KU basketball vs. Arkansas live updates: Jayhawks lead 20-15 with 7:54 left in 1st half

Posted by Admin March 18, 2023 Basketball

DES MOINES, Iowa — Kansas men’s basketball’s NCAA tournament stay is continuing Saturday with a round of 32 matchup against Arkansas.

The 1-seed Jayhawks came in after a win against 16-seed Howard. The 8-seed Razorbacks came in after a win against 9-seed Illinois. Both Kansas and Arkansas are competing for a chance to reach the Sweet 16.

Will the Jayhawks be able to further their effort to defend their national championship? Will the Razorbacks be able to knock off the defending champs? Norm Roberts is Kansas’ acting head coach again, as Bill Self continues to be unavailable due to health reasons.

Follow along for updates from Wells Fargo Arena:

Kansas leads 20-15 against Arkansas with 7:54 left in 1st half

The Razorbacks have been doing much better lately moving the ball and creating quality looks. Their 3-point shooting remains poor, of course. But that overall improvement has allowed them to make this a game again.

The Jayhawks were lucky just a moment ago to see Joseph Yesufu nail a 3-pointer from way, way, way behind the 3-point line. That came as the shot clock was winding down. It was also Kansas’ first 3-pointer of the game.

Kansas leads 13-6 against Arkansas with 11:55 left in 1st half

Now Kansas is also struggling to hit shots from the field. The Jayhawks haven’t hit one in almost three minutes. But their defense is still great so far, so they’re still up seven points with a little less than 12 minutes left in the first half.

The teams are a combined 0-for-8 from behind the arc right now. Kansas is 0-for-3, while Arkansas is 0-for-5. If the Jayhawks can start to rectify that on their end, they could really pull away early.

Kansas leads 9-2 against Arkansas with 15:53 left in 1st half

The Jayhawks are rolling right now, and are on a 9-0 run. Although the Razorbacks scored first, they haven’t in more than two and a half minutes and have missed their last four shots from the field. Arkansas is 0-for-4 from behind the arc, and settling for shots Kansas wants the Razorbacks to take.

Two more things to watch right now are the statuses of Arkansas guards Nick Smith Jr. and Anthony Black. Smith has already picked up two fouls. Black just exited the game due to an apparent injury.

The game has started

The opening tip-off went to Arkansas, and this one is underway.

Here’s when the game should tip off

Here’s who will likely start

Here’s more on Bill Self’s status

Check out Arkansas getting ready

No surprises in who’s available so far for Kansas

All the #kubball scholarship players you’d expect to be going through warmups are.

— Jordan Guskey (@JordanGuskey) March 18, 2023

Jordan Guskey covers University of Kansas Athletics at The Topeka Capital-Journal. He is the National Sports Media Association’s sportswriter of the year for the state of Kansas for 2022. Contact him at jmguskey@gannett.com or on Twitter at @JordanGuskey.