FAYETTEVILLE - No. 12 Arkansas leads Arkansas-Pine Bluff 47-28 at halftime of the season opener inside Bud Walton Arena.
Here are three takeaways from the first half of action.
It didn't take Georgia transfer guard Jeremiah Wilkinson very long to start hitting threes.
After struggling from three in Arkansas' exhibition vs Memphis on Oct. 28, Wilkinson knocked down three first half triples, including UA's first field goal of the season. He leads all scorers at the half with 14 points.
Wilkinson went 3-5 from beyond the arc in the first half, 4-7 from the field and 3-5 from the free throw line.
If it wasn't obvious in its two exhibitions that Arkansas is a team that will make a living on fast breaks this season, it was apparent in the first half on Tuesday.
Arkansas had 20 fastbreak points in the first half and 13 points off of UAPB turnovers. Arguably the prettiest stretch of basketball in the first half came on three consecutive fast breaks. A steal from Wilkinson led to a dunk from Billy Richmond, while Wilkinson knocked down a three after a Maper Maker rebound on Arkansas' next possession. A steal from JJ Andrews then led to another slam from Richmond to put Arkansas up 18-2 and electrify the Bud Walton Arena crowd.
Arkansas' defense was stingy throughout the half. UAPB shot only 10-25 (40 percent) from the field and 3-9 (33.3 percent) from three.
Arguably Arkansas' biggest issue in its two exhibition wins was how poorly it shot from the foul line (32-57). Concerns about the Razorbacks' free throw shooting were only exacerbated in the first half.
Arkansas went 15-23 (65.2) percent from the free throw line in the first half - a better clip than they shot against both Gonzaga and Memphis, but still not as well as they'll need to shoot from the charity stripe against elite competition. At the very least, Arkansas had no trouble drawing fouls and getting to the line.
The Razorbacks still scored 47 points in the half despite shooting a pedestrian 14-29 (48.3 percent) from the field and 4-12 (33.3 percent) from beyond the arc.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com/college/arkansas as Halftime Takeaways As No. 12 Arkansas Leads UAPB 47-28 .
