Arkansas Cruises To Victory Over Florida International

After taking a week off, Arkansas came out firing on all cylinders and jumped to an early 20-point lead and never looked back. Florida International came into the game with a 7-1 record of fast play and high scoring games, but Arkansas overwhelmed the Panthers on both ends of the court, holding them to 37% shooting in a 121-89 win. Arkansas broke 100 points with 6:23 left in the game and finished 61% from the field and 52% from three.

A major contributor to the shooting percentage was Isaiah Joe, who came out in a big way hitting 10 of 13 three pointers and scored a team high 34 points in a team high 28 minutes. Daniel Gafford and Mason Jones each had a double-double night. Gafford had 23 points (including 6 dunks), 12 rebounds, and 4 blocked shots, while Jones finished with 19 points and 10 rebounds.

Jalen Harris just missed a double-double of his own, scoring 9 points and dishing out 10 assists. Adrio Bailey contributed valuable minutes, especially early in the game, and finished with 10 points, 4 rebounds and 4 blocked shots before fouling out late in the game.

FIU played a fundamentally sound game and showed why they have enjoyed early season success. However, they didn’t shoot very well early and often failed to finish when they did break the Hogs’ defense.

Arkansas played well as a team as they have most of the young season, and that has been fun to watch thus far. We are starting to see who can be relied upon and how deep this team may end up being before this season is over.

The Hogs are now 5-1 on the season and will travel to Colorado State for their next game on Wednesday.