FAYETTEVILLE - Arkansas head coach Kelsi Musick said at Primetime at the Palace on Oct. 2 that she wanted the Razorbacks to play using Nolan Richardson's patented "40 Minutes of Hell" philosophy.
The defensive ferocity Richardson's UA teams were known for was on display in Arkansas' 116-55 exhibition win over Cameron inside Bud Walton Arena on Thursday. The Hogs forced 53 turnovers and had 36 steals in the victory.
"I think initially whenever we were implementing it and working against either ourselves or our practice players every day, it sometimes, I think was hard for them to see like, is it going to work? To see like that light at the end of the tunnel," Musick said. "We had our first scrimmage, and we were able to take charges. We were able to force the turnover. I think the light bulb came on, and they were like, 'Okay, this works'."
The Razorbacks scored 65 of their 116 points off of Aggie turnovers.
D'Asia Thomas-Harris led the Razorbacks in scoring with 26 points and had 21 rebounds.
"I've been trying to get back to this," Thomas-Harris said. "And honestly, tonight is something that I know I can do in the future, and it's something that I know I've always been able to do, and I'm glad to just finally be back to where the type of player I am."
Fourteen of those boards were offensive rebounds, which Arkansas pulled down 38 of as a team.
"it was just great for us to be able to take the floor and play someone else," Musick said. "There are a lot of bright spots, but there's still always something to work on. And like I just told them in the locker room, I'm going to push them. I'm going to demand that we're more disciplined and more consistent. And I think those things are important because it is a very long season. And in order to reach some of the goals that we've set, I think it's important that we keep pushing, we keep working, keep grinding, and continue to raise the bar."
The win was also an emotional one for Musick, who played at Cameron from 1998-2002.
"it was just a really nice opportunity," Musick said. "Obviously a few phone calls and it was able to come to fruition, but to be able to play my alma mater and for Cameron to be able to come here and play us at Arkansas is a really neat experience for me."
Arkansas will officially open the 2026-27 season on Monday when it hosts New Orleans. Tip-off is scheduled for 6:30 p.m., with coverage on SECN+ and the Razorback Sports Network.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com/college/arkansas as Arkansas Uses '40 Minutes Of Hell' Philosophy To Blowout Cameron 116-55 In Exhibition .
