FAYETTEVILLE — On the eve of Veterans Day, Eric Musselman and the Razorbacks are planning on several ways to honor the military during the Arkansas vs Gardner-Webb showdown Friday night.
The fifth-year coach will be sporting an Army green-colored polo shirt with an American flag patch, a camo belt and custom-painted Nike shoes for the 7 p.m. CT tip inside Bud Walton Arena, which will also be streamed on SEC Network-Plus and ESPN-Plus.
In addition to that, Musselman took to Twitter on Thursday to give away tickets to veterans and, on his radio show Tuesday night, revealed that Southern Miss transfer Denijay Harris — whose father served in the military — would speak to the team before their pregame meal. As a team, the Razorbacks wore Army green-colored shooting tops during pregame.
There will likely be recognitions during the game itself, as well. Best of Arkansas Sports will be in the building to see it all, with live updates posted below…
(UPDATE: Musselman’s Frustrations Boil Over Despite Large Margin of Victory + More from Gardner-Webb Win)
LIVE UPDATES — Arkansas vs Gardner-Webb
15:44, 1H – Gardner-Webb 13, Arkansas 7
For the first time this year, Arkansas didn’t win the opening tip and it resulted in a quick bucket by the Bulldogs, just 7 seconds in.
Lawson answered with a midrange jumper in the paint.
Musselman can’t be happy with how easily Gardner-Webb is getting to the basket in the early going. Or the early turnovers by Arkansas.
While everything the Bulldogs are getting is near the basket, Arkansas has taken almost exclusively mid-range shots or 3s.
Makhi Mitchell is first off the bench, replacing Lawson after he picked up his second foul at the 17:06 mark.
The Razorbacks finally got a look at the basket, but Mitchell was fouled on the play and made only 1 of 2.
Gardner-Webb came to play. Its first 3 of the game was pure.
It wasn’t until just before the first media timeout that Arkansas started showing some life, with Devo Davis being the driving force. He had a nice rebound and pass ahead to Mitchell for a fast break layup and then forced a turnover on the next defensive possession.
11:13, 1H – Arkansas 16, Gardner-Webb 15
Khalif Battle fouled a 3-point shooter, but did not like the call. Incredibly, Gardner-Webb missed all three free throws.
Arkansas is starting to show some aggressiveness. Ellis just grabbed a rebound and took it coast-to-coast, drawing a foul in the process. He made both of his free throws. That makes it a two-point game.
On his second defensive possession, Jalen Graham was blown by for an easy layup. He quickly checks out.
Ellis made it a one-point game with a 3 and then Mitchell made a great feed to Mark on a cut to the basket for a go-ahead layup.
Mitchell’s second block of the game led to a foul on the other end. Arkansas will be shooting free throws with a chance to extend its lead with play resumes out of the U12 media timeout.
7:50, 1H – Arkansas 20, Gardner-Webb 20
Arkansas has done a solid job getting to the free throw line over the first 10 minutes, but it is just 5 of 8. (Make that 7 of 10 after Battle made a pair a few seconds later.)
Gardner-Webb isn’t going away quietly. It made a 3 at the shot clock buzzer to tie it up at 20 and had a chance to retake the lead, but missed its next shot.
After Graham missed the front end of a 1 and 1, the Bulldogs again had several looks at the basket to take the lead, but couldn’t get anything to fall before a bail-out foul by Graham. They’ll be shooting free throws when play resumes.
2:35, 1H – Arkansas 39, Gardner-Webb 33
Graham was actually issued a Flagrant 1 on that play (definitely the right call) and Gardner-Webb made both free throws to go back on top.
Davis picks up his second foul at the 7:16 mark and promptly checks out.
Arkansas briefly took the lead on an awkward mid-range jumper by Pinion, but Gardner-Webb immediately answered with an easy bucket.
Oh my. Pinion just threw down an impressive dunk on a pass from Mitchell on a back cut. Then there was some chippiness on the other end. After a review, Shahar Lazar was issued a Flagrant 1. After the play, Mitchell was also assessed a technical foul.
The two teams are exchanging buckets now, with Mark hitting back-to-back mid-range shots for Arkansas. He was fouled on the second one, but failed to complete the 3-point play. He’s up to 7 points.
Oh my. Battle just took a pass and immediately fired a fadeaway 3 in the corner and drained it.
Brazile finally gets on the board with a turnaround jumper in the paint. A couple minutes later, he hit a 3 from the corner and Gardner-Webb calls a timeout. That puts Arkansas up by six, its largest lead of the night.
HALF – Arkansas 48, Gardner-Webb 36
And just like that, the lead is 10. Battle knocked down a tough shot and then Ellis came away with a steal and easy fast break layup.
Gardner-Webb answered with a 3, but Arkansas is unfazed. It ended up getting a 3 by Battle just before the end of the half. He’s got a game-high 13 points.
14:51, 2H – Arkansas 58, Gardner Webb 40
Makhi Mitchell is the first off the bench in the second half. He checks in for Lawson at the 18:04 mark. He was plus-17 in his 14 minutes of action in the first half, by far the best +/- on the team.
