FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — John Calipari’s freshmen didn’t look nervous in their first real game Tuesday night.
The newcomers combined for 65 points as No. 12 Arkansas handled Arkansas-Pine Bluff 106-61 at Bud Walton Arena. Neither team had played a regular-season game before this one.
Thirteen Hogs checked in, and only one of them left without a point. Most of that scoring came from guys making their college debut.
Calipari signed eight players in this class, and Jordan Smith Jr. and Miikka Muurinen were the headliners. He put both of them in the starting lineup right away.
Muurinen’s night took some work. He hit 3 of 9 shots and came up empty on two 3-point tries, but he still got to 10 points.
Abdou Toure added 12 points on 4-of-7 shooting.
Smith was the best of the bunch. He scored 20 and added four boards and three steals.
Wilkinson set the tone early
Jeremiah Wilkinson ended up with a game-high 23 points on 7-of-11 shooting. He was 4 of 7 from beyond the arc.
The junior guard grabbed six rebounds and had five steals too.
It was his first regular-season game as a Razorback, and he looked comfortable from the opening tip.
That showed up fast. Pine Bluff got the first basket of the night for a 2-0 lead.
Then the Razorbacks scored 25 in a row. The Golden Lions didn’t get back on the board until 11:28 was left in the first half.
The former Georgia guard knocked down three 3-pointers in that stretch, good for nine points.
Pine Bluff couldn’t get anything going. The Golden Lions coughed it up eight times and got off only seven shots while the Hogs pulled away.
The Hogs got sloppy before halftime
Calipari didn’t love what he saw at one point. Smith gave the ball away, UAPB turned it into a layup and the Arkansas coach burned a timeout on the spot.
Arkansas still led 47-28 at the break.
UAPB caught a break there. The Razorbacks couldn’t buy a bucket from the floor for nearly six minutes before halftime.
Pine Bluff used a 7-0 spurt to make things a little more respectable. Its 13 turnovers before halftime kept it from doing more.
After halftime, the Hogs went back to looking like the team from the first few minutes.
Arkansas was up 40 at 86-46 with 7:38 to go. A late 19-2 run made sure the ending was drama-free.
A lopsided box score
The Razorbacks hit 35 of 64 shots, good for 55%.
Arkansas grabbed 43 rebounds to UAPB’s 27. It also outscored the Golden Lions 54-30 in the paint and had 16 steals to their six.
Jalen Tatum carried what he could for Pine Bluff. The senior guard had 16 points and six rebounds.
Amere Brown scored the last two points of the night. He sank both free throws with 29.3 seconds left, and the home crowd let him hear it after each one.
Arkansas also kept a long streak alive. The Hogs are now 34-0 in home openers at Bud Walton.
Calipari got 65 points from players who’d never played a college game before Tuesday, and that number will follow this group into the rest of November.
