FAYETTEVILLE – Arkansas leads Memphis 48-34 at halftime of Wednesday's exhibition game inside Bud Walton Arena.
Here are three takeaways from the first half of action.
Jordan Smith Jr. gets going
Arkansas' most highly-touted recruit struggled offensively against Gonzaga. Smith scored only one point on 0-9 shooting, and while he greatly affected the game defensively, his offensive production left much to be desired.
That wasn't the case in the first half on Wednesday. While Davion Thompson got plenty of burn running the point, Smith had four early points on 2-3 shooting, including a beautiful dunk on a lob from Cooper Bowser. He was also once again effective defensively, blocking two shots and snagging a steal.
Nemanja Popovic keeps Memphis in the game
If not for 24-year-old forward Nemanja Popovic, Memphis would've been run out of the building in the first half.
Popovic had an efficient 12-point outing in the first half, shooting 4-5 from the field and a perfect 4-4 from the charity stripe. He also pulled down five rebounds, and at times, it looked like Arkansas' big men were overmatched against him defensively.
The good news for Arkansas is that no other Tiger stepped up in a similar manner in the first half. Luke Almodovar (10 points, 3-5 shooting, 3-3 FTs) was the only other Memphis player to get into double figures, and no other Tigers had more than five points in the half.
Maper Maker shows out
Head coach John Calipari was happy with how Maper Maker played against Gonzaga and said on Sept. 30 that the big man from Perth, Australia, was better than he envisioned him being, but Maker played his best half of basketball in a Razorback uniform in the first half on Wednesday.
Maker had seven points in only nine minutes of action, shooting 3-4 from the field. One of those shots was a catch and shoot three. Maker also had two rebounds in the half and was very effective defensively.
Maker arguably had the best half of any Razorback big man. Miikka Muurinen played well early and had five points, while Ilia Frolov, who didn't play against Gonzaga, entered the game. Caleb Ourigou did not record any stats in four minutes of action, while Cooper Bowser had four points and four rebounds in 13 minutes.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com/college/arkansas as Halftime Takeaways as Arkansas Leads Memphis 48-34.