Arkansas hosts Memphis in final exhibition before regular season tips

Last fall, Memphis led Arkansas at halftime of an exhibition in Tennessee. It didn’t stay that way.

The Razorbacks erased a three-point deficit and ran away with a 99-75 win in the St. Jude Tip Off Classic.

This time the Tigers have to make the trip to Fayetteville. No. 12 Arkansas hosts Memphis on Wednesday night in its last tuneup before the regular season.

The ball goes up at 7 p.m. inside Bud Walton Arena. The game streams on SEC Network+ through the ESPN app.

Brett Dolan and Manny Watkins will call it. Chuck Barrett and Matt Zimmerman have the radio side on the Learfield Razorback Sports Network.

Each team is coming off a warmup win. The Hogs knocked off No. 15 Gonzaga on Saturday, and Memphis got its win a day earlier.

That makes it 1-0 vs. 1-0, for whatever exhibition records are worth. (Not much.)

Richmond’s offseason work shows up

Billy Richmond topped the Arkansas box score against Gonzaga with 17 points. The junior forward added seven rebounds and five assists.

He made 4 of 10 shots, including 3 of 5 from deep.

John Calipari liked what he saw.

“His pace of play, yet being in control, way better,” the Arkansas coach said after the win.

Calipari said Richmond made a smart call by returning to school. Part of the deal was becoming a threat from deep. According to Calipari, Richmond will hit 65 shots in a five-minute shooting drill.

The coach’s pregame instructions weren’t complicated.

“I told him yesterday if you don’t take open shots I’m taking you out,” Calipari said. “Shoot open shots.”

Andrews sets the tone

Freshman forward JJ Andrews got a shoutout as well. Calipari said Richmond started chasing loose balls once Andrews did.

The coach said that kind of effort catches on.

Calipari wasn’t ready to get carried away over a 76-point night, though.

“I just knew we had a lot of guys, we score 76, which is not many,” he said. “But we got a long way to go, but we’ll see.”

He’s gone 50-23 since taking over in Fayetteville. In league games, he’s 21-15.

A 28-9 record and a Sweet 16 trip capped last season for Arkansas.

Memphis brings a scorer

Memphis leans on Jayden Reid. The senior guard scored 26 points and dished out four assists in a 75-58 win over Mississippi State.

Penny Hardaway’s in his ninth season with the Tigers. His teams have gone 175-87 since he arrived. Against AAC foes, they’re 93-48.

Last season was rough for Memphis. A 13-19 finish left the Tigers home in March.

The official ledger between these two reads 11-11 after 22 meetings.

Recent history favors the Hogs. They’re 9-4 in the last 13.

The Tigers took the most recent game that counted. Memphis won 84-79 in the 2023 Battle 4 Atlantis semifinals.

What BetSaracen thinks

BetSaracen doesn’t see a close game. Arkansas is a 15.5-point favorite at -120.

The moneyline has the Razorbacks at -1000 and Memphis at +450. The over/under is 160.5.

Player props are on the board as well. A double-double from anyone on the Arkansas roster is listed at -195.

Richmond topping 15.5 points and 6.5 rebounds pays +275. Andrews going over 14.5 points and 7.5 rebounds is listed at +230.

Jordan Smith Jr. grabbing more than 4.5 rebounds and 1.5 steals comes in at +250.

Bettors must be 21 or older. Each wager has a $100 max, and lines can change before tip-off.

Calipari says his team has a long way to go. Wednesday’s the last chance to cover some of that ground before the games count.