FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – The Carleton University Ravens fought admirably in the opening 15 minutes of Saturday’s exhibition game against Arkansas in Nassau, Bahamas, but the Razorbacks led by 25 at halftime and held on for a 99-58 win.
Here are three takeaways from Saturday’s game.
Advertisement
Arkansas’ athleticism on full display
Arkansas got out and ran in transition plenty on Friday and also did so early and often against Carleton.
The Razorbacks had 18 fastbreak points in the first half alone, as well as six dunks. While Carleton was much more structurally sound than the Bahamas National Team, they could not match the athleticism or physicality of the Hogs, who gradually wore down the Ravens over the final six minutes of the first half to take a 52-27 lead into the locker room.
Arkansas finished the game with eight dunks.
Jeremiah Wilkinson has potential to be Arkansas’ leading scorer
For all of the warranted hype around the offensive abilities of JJ Andrews, Abdou Toure, Davion Thompson and Jordan Smith Jr., Georgia transfer guard Jeremiah Wilkinson could be Arkansas’ most dangerous offensive weapon.
Advertisement
Wilkinson’s Arkansas debut was cut short on Friday after he took a hard fall in the first half and sat out for the rest of Arkansas’ contest against the Bahamas National Team. Despite not getting much of an opportunity to shake off any rust, he was exceptionally crisp on Saturday.
Wilkinson had 16 points on 5-6 shooting from the field and 4-5 shooting from three in the first half alone and ended the night with a game-high 26 points on 7-12 shooting from the field, 5-9 shooting from beyond the arc and 7-9 a mark from the foul line.
Offense is expected to come in bunches for the Razorbacks this season, but it wouldn’t be surprising to see Smith, Thompon, Toure and Andrews struggle to shoot as they adjust to the college game in the early portion of the season. If that happens, Arkansas would love to know that they can count on a seasoned veteran in Wilkinson to shoot as well as he did on Saturday.
Advertisement
Jordan Smith Jr finds his shot, puts together triple double
Smith led Arkansas with 22 points on Friday but shot only 7-22 from the field in his unofficial UA debut. He was much more efficient on Saturday, scoring 15 points in the first half of 7-11 shooting – including a three to beat the halftime buzzer – and 21 for the game on 9-14 shooting, including a 2-3 mark from three.
Smith very well could end up being a Darius Acuff-esque scorer: the points will come every night, though not always in an efficient manner. But the Razorbacks wouldn’t mind if Smith’s shot consistently falls like it did on Saturday, which was much more indicative of how talented the Washington, D.C., native is.
Advertisement
Smith also put together a triple double, notching 11 assists and 11 rebounds in addition to his points.
Big man Maper Maker hit his head in the first half and later went back to the locker room prior to halftime, though he returned to the bench at the start of the second half. Billy Richmond was also shaken up in the first half and did not start the second half. Neither Maker nor Richmond saw the floor over the final 20 minutes.
Sign up toour free newsletter, and follow us onFacebook,X (Twitter)for the latest news.
Today’s best reads
This article was originally published on www.si.com/college/arkansas as Takeaways From Arkansas’ 98-58 Exhibition Win Over Carleton University.