They don’t call him “Mid-Range Mark” for nothing. He just hit another mid-ranger jumper.
Arkansas – specifically Brazile and Mitchell – have done a great job defending the rim early on the first half. Mitchell and Brazile are up to four blocks apiece. A quick layup by Ellis after the latest one leads to a timeout by Gardner-Webb.
After the timeout, Brazile notched his fifth block and Mark got an and-one layup on the other end, bringing us to the U16 media timeout.
10:49, 2H – Arkansas 69, Gardner-Webb 49
Arkansas is scoring at will right now. Mark, Ellis and Battle each got buckets within a span of 37 seconds to briefly push the lead to 22.
On what may have been his first two touches on the post, Graham scores around Gardner-Webb’s big man, giving him four quick points.
After a less-than-stellar sequence by Arkansas, Gardner-Webb knocked down a 3 to make it a 20-point game and called a timeout.
Battle still leads the Hogs with 15 points, but he’s followed closely by Mark (14) and Ellis (13).
7:26, 2H – Arkansas 76, Gardner-Webb 55
Battle is now 3 of 3 from deep after another make, but went just 1 of 2 at the free throw line to give him 19 points.
Baye Fall is getting some run in the second half. He didn’t get any credit for it, but he contributed to a steal by Battle that led to a one-handed dunk by Brazile.
Brazile just picked up his fourth foul after grabbing a rebound and immediately throwing it away. He’s got 10 points, 7 rebounds, 5 blocks…and 3 turnovers in 24 minutes. Even with the turnovers, he’s plus-20.
3:38, 2H – Arkansas 86, Gardner-Webb 62
Davenport’s first 3-point attempt of the night falls to push the lead to 21. The Hogs are 6 of 15 (40%) from deep.
Battle drew a foul driving to the basket late in the shot clock and made both free throws to give him 21 points for the game.
Denijay Harris checks in with 4:49 remaining. That came after a Baye Fall block – the 12th of the night for Arkansas.
It bounced on the rim several times, but Lawson’s 3 eventually fell through the hoop.
FINAL – Arkansas 86, Gardner-Webb 68
Walk-on Cade Arbogast checks in at the 1:30 mark. Fellow walk-on Lawson Blake checks in with 56 seconds remaining.
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FINAL STATS – Arkansas vs Gardner-Webb
HALFTIME STATS – Arkansas vs Gardner-Webb
Starting Lineups, Pregame Tidbits
- Freshman Layden Blocker did not dress out or go through pregame warmups with the team.
| Gardner-Webb Basketball | Arkansas Basketball |
|---|---|
| #0 Caleb Robinson – G | Sr. | 6-4 | 200 | #3 El Ellis – G | Sr. | 6-3 | 180 |
| #1 Julien Soumaoro – G | Jr. | 5-9 | 165 | #4 Davonte Davis – G | Sr. | 6-4 | 185 |
| #4 DQ Nicholas – G | Sr. | 5-11 | 180 | #12 Tramon Mark – G | Jr. | 6-6 | 185 |
| #13 Lucas Stieber – G | Sr. | 6-3 | 206 | #1 Trevon Brazile – F | R-So. | 6-10 | 220 |
| #15 Cheickna Sissoko – F | Sr. | 6-9 | 236 | #8 Chandler Lawson – F | Sr. | 6-8 | 210 |
How to Watch Arkansas vs Gardner-Webb
Date: Friday, Nov. 10
Location: Bud Walton Arena (Fayetteville, Ark.)
Tipoff Time/TV Schedule: 7 p.m. CT (SECN+ / ESPN+)
ESPN BPI: Arkansas has a 93.5% chance of winning, favored by 17.1 points
Odds/Betting Line: Arkansas, -25.5 | O/U 143.5 (BetSaracen)
Friday’s SEC Basketball Schedule
All but one of 14 SEC basketball teams are in action Friday, with Mississippi State being the only team with the night off. (The Bulldogs play UT Martin at 4 p.m. CT Saturday.)
Here’s a rundown of Friday’s schedule:
- South Carolina Upstate at Vanderbilt (6 p.m. CT, SECN+/ESPN+)
- Texas A&M-Commerce at Kentucky (6 p.m. CT, SECN+/ESPN+)
- Wake Forest at Georgia (6 p.m. CT, SEC Network)
- Texas A&M at Ohio State (6 p.m. CT, Peacock)
- Virginia vs. Florida (6 p.m. CT, ACC Network)
- Arkansas vs Gardner-Webb (7 p.m. CT, SECN+/ESPN+)
- Eastern Washington at Ole Miss (7 p.m. CT, SECN+/ESPN+)
- Indiana State at Alabama (7 p.m. CT, SECN+/ESPN+)
- Nicholls at LSU (7 p.m. CT, SECN+/ESPN+)
- SE Louisiana at Auburn (7 p.m. CT, SECN+/ESPN+)
- Memphis at Missouri (8 p.m. CT, SEC Network)
- Tennessee at Wisconsin (8 p.m. CT, Peacock)
- Virginia Tech vs. South Carolina (8:30 p.m. CT, ACC Network)
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