Arkansas 95, Minnesota 79, final
FAYETTEVILLE — Jaylen Barford scored 22 points and Daniel Gafford provided plenty of highlights as Arkansas cruised to a wire-to-wire win over No. 14 Minnesota.
Gafford, making his first start, finished with 16 points, seven rebounds and six blocks, producing a number of highlight plays. Sophomore C.J. Jones hit a career-high five 3-pointers and scored 15 off the bench. Daryl Macon had 12 points and tied his career-high with eight assists.
The Hogs shot 57.4 percent and had 23 assists in the impressive victory. Minnesota was led by Jordan Murphy's 20 points.
Arkansas 84, Minnesota 68, 3:31 second half
Daniel Gafford quickly picked up his fourth foul after checking back in, but also delivered two emphatic blocks on the same possession with the Razorbacks in full control late.
Jaylen Barford has 18 points, four rebounds and four assists. C.J. Jones has 15 points and a career-high five 3-pointers. Gafford has 12 points, seven rebounds and five blocks. Daryl Macon has seven assists.
Arkansas 77, Minnesota 58, 7:28 second half
Jaylen Barford's corner 3-pointer gives Arkansas its largest lead at 19.
Barford has a team-high 16, while C.J. Jones has 15 on a career-high five 3-pointers. The Hogs are shooting 57 percent and have hit 8 of 19 from deep.
Arkansas got a scare when Daniel Gafford limped off the court after falling out of bounds while grabbing a rebound, but he wasn't attended to by trainer Dave England, indicating it wasn't a serious injury.
Arkansas 65, Minnesota 54, 11:55 second half
C.J. Jones tied his career-high with his fourth 3-pointer to keep Arkansas comfortably ahead.
He and Daniel Gafford each have 12 points to lead the Razorbacks, while Jaylen Barford has 11. The Razorbacks are maintaing their lead with Gafford on the bench in foul trouble.
Arkansas 58, Minnesota 48, 15:36 second half
Daniel Gafford went to the bench after picking up his third foul less than two minutes into the second half, but the Razorbacks have kept Minnesota at bay thanks to their senior guards.
Jaylen Barford now has 11 and Anton Beard 10 to go with Gafford's 12. Dylan Murphy has a game-high 14 for Minnesota.
Arkansas 50, Minnesota 42, halftime
Daniel Gafford has 12 points on 6 of 6 shooting, four rebounds and two fouls to lead the Razorbacks, which shot 66.7 percent and had 15 assists to just four turnovers in the first half.
Gafford scored on a variety of moves, showcasing a quickly improving offensive repertoire. Jaylen Barford and C.J. Jones each added nine points for the Hogs, while Daryl Macon dished seven assists, one off his career-high, despite not scoring.
Junior Jordan Murphy has 12 and senior Nate Mason 11 to lead Minnesota. The Golden Gophers rebounded seven of their 17 missed shots.
Arkansas 45, Minnesota 36, 3:58 first half
Daniel Gafford has eight points and has made all four of his shots on an impressive array of moves to produce eight points early as everyone is contributing for the Razorbacks.
Arkansas is shooting 69 percent and has 15 assists to just two turnovers.
Arkansas 35, Minnesota 23, 7:53 first half
C.J. Jones has hit a trio of 3-pointers off the bench in six minutes to help Arkansas maintain a double-digit lead.
Daryl Macon hasn't scored yet, but has six assists already, including one for a thunderous Daniel Gafford dunk. Arkansas is shooting 65.2 percent while Minnesota is lagging at "just" 45 percent.
Arkansas 27, Minnesota 16, 11:40 first half
The Razorbacks are off to a great start on the offensive end, hitting 12 of 16 from the floor and 3 of 5 from 3-point range.
Arkansas has pushed the ball and gotten easy looks but also done a good job in the halfcourt. Jaylen Barford has seven, Dustin Thomas six.
Arkansas 15, Minnesota 11, 15:50 first half
Senior forward Dustin Thomas got off to a fast start to help spark Arkansas early, scoring six points and dishing two assists. He ran the floor well on several occasions as the Hogs pushed the pace for good looks early.
Jaylen Barford has five early points for the Hogs. Minnesota guard Nate Mason has seven.
Pregame
Freshman center Daniel Gafford is making his first collegiate start today. Mike Anderson is going with Gafford, Dustin Thomas, Jaylen Barford, Daryl Macon and Anton Beard. Senior Trey Thompson started the first eight games at center.