FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — In as close to a must win as you can get, Arkansas responded by taking down the Florida Gators, 84-65. It was the Hogs third straight win over Florida, moving them back to .500 in SEC play.
Nick Smith Jr. got his first start of SEC play and looked much more comfortable. The freshman had eight first half points in 18 minutes.
Jalen Graham got extended minutes and thrived leading the Razorbacks with 14 points and three rebounds in the opening frame. Arkansas shot 56% from the field and outrebounded the Gators by five.
After trailing by as many as six, the Razorbacks took a 37-31 lead into the locker room.
Arkansas dominated the second half using a 10-0 run to go up by 22 points. The Hogs ran away from Florida and cruised to their seventh SEC victory.
Makhi Mitchell contributed a double-double with ten points and ten rebounds. Graham finished with career high 26 points, while Anthony Black had 14.
Ricky Council had 15 points as part of five Razorbacks in double-figures.
A game the Hogs desperately needed to get to 7-7 in SEC play four games to play in the regular season.
The Razorbacks stay home to host Georgia on Tuesday night at 8 p.m.