Arkansas finished its preseason Wednesday night with a performance that leaned hard on defense and ended in a 93-81 exhibition win over Memphis at Bud Walton Arena.
The Tigers never found much rhythm against the Razorbacks’ pressure. Memphis shot 28 of 61 from the floor, good for 45.9%, and went 6 of 20 from beyond the arc.
Arkansas, meanwhile, created the game’s biggest separation by turning stops into points, forcing 15 turnovers and cashing those in for 26 points. The Hogs only coughed it up nine times, and Memphis managed just 11 points off those miscues.
"I believe defense wins championships," Arkansas freshman guard Jordan Smith Jr. said after the win. "If we all have the defensive effort to, just willing to do anything to win, I feel like we'll be fine when it comes to bigger teams, older teams."
It was a strong follow-up to Arkansas’ first exhibition, when the Hogs forced 10 turnovers against Gonzaga and converted that into 13 points. Through two exhibition games, Arkansas has forced 25 turnovers and scored 39 points off them.
That kind of activity is exactly what head coach John Calipari has been pushing from a team that last season ranked among the nation’s weakest defensive groups, allowing 81 points per game and finishing 337th in that category.
"We're really fast, wouldn't you say?" Arkansas head coach John Calipari said following the win.
"We're really athletic. So what does that mean you should be thinking about?
Being a great defensive team, shot-blocking team. Create opportunities, deflections, because if you do you get the run out.
"If you don't and they come down and take it to eight feet and score on you, or pass it twice and throw it to the post and the guy throws you out of the way and scores, you can't run. You're not the same team. We like to be that team that you're seeing 65% of the time.
"Then the other time you got to score in the half-court. You're going to play a good team, guess what? It's going to be 40% of the time you're going to run and the other 60 you're going to have to score in the half-court."
Arkansas piled up 14 steals, with nine different players getting in on the action. Junior guard Jeremiah Wilkinson led the way with three steals, while freshmen forwards Miikka Muurinen, Abdou Toure and JJ Andrews each added two.
The Razorbacks also did damage around the rim. Memphis finished 13 of 23 on layups, a 56.5% mark, and Arkansas blocked seven shots. Senior forward Cooper Bowser had three of those blocks, and Smith along with junior forward Billy Richmond finished with two apiece.
Calipari said he adjusted the trapping scheme during the game and wasn’t fully satisfied with that choice.
"I wasn't comfortable with the way we were trapping and I kind of changed it," Calipari said. "Probably shouldn't have.
Too young a team to make changes without it having been drilled and going over and over and over to where they'll know. So now, instead of leaving, trying to go to the middle, which we ended up leaving the basket open a few times.
"So part of that was me, but we're awful big, we just got to figure out what we're going to do if someone is much stronger than us, how we're going to play."
Arkansas now turns to the regular season opener against UAPB next Tuesday. Tipoff from Bud Walton Arena is set for 7 p.m. CDT, and the game will air on SEC Network+.
In Other News...
Arkansas Gets A Big Chance With Rising QB Target This Weekend
A familiar recruiting visitor is back in Fayetteville this weekend, and this one carries real long-term intrigue for Arkansas. KJ Henry, the 4-star quarterback from Norman North in Oklahoma, is expected to watch the Razorbacks take on Missouri after already making an unofficial visit to an Arkansas game earlier in the process. He sits 16th among quarterbacks in the 2028 class on 247Sports, and Arkansas is one of several programs that have already extended scholarship offers.
For the Razorbacks, the chance to host Henry again comes at a useful moment, especially with his profile continuing to rise. The offseason brought noticeable gains in weight, physicality and running ability, traits that have helped push him further onto the radar as one of the more interesting young quarterbacks in the country. A return trip like this gives Arkansas another chance to make itself part of the conversation before the race gets even more crowded. [Read more 🡒]
Penny Hardaway Just Framed Arkansas As A Much Bigger Threat
Arkansas left Memphis with a 93-81 win and a reminder that the Razorbacks may be viewed differently inside the sport than they are in the rankings. Five Arkansas players finished in double figures, a balanced showing that fit the kind of depth and energy John Calipari has been trying to build early in the season. Even in a road atmosphere, the Razorbacks looked like a group capable of making noise beyond a standard nonconference result.
Penny Hardaway added to that buzz afterward by calling Arkansas a top-five team despite its No. 12 ranking, pointing to the Razorbacks youth as part of the reason they have not climbed higher yet. Calipari, meanwhile, returned the compliment by speaking highly of Memphis and saying the Tigers should contend for their league title. For Arkansas, it is the sort of win that travels well, and the kind of postgame praise that suggests the conversation around this team may be changing fast. [Read more 🡒]
Arkansas Is Waiting On A Recruiting Test Calipari May Not Win
The recruiting race for DeMarcus Henry is already shaping up to be the kind of heavyweight battle Arkansas expected when John Calipari arrived in Fayetteville. The highly ranked 2027 guard has drawn attention from the usual powers, with Arkansas and North Carolina both in the mix, and the Tar Heels have put real pressure on the pursuit by making Henry a major priority early.
North Carolinas pitch has reportedly gone beyond the standard welcome tour, which gives Arkansas a sense of how steep the climb may be here. The Razorbacks are still pushing ahead on multiple fronts, too, with Beckham Black trending toward an early signing and CJ Rossers recruitment still unresolved, so even if Henry becomes a tougher pull, the broader class picture is far from settled. [Read more 🡒]