No. 19 Arkansas showed off its everyone-can-be-a-hero roster in a victory over Robert Morris on Wednesday, and the Razorbacks will look to continue that trend when they host Central Arkansas on Friday in Fayetteville, Ark.
Freshman guard Davion Thompson and wing JJ Andrews — two of the lesser-publicized members of the Hogs’ top-ranked recruiting class — combined for 26 points, 13 rebounds and eight assists off the bench in the 76-53 win over the Colonials.
“My job was to put my guys in the right place and be a playmaker and run the team,” said Thompson, who finished with 15 points, seven assists and five rebounds in 26 minutes, mostly at point.
Thompson, not ballyhooed freshman Jordan Smith Jr., was the ringleader during a game-clinching 20-3 spurt that began with about 12 minutes to play after the Colonials had trimmed the deficit to five.
Billy Richmond III had 16 points and Furman transfer Cooper Bowser had 12 points and 10 rebounds to help the Razorbacks rebound from a 91-72 loss to current No. 6 Virginia on Sunday. Bowser had his first double-double with the Hogs after getting three in three seasons at Furman.
“How about JJ today?” Arkansas coach John Calipari said. “How about Davion? He did good stuff. Billy is just ridiculous. He is Billy goat if ever there is a Billy goat.
“Who decides who’s playing the most minutes? The players do.”
The Razorbacks dished out 25 assists on 31 field goals and owned a 45-21 rebounding edge to regain some lost mojo, but Calipari cautioned that they have work to do.
“It ain’t about scoring,” Calipari said. “It’s about playing winning basketball. We have a long way to go, folks. I have a lot of teaching to do. But I’m fine with it.”
The Bears beat Ecclesia College 127-54 in their last game Tuesday, when they set a program record with 20 3-pointers. Ecclesia competes in the National Christian College Athletic Association.
Central Arkansas is favored to win the United Athletic Conference title in a preseason vote by league coaches. The United was formed through the rebranding of the Western Athletic Conference, which added football-playing members of the Atlantic Sun, including Central Arkansas. The Bears were 15-3 in the ASUN a year ago.
“Last year we were picked at the bottom of the league and we did not listen,” Bears coach John Shulman said. “We plan to have the exact same approach this year. We will not listen. At the end of the day, preseason rankings are speculation and we better treat them as such.”
Central Arkansas 6-foot-4 guard Ty Robinson and 6-10 center Tucker Anderson were named to the 10-man all-league team in the preseason poll.
Robinson had 29 points and made four 3-pointers in an 85-55 victory over Oral Roberts in the season opener Nov. 2. He had 11 points in 11 minutes against Ecclesia. Anderson, a transfer from Utah State, had 15 points on five 3s against Ecclesia.
“We appreciate the respect our opponents are giving us, but the moment we pause to celebrate preseason rankings is the moment we are in trouble,” Shulman said.
“Our focus will remain on the process of getting better day in and day out. If we keep that focus and continue to practice and play with a chip on our shoulder, then this team will become the best version of itself.”
Arkansas beat the Bears 93-56 last November.