Jordan Smith Jr. didn’t leave much doubt about the lesson he took from Arkansas’ first exhibition.
After going 0-for-9 from the floor against Gonzaga, Smith admitted he had been too passive. On Wednesday against Memphis, he flipped the script in a big way, pouring in 17 points on 7-of-11 shooting. Thirteen of those came after halftime, when he attacked the rim with conviction and gave Arkansas a much-needed offensive spark.
“In order for us to be who we are, we got to start somewhere by being aggressive,” Smith said. “Me being a point guard, the first play of the game, I went to the rim, didn't make the layup, but it just showed the aggressiveness, and I feel like it set the tone for the rest of the game. The aggressiveness standpoint from last game, I had to do better this game, but carry it over, and it showed the results.”
That aggressiveness helped fuel the decisive burst. Smith scored nine points in the first four minutes of the second half, and Arkansas turned that surge into a 65-44 lead by the first media timeout of the half.
“Any performance, you just got to have the next play mentality,” Smith said. “So if I play good, got to forget about it.
If I play bad, got to forget about it, because the next game presents itself for a different challenge every time. So, this game I played well.
The last game I didn't play well. I got to put both games behind me.
We have our first real game coming up soon, so I got to put all my focus towards that.”
Arkansas had already shown against Gonzaga that it could beat a strong opponent even without Smith at his best. But on Wednesday, the offense looked far smoother with the Washington, D.C., native getting downhill and scoring with purpose.
Memphis coach Penny Hardaway saw the difference, too.
“Jordan was more seasoned tonight,” Hardaway said. “He wasn't this seasoned against Gonzaga.
He kind of rushed himself. He was more under control today.”
Even so, Smith doesn’t need a big night in the scoring column to make an impact. His defense and versatility are part of what make him valuable, and John Calipari made clear that one off shooting night shouldn’t define him.
“You have other guys that are trying to judge their game, and their emotions, and their spirit on if I'm making shots,” Calipari said. “What does that mean you'll be all year?
You'll be up. You're gonna be down.
You'll be up. You're gonna be down.
You'll be up.”
Smith was certainly up Wednesday, and Arkansas benefited from it.
In Other News...
Memphis Just Showed A Problem Tigers Fans Can't Ignore
Memphis final tune-up before the regular season came with a clear warning attached, as the Tigers fell 93-81 to No. 12 Arkansas and spent much of the night chasing the game. Even with Nemanja Popovic and Luke Almodovar each finishing with 16 points, Memphis had trouble matching Arkansas physicality, especially around the rim, where the Razorbacks piled up 54 points in the paint.
The more concerning part for the Tigers is how much of that damage came from live-ball mistakes, with Arkansas turning 15 Memphis turnovers into points and control of the tempo. The schedule only gets steeper from here, too, with No. 18 Iowa State waiting in the regular-season opener on November 2, giving Memphis very little time to clean up the issues that showed up in its last exhibition. [Read more 🡒]
Memphis Just Got A Warning About What Could Hurt This Team
An exhibition loss does not count in the standings, but it can still tell you plenty about what a team is walking into when the games start for real. Memphis got a firsthand look at a long, athletic Arkansas group that lived at the rim, turned defense into runouts and piled up easy baskets in a 93-81 result that felt more instructive than alarming.
The Tigers held their own at the line, but they could not match Arkansas burst in the open floor or its ability to keep pressure on the paint. Billy Richmond III and Jordan Smith Jr. were among the Razorbacks who made the matchup look physical and fast, and the game offered Memphis a clear reminder that finishing possessions and controlling transition defense may decide a lot of nights ahead. [Read more 🡒]