Council, Smith Lead No. 9 Razorbacks Past Sooners 88-78

Junior Ricky Council IV scored 26 points and freshman Nick Smith Jr. had 21 in No. 9 Arkansas’ 88-78 victory over Oklahoma on Saturday.

Arkansas, which improved to 9-1 on the season, trailed most of the first half, but led by three at the break and gradually pulled away from the Sooners throughout the second half.

“As good as they were playing and shooting, it was amazing, but as good as they were playing, we were still right there with them,” Council said, “so we knew once we started getting stops, we were going to pull away.”

The game was played in Tulsa, roughly the midpoint between Fayetteville, Arkansas, and Norman, Oklahoma. But Razorback fans turned out in numbers, which Council said “for sure” fueled the second half.

Oklahoma (7-3) had just three players in double figures, with senior Grant Sherfield leading the way with 23 points, including 3 of 6 3-pointers. He was followed by Milos Uzan with 15 points and Jalen Hill with 11.

The Sooners shot 57.1% from the field, and started the game 4 of 5 from beyond the arc.

“When we looked up at the 13-minute mark, I think theyhad only missed three or four shots. We just talked about how we needed to defend better,” Arkansas coach Eric Musselman said. “We tried to take away their perimeter 3-ball. We gave up some dribble-drives, but that was what we were willing to concede instead of giving up 3-point shots.”

Jordan Walsh added 12 points for the Razorbacks, who shot 59.3% from the field, and Mahki Mitchell had 10 points and six rebounds.

Arkansas went ahead by as many as 16 points with nine minutes left in regulation and held off OU’s late run that brought the Sooners within single digits.

With five seconds left in the game, Razorback fans started an “SEC” chant on the east side of the arena and Council drove through the lane and laid down a fervent dunk.

UP NEXT

Oklahoma: Hosts Central Arkansas next Saturday.

Arkansas: Hosts Bradley next Saturday.