Missouri may have lain a trap. Arkansas wasn’t about to fall into it.
The freshly-minted Top-25 Razorbacks had no trouble in Columbia against the Tigers on Tuesday night. Three days after having a nine-game winning streak snapped by Alabama, Arkansas attempted to start a new one, beating Mizzou, 76-57.
All of the Hogs’ scoring came from five players. Stanley Umude led with 23 points. Jaylin Williams and Trey Wade each had double-doubles with 12 points and 11 boards for Wade and 13 and 11 for Williams. JD Notae had 17 points and Devo Davis had 11 off the bench.
Arkansas (20-6, 9-4) beat Missouri in both meetings this year after knocking out the Tigers by 44 in Fayetteville to start the winning streak.
The Hogs have five games remaining, next against Tennessee at Bud Walton Arena on Saturday. All five remaining opponents – including Tennessee twice – are either locks for the NCAA Tournament or on the bubble (Florida).
Javon Pickett led Missouri with 13 points as the Tigers pulled back within 12 points in the second half as Arkansas went without a field goal for more than six minutes. But when the drought was snapped, Missouri could come no closer.
Arkansas’ tip Saturday against Tennessee is at 3 p.m.