WASHINGTON, D.C. — Jordan Smith Jr. grew up in D.C., so Sunday’s game meant a little more to him than most.
He scored 19 points. Arkansas still lost by 19.
No. 9 Virginia beat the No. 12 Razorbacks 91-72 in the Capital Showcase. The game was pretty much decided by halftime, when the Cavaliers led 46-27.
The second half ended 45-45.
That won’t make anybody in Fayetteville feel much better about the final score. Still, this is a young team in its second game, and it played a top-10 opponent even for 20 minutes.
The first 20 were the problem.
A first half to forget
Miikka Muurinen opened the scoring with three free throws about a minute in.
Virginia went up 10-6. Then the Arkansas bench checked in and the Hogs went on a 7-2 run to take a 13-12 lead. Davion Thompson scored twice during that stretch.
Enjoy that lead, because it was the last one.
UVA scored five straight to go up 17-13 and stayed in front the rest of the day.
Arkansas got as close as 27-20. Virginia then outscored the Razorbacks 19-7 the rest of the half, with an 8-0 run mixed in.
The Hogs went 1-of-8 from 3-point range before the break. Virginia made 5 of 14.
Arkansas also went 6-of-13 at the line. The Cavaliers made 7 of 8.
One assist, seven turnovers
That was the Razorbacks’ first-half line in those two columns. Not ideal.
Virginia finished the game with 11 steals and turned Arkansas over 15 times.
The Cavaliers had 18 assists of their own. Every one of their starters scored in double figures.
Johann Grunloh had 11 for UVA in the first half. Chance Mallory had 10.
Thijs De Ridder, a preseason Player of the Year candidate, ended up with 16 points and 10 rebounds. Sam Lewis also scored 16, including 11 after halftime.
There were a few good signs on the Arkansas side early. Billy Richmond III and Maper Maker each blocked three shots in the first half. For Richmond, that tied his career high.
Better after the break
The Hogs shot 6-of-11 from 3 in the second half and made all five of their free throws.
Jeremiah Wilkinson scored 11 in the half and hit 3 of 5 from deep. Muurinen added eight and went 2-of-4 from long range.
Arkansas had nine second-half assists. Richmond had four of them.
He finished with 11 points and seven rebounds.
Smith added four steals to his 19 points.
Cooper Bowser, who’s from nearby Woodbridge, Va., matched Richmond with seven rebounds.
Virginia still had 10 offensive rebounds in the second half to Arkansas’ five. That kept the Hogs from making any real dent in the lead.
Odds and ends
It was Arkansas’ first game ever in Washington, D.C.
The Razorbacks and Virginia have now played eight times. UVA leads the series 5-3.
Arkansas is back at Bud Walton Arena on Wednesday, Nov. 11, against Robert Morris. Central Arkansas comes in Friday, Nov. 13.
Both games start at 7 p.m. on SEC Network+.
