Arkansas basketball vs The Bahamas score, live updates, start time, how to watch

It’s time for a first look at John Calipari’s third team with Arkansas basketball.

The Razorbacks begin a four-game preseason tour in the Caribbean Friday, July 31, facing The Bahamas National Team. All of the exhibitions will be against international competition.

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This will be an important week to build chemistry. The Hogs return one player who logged meaningful minutes from last year’s team that reached the Sweet 16. Billy Richmond III turned down the NBA Draft and is back for his junior season.

Otherwise, Arkansas has a slew of newcomers competing for playing time this season. There are eight true freshmen on the roster, including four five-star recruits.

One of those five-star prospects is Finland’s Miikka Muurinen, but the 7-foot forward has not yet received clearance from the NCAA and won’t be available to play this week.

The Bahamas National Team already faced Louisville earlier this week, and the Cardinals ran away with a 101-52 victory. NBA players like Buddy Hield, VJ Edgecombe did not play for The Bahamas in the loss to Louisville.

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The Southwest Times Record is providing live updates throughout the exhibition game. Follow along.

Arkansas basketball vs The Bahamas live score updates

Second Half

Arkansas leads 81-43, 7:41

• The Hogs have found their groove again thanks to suffocating perimeter defense. Jordan Smith Jr. finally made a 3 and is now up to a game-high 18 points despite the poor shooting. Billy Richmond III looks like he’s in cruise control and just fed Cooper Bowser on an alley-oop dunk. The only negative from this game has been some shaky interior defense. At times, The Bahamas are scoring easily against the Arkansas centers.

Arkansas lead 66-34, 11:49

• The offense has cooled down a bit in recent minutes for the Hogs. They’ve missed their last nine shots with an all-freshmen lineup in the game. Jordan Smith Jr. is now 4 for 18, but he has six assists and only one turnover.

Arkansas leads 62-28, 15:39

• The second half starts in a similar fashion with the Hogs already recording 12 points in the paint. Billy Richmond III just finidhed off a highlight-reel one-handed dunk to give him 14 points. Abdou Toure had a great recent possession with two offensive rebounds that led to an easy bucket.

First Half

HALF: Arkansas 50, The Bahamas 19

• Davion Thompson caught wind that we didn’t think he was having a good half and made his final three shots of the period. Two of them came from 3-point range. Arkansas is rolling its first exhibition. Abdou Toure has 10 points, while Thompson and Billy Richmond III have eight. The defense has been dominant as The Bahamas are shooting 24.2% overall and 0 for 10 on 3s with 13 turnovers.

Arkansas leads 40-15, 2:27

• It’s been a rough shooting evening for the two Arkansas point guards. Jordan Smith Jr. is 3 for 11, while Davion Thompson is 0 for 4. Their struggles don’t matter because the Hogs’ defense is creating plenty of easy buckets at the other end. The Razorbacks already have 10 steals.

Arkansas leads 34-10, 7:10

• It continues to be a blowout. Arkansas has 26 paint points, and Abdou Toure is all of a sudden up to 10 on 4-of-6 shooting. The Bahamas are shooting 23% from the field.

• The Georgia transfer took a hard fall after getting fouled on a dunk with 9:30 on the clock. He was on the floor for a couple minutes before walking off the floor with the Arkansas’ training staff. The Hogs lead 28-8.

Arkansas leads 19-5, 11:43

• Abdou Toure has come off the bench and provided a spark. He recently drained a 3-pointer for Arkansas’ first made field goal outside of the paint. Billy Richmond III leads all scorers with 6 points. Toure has five and JJ Andrews has four.

Arkansas leads 12-1, 15:13

• All 12 Arkansas points have come inside the paint, and eight of them are off fast-break opportunities. The Bahamas already has five turnovers. This is a complete mismatch, but it’s encouraging to see this type of defensive pressure from the Razorbacks. That must be their calling-card this season.

Arkansas leads 6-0, 17:12

• The Hogs’ defense is causing all kinds of frustrations for The Bahamas, who are 0 for 3 from the field and haven’t attempted a shot inside the 3-point line. Billy Richmond III has four points and JJ Andrews has two. All three Arkansas buckets have come inside the paint.

Pregame

Delay to tipoff

• The game won’t start on time due to issues with one of the rims. The Bahamas reportedly went through warmups in a different gym. The weekend if off to an auspicious start.