Jaylen Barford had 22 points, C.J. Jones hit five three-pointers for 15 points, and three other Razorbacks reached double digits as Arkansas knocked off No. 14 Minnesota, 95-79, in front of a very loud crowd of 17,583 Saturday night at Bud Walton Arena.
The Hogs (7-2) never trailed against the Gophers (8-3) and led by as many at 19 points in the final minutes of the game.
"Hats off to our guys. I thought they matched the energy in this building," Arkansas head coach Mike Anderson said. "I don't know how many people were in here -- 18, 19 (thousand) -- but it was packed, in my mind. I thought our guys came in and really matched that intensity on the floor."
Daniel Gafford got the start over Trey Thompson and had another impressive outing, finishing with 16 points, 7 rebounds and 6 blocks in 21 minutes of action.
"It was time for him to get out there," Anderson said. "When he does, he gives you a presence inside and spaces the floor out where those guys get lanes to either attack or shoot the basketball.
"Not only that, but on defense he's a rim protector back there. He rebounds above the rim. He's getting better, so it was one of those gut instinct things where it's time to maybe get him out there. He learned the ropes of playing, whether he fouls or not. He played more athletic tonight. He played more instinctive tonight as opposed to worrying about fouls.
"The beauty of it is, Trey comes in and gives us some great minutes off the bench."
Daryl Macon had a dozen points, eight assists and two steals, and Anton Beard contributed 10 points and six assists.
Arkansas finished with 23 assists including 15 in the first half.
"What a masterpiece of sharing the basketball," Anderson said. "We shared the basketball."
Minnesota's All-Big Ten forward, Jordan Murphy, finished with 20 points, 10 rebounds and three blocks, while Amir Coffey had 18 points and Nate Mason put up 17.
The Gophers were 24 of 37 at the free throw line while the Razorbacks hit seven on just 13 attempts from the stripe.
Anderson said his team offset the margin by shooting well and playing solid defense.
"I thought our defense was on point," Anderson said. "Once we did rebound it, we got transition and got the ball on down the floor."
Anderson, who celebrated his 100th home victory with the win, tweeted earlier in the week that his team needed a loud environment against the Gophers.
Hog fans delivered.
"That was Bud Walton Arena at its best. That was Bud Walton Arena at its best," Anderson said. "That's how we do it around here. When you come here, it's two hours of just sheer chaos."
Arkansas gets a week off for finals before hosting Troy (5-4) at Bud Walton Arena next Saturday at 7 p.m.
