempts and as a team shot 40% from the field overall, but the interior defense was a little concerning.

Calipari said after the game Jonas Aidoo was sick and he “probably shouldn’t have played,” but even sick, he got worked by Oakland’s bigs, primarily Allen Mukeba. Oakland’s 6-foot-6 big man finished the game with 17 points on 7-of-13 shooting, and most of those shots came at the rim.

As with the offense, the defense clamped down much better down low in the second half and only allowed 12 points in the paint. Part of that was because Calipari made a switch in the post and put Thiero on Mukeba.

The upside to the defensive lapses inside was an increased three-point defense, which Calipari said after the game was a part of the Hogs’ gameplan.

“So if you double-team the post, or if you scramble and do stuff, what are you giving up?” Calipari said of defending the three. “So now you say, ‘can they score enough twos to beat us?’ For a while, I’m looking like maybe I’m going to have to do something here, but I changed some personnel. I thought (Trevon Brazile) did a good job.”

The Hogs also did a solid job in the turnover department, as they forced 13 Oakland turnovers, three more than the Golden Grizzlies average. When they did turn the ball over, they capitalized and scored 21 points off those turnovers.

Thiero’s active hands allowed for three steals and Wagner grabbed two as well. Interestingly, Fland didn’t record a steal, which is not the norm as he averages 1.7 per game.

Brazile also deserves a lot of credit for his rim defense. He logged six blocks, a season-high, while he ripped down eight rebounds. Those six blocks are a single-season high among SEC players.

The final score isn’t indicative of what the game actually looked like, as Arkansas struggled to put away Oakland until midway through the second half. Still, it ended up being a 30-point win over a team that Calipari had recent history with in last year’s tournament.

After two wire-to-wire victories over Central Arkansas and North Carolina A&T, the Hogs came back down to earth a little bit, which could be attributed to the Christmas break or the absence of Davis, who Calipari said he doesn’t know if he’ll be ready for Saturday’s game.

Still, a win is a win, and at the end of the day it was a 30-point victory regardless of how the Hogs got there. The easy games are over now though as SEC play starts.

“There are really good teams in this league and that’s what you always want, to have a league top-to-bottom that’s that way,” Calipari said. “Is it only top to bottom for us? No, it’s everybody. I’m worried just about us. You got the same games we got. Some of you even have a harder schedule than we got. So, it should be interesting.”

The Razorbacks’ next matchup will be a road game against No. 1 Tennessee on Saturday in Knoxville. Tipoff is set for noon CT and the game will air on ESPN.

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