This past weekend in college basketball provided a ton of quality exhibition games. One of them was Gonzaga vs Arkansas, a battle of top-15 teams from the preseason AP poll. It was a game the Bulldogs controlled early, before an 18-0 run by the home team in the second half gave them a double-digit lead.
Arkansas was able to hold on for the 76-72 victory, one that looked even more impressive considering what occurred. There were a lot of takeaways from the game, here were the top three that stood out regarding the Razorbacks.
1. Jordan Smith’s off game, with other freshmen stepping up
Smith is a consensus five-star prospect, ranked in the top-5 of most freshmen rankings. But his performance will arguably be the worst we’ll see him all season. In 23 minutes while having to leave for a while after sustaining an injury (did return later), Smith went 0/9 from the field and scored just one point. The good news is that the rest of the incoming top recruiting class played well (more on them later), allowing Arkansas to win the game. It’s a great sign that they can beat a top-25 team without nothing from their arguably best player on the roster.
2. Billy Richmond’s big outing
The lead scorer for the Razorbacks in this game was Richmond, producing a team-high 17 points, seven rebounds and five assists. That includes 12 in the second half, some during the decisive 18-0 run. The All-SEC defender spilt minutes on the wings with Karter Knox last year but with him at Louisville, Richmond has a great chance at breaking out. He’s off to a good start based on Saturday’s performance.
3. Jeremiah Wilkinson’s lack of second half minutes
Other key contributors from the game for Arkansas included a trio of other freshmen guards besides Smith. JaShawn Andrews went for 10 points and nine rebounds, Abdou Toure had nine points off the bench, while point guard Davion Thompson had 12 points in 21 minutes. Those guys played most of the second half, while Georgia transfer guard Jeremiah Wilkinson played just four minutes, scoring seven points total.
It’s also a good sign that the Razorbacks didn’t need much of Wilkinson to win but with the other freshmen perimeter players having nice outings, the minute allocation in the backcourt could be more up for grabs than originally expected.
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