Arkansas’ men’s basketball team had an eventful day traveling from Spain to Italy on Saturday.
In their third of four scheduled exhibitions overseas, the Razorbacks looked the part of a group that was a bit out of sync on the offensive end in their 75-54 victory over Orange 1 Basket Bassano in Como, Italy. But defensively, Arkansas bounced back from a subpar showing Thursday.
"I thought it was much improved," Razorbacks coach Eric Musselman said. "We still have a long way to go on some things, but much, much improved defensively tonight.
"Defensive intensity was really good."
Bassano opened the game by knocking down 5 of its first 10 shots and hung within 10 points of the Razorbacks for much of the first half.
Arkansas, though, tightened up and limited its opponent to 3 of its last 21 from the floor to close the half. Arkansas led 41-30 at the break.
The Razorbacks’ superior athleticism took over the exhibition in the third quarter and they began to create separation on the scoreboard.
More from WholeHogSports: Full box score from Arkansas' third exhibition win
Arkansas outscored Bassano 24-9 in the period and gave up only four field goals, two of which came outside the lane. Meanwhile, numerous steals and solid ball movement led to nine scores around the rim for the Razorbacks.
"We watched some film on our defense and we saw a lot of stuff we needed to change," freshman guard Anthony Black said. "We just took it upon ourselves to play harder and focus on the stuff on the defensive end because that really led to run outs in transition and stuff like that.
"Really just the technique and playing a lot harder on defense is what we focused on."
Star freshman guard Nick Smith punctuated perhaps the team’s most impressive quarter of the trip with a deep three-pointer from the right wing to beat the buzzer.
Earlier, Arkansas went on a 16-0 run to lead by as many as 28 points.
Smith, who averaged 17 points in the first two exhibitions, finished with a game-high 20 points on 8 of 14 shooting, including 2 of 4 from distance. He added three assists and a team-high four steals.
"Nick, I mean, when he scores, it makes it easier on everybody," Musselman said. "I think that there was a lot of guys that were disappointed in their last game. I really do.
"And I think that we were a more focused team tonight and played with much more of a purpose, maybe, than the other night."
Black and Missouri transfer forward Trevon Brazile added nine points each. Black got the Razorbacks off to a quick start with a right-corner three-pointer assisted by Smith.
He later added three dunks and rejected a Bassano three-point attempt on the left wing. Black also had three rebounds and three steals.
Musselman challenged Brazile on Thursday to be more aggressive and productive on the glass moving forward, and he answered Saturday. He totaled seven rebounds, four on the offensive end.
More from WholeHogSports: Musselman, Black, Dunning recap win against Orange 1 Basket Bassano
Each of his offensive rebounds immediately led to a layup.
"He was phenomenal tonight in a short amount of minutes," Musselman said. "I think he played 15 minutes, but he did a phenomenal job rebounding, running the floor and finishing."
Wichita State transfer Ricky Council scored 9 points on 4 of 6 shooting and grabbed 5 rebounds. He added two assists and one steal in the win.
Arkansas outscored Bassano by 27 points in Council's 22-plus minutes.
Freshman forward Barry Dunning pitched in 7 points, 3 steals and 2 blocks off the bench, Kamani Johnson had 7 points to go with 8 rebounds, and Davonte Davis contributed 6 points and a game-high 5 assists.
"We’ve got a lot of great guys. Our team is deep this year," Dunning said. "One big thing I have is just playing my job, doing my role and doing what Coach Muss is asking and being a great teammate. If I don’t ever get in the game, I’m cheering for my teammates.
"(After today, the coaches are) probably going to see when my name is called I’ll be ready for an opportunity to produce and help my team win."
The Razorbacks shot 47% (32 of 68) for the game and totaled 18 steals defensively. They did not give up more than 16 points in any quarter.
A downside for Arkansas was again its ballhandling. The Razorbacks turned the ball over 20 times against 17 assists, and six players had two or more miscues.
Bassano committed 26 turnovers, which led to 29 Arkansas points. The Razorbacks scored 54 points in the paint, 20 second-chance points and 27 fastbreak points.
Arkansas will wrap up its four-game exhibition schedule on Monday against the Bakken Bears in Italy. The game is set to tip off at 12 p.m. Central and will be available for streaming on FloSports.
"They're in training camp," Musselman said of the next opponent. "Obviously a professional team, older team. They'll be way more organized than anybody we played up to this point.
"It'll be by far our most challenging game."