The No. 16 Arkansas Razorbacks (1-1) dropped their first game of the season in a 72-67 loss Saturday to a talented No. 8 Baylor Bears (1-1) squad in the Lone Star Showcase at American Airlines Center in Dallas.
Arkansas never led in the game, which was also dubbed the “Dallas Duel,” and the Hogs only managed to tie the score up on one occasion (44-44). The Razorbacks again struggled from behind the arc, as they shot 5-for-20 from three on the evening. The Hogs turned the ball over 11 times and they had just eight points off the bench.
Forward Adou Thiero, a transfer from Kentucky, was the most valuable player for Arkansas in the game, as he led the team with 24 points, five rebounds, two assists and two blocks.
Freshman guard Boogie Fland put together a solid performance with 17 points, seven assists and five rebounds. Guard Johnell Davis, a Florida Atlantic transfer, struggled with just eight points on 2-for-9 shooting from the field and an 0-for-5 mark from three.
The first two Razorback offensive possessions featured missed shots from Davis as Baylor came out running a zone defense that would stick for the rest of the game.
After forward Zvonimir Ivisic missed a two-pointer on the third possession, Fland worked around defenders and hit a jumper to make it a 4-2 deficit early. Shortly after, a steal from Fland led to a dunk from Thiero on the other end to tie the game, but then Baylor hit a shot to take an 8-6 led at the first media timeout.
Thiero provided the Razorbacks with some strong rim protection with a pair of blocks, but Baylor continued to find creases while Arkansas couldn’t get much to fall on the offensive end. The Hogs started the game 0-for-7 from three and they trailed 18-11 by the 11:24 mark in the first half.
A layup from Thiero finally broke the zone for once and ended a nearly four-minute drought without a field goal for the Hogs. Kentucky transfer guard D.J. Wagner picked up a steal and took it coast-to-coast for a score that cut the Baylor lead to 21-15 at the midway mark of the first half. Baylor then scored five straight to take an 11-point lead at the under-8 minute media break.
Arkansas came out of the timeout with a 7-2 run, which featured its first three of the game, to trim the deficit to six points. Baylor then rattled off five straight again, resulting in a 33-22 advantage for the eighth-ranked Bears with four minutes left in the half.
The Razorbacks finally found some consistent momentum with nine points in a row to cut the Baylor lead to 33-31 less than a minute after the timeout. Again, the Bears countered with their own run that lasted the remainder of the first half to give them a 42-33 lead entering the locker room.
Thiero scored six straight points on his own to open the half for Arkansas by cutting the Baylor lead to one possession. After a Baylor basket, Fland hit a three and Wagner hit a mid-ranger jumper to tie the game at 44-44 at the under-16 minute media timeout.
Baylor countered with three triples in a row to make it a nine-point lead. Arkansas finally ended the run by the Bears, but couldn’t counter with one of their own, and Baylor’s fourth three of the half made it a 61-50 lead over the Hogs at the 10:56 mark.
Both teams hit just one basket from the field over the next stretch of play to make it a 63-54 deficit for the Razorbacks at the under-8 minute media timeout. The big moment during that span was the Bears having star big man Norchad Omier pick up his fourth personal foul.
Arkansas trimmed the Baylor lead to just five with 6:26 left and head coach Scott Drew called a timeout for the Bears. Thiero landed a transition dunk to make it a one-possession game (63-60) out of the timeout, but Baylor countered with back-to-back buckets to make it 67-60 at the final media break.
Two free throws from Davis made it a 67-64 game, but Baylor made it a two-possession lead on an Omier layup. Shortly after, Calipari called for a timeout with 54 seconds left and his team down five.
Baylor missed a shot on the ensuing possession, but grabbed the offensive rebound to force the Hogs to foul. Even after the Bears hit a free throw, Fland knocked down a three to make it 70-67 with 22.8 seconds to play.
The Bears hit a pair of free throws after that and Arkansas couldn’t get another shot up before the final buzzer sounded.
Up next, the Razorbacks will return home to Fayetteville for a matchup with the Troy Trojans on Wednesday at Bud Walton Arena. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. CT and the game will be streamed on SEC Network+.
