Arkansas Overpowers No. 15 Vanderbilt With a Dominant Night in Fayetteville

No. 20 Arkansas rediscovered its rhythm Tuesday night at Bud Walton Arena, overwhelming No. 15 Vanderbilt 93-68 in a game that tilted early and never truly swung back. The Razorbacks seized control in the opening minutes, built a comfortable cushion before halftime, and widened the gap to as many as 31 points after the break, turning a matchup of ranked teams into a decisive statement in Fayetteville.

The performance reinforced Arkansas’ growing comfort at home, where efficient shooting, steady rebounding, and sustained defensive pressure combined to keep Vanderbilt off balance throughout the night. The Commodores entered the game with a 16-3 overall record and an even mark in Southeastern Conference play, but they struggled to establish any offensive rhythm once they fell behind early.

A New Lineup Sets the Tone

Arkansas debuted a new starting lineup, with freshman Meleek Thomas replacing DJ Wagner and sophomore Karter Knox starting over Billy Richmond. Vanderbilt won the opening tip but missed its first shots, while Arkansas also stumbled early with a few turnovers. The Razorbacks settled in when Thomas set up Pringle for a layup through contact.

Nickel scored Vanderbilt’s first basket on a tough jumper, but Acuff answered with a spinning layup to give Arkansas a 4-2 lead. After more missed outside shots by both teams, Thomas finished a layup and Knox knocked down a three off extra ball movement to push the lead to 9-2.

Out of the timeout, Vanderbilt continued to miss chances, and Arkansas capitalized when Brazile found Knox cutting for a dunk. Okereke missed a three on the other end, keeping momentum with the Razorbacks.

Arkansas Builds Early Separation

Head coach John Calipari made his first substitutions, bringing in Richmond, Wagner, and Ewin. The move paid immediate dividends, as Richmond scored on an easy layup. Washington answered with a reverse layup, but Knox quickly responded with a layup off a Wagner feed, prompting a Vanderbilt 30 second timeout.

Out of the stoppage, McGlockton missed a layup, and Acuff hit a transition three to cap a 16-2 run and make it 18-4. Washington split a pair of free throws before Nickel hit a three. The score stood at 18-8 at the under 12 timeout.

Brazile bullied Nickel for a layup, and Wagner added another basket to extend the lead to 22-8. McGlockton tipped in a miss after Brazile blocked Okereke. Richmond then found Acuff in the corner for a three, pushing the lead to 25-10.

Tanner scored his first points with a layup. Wagner answered with a corner three, James responded with a layup, and Thomas knocked down back to back threes that sent Bud Walton Arena into a frenzy. Nickel quieted the crowd with another three, making it 34-17 at the under 8 timeout.

Strong ball movement led to a Thomas floater. Knox was later called for a foul on Miles, who made both free throws. Brazile missed an alley oop dunk attempt, but Tanner connected with Washington for a basket at the other end. Knox hit another three, and Nickel answered with a deep shot that again bounced above the backboard before falling through. Arkansas led 39-24.

Ewin made both free throws out of the timeout, but an offensive rebound off a Miles miss led to another Nickel three. Brazile later stole the ball from Washington, Thomas missed, and Brazile cleaned it up with a putback.

Okereke scored a layup to make it 45-35 with 42 seconds left in the half. Ewin split another pair of free throws. Nickel pushed the missed free throw ahead to Okereke, who missed a three. Acuff secured the rebound, and Arkansas entered halftime with a 46-35 lead.

Arkansas Pulls Away After the Break

Arkansas opened the second half with an alley oop from Thomas to Pringle. McGlockton missed a wild shot, leading to Brazile being fouled and making two free throws. Washington hit a 15 footer before a foul on Richmond sent McGlockton to the line for two made free throws.

Thomas missed a three, but Tanner threw the ball away, leading to a Wagner layup. Richmond blocked McGlockton but was called for a foul on the rebound. Harris turned it over as Thomas stole the ball, setting up a Wagner dunk.

After a Tanner miss, Ewin scored on an acrobatic layup. Tanner hit a three to make it 56-42 at the under 16 timeout. Ewin responded with a dunk off an inbounds feed from Acuff.

Harris hit a three, but Arkansas answered with a quick 4-0 run from Acuff to lead 62-45 with 13:02 remaining. Okereke scored out of the timeout, but Ewin threw down a powerful alley oop from Acuff to make it 64-47.

A Lopsided Finish in Fayetteville

Brazile intercepted a pass and Acuff finished the break. After a poor Nickel miss, Acuff found Ewin for a dunk. McGlockton fouled Ewin hard, sending him to the line where he made both free throws to push the lead to 68-47. Tanner later made two free throws at the other end.

Pringle rebounded an Acuff miss, and the two connected for another alley oop. Arkansas forced a shot clock violation, and Knox dunked to make it 72-49. Washington split a pair of free throws.

Acuff and Pringle linked up again for a dunk that stretched Arkansas’ lead to its largest margin of the night at 74-50. Vanderbilt answered on the next sequence, with McGlockton knocking down a three off an offensive rebound to cut the deficit to 74-53 at the under 8 timeout.

Acuff buried a three to push the margin further, but Vanderbilt briefly answered with a four point possession. The game then slipped into a lull before Acuff revived the offense, threading a pass to Ewin for a dunk. Knox and Tanner traded trips to the line, and Wagner capped the sequence with a fast break layup that made it 83-59.

McGlockton missed a three, and Brazile backed down Nickel and Tanner before finishing a tomahawk slam. Arkansas led 85-59 at the under 4 timeout. Ewin and Okereke each split a pair of free throws.

Knox scored in traffic, Brazile stole the ball and dunked, and Thomas buried a corner three to make it 93-64. Vanderbilt closed on a 4-0 run, but Arkansas secured the 93-68 victory.

By the Numbers

As a team, Arkansas shot 18 of 33 from the field at 54.5 percent and 7 of 13 from three point range at 53.8 percent. Vanderbilt shot 13 of 33 overall at 39.4 percent and 6 of 18 from deep at 33.3 percent. Nickel led Vanderbilt with 17 points on 5 of 5 shooting from three in the first half.

Darius Acuff Jr. led Arkansas with 17 points on 7 of 14 shooting and 3 of 7 from beyond the arc. Karter Knox and Malique Ewin each added 16 points. Knox shot 6 of 9, while Ewin went 5 of 6.

Tyler Nickel finished with 17 points for Vanderbilt on 6 of 13 shooting and 5 of 11 from three. Tyler Tanner added 11 points on 3 of 10 shooting.

Arkansas finished the game shooting 37 of 64 overall and 9 of 22 from three. Vanderbilt shot 22 of 58 and 10 of 31 from long range. The Razorbacks outrebounded Vanderbilt 39-27, outscored the Commodores 50-22 in the paint, and posted a 25-13 advantage in assists.

For the second straight home game, Arkansas had six players score in double figures. The Razorbacks forced 10 turnovers and held a 16-6 edge in points off turnovers.

Arkansas now gets a brief pause before its next test. The Razorbacks return to Bud Walton Arena on Saturday to face LSU, with tipoff scheduled for 7:30 p.m. CST and national television coverage on SEC Network.