The Arkansas Razorbacks split into two teams and took the court inside Barnhill Arena on Saturday afternoon in front of a crowd of 4,559 fans.

The teams were named after legendary Razorback coaches Nolan Richardson (Team Nolan) and Eddie Sutton (Team Eddie). Both Richardson and Sutton were in attendance for the matchup. At halftime, the teams switched up jerseys and the score was reset.

"When we first tossed the idea around, I don’t think we could ever envision that both Coach Richardson and Coach Sutton would be here together. To be able to do the photo op afterward with our guys and then Monday, we’ll really dive into the history of both coaches and what they did for this program," Arkansas head coach Eric Musselman said postgame. "It’s really cool. It’s really neat. I’m new to the area, obviously, but understand the significance of what both men did for this state and what they did for the university and the basketball program. To be able to have them come in a setting like tonight, I thought it was really cool."

The “throwback” atmosphere lived up to the hype, as fans wore retro attire and old logos such as the slobbering hog were prevalent throughout the arena. Musselman was wearing patterned slacks with a red stripe down the middle. It was a tale of two halves in the game, as one squad won the first half by a big margin before the other squad was able to hold on and win the second half. The game was unconventional, as the halves were split into two eight-minute quarters. The Red Team ended up winning the game by a score of 62-54, even though the score was reset at halftime.

"I thought it was phenomenal. I really did," Musselman said. "Obviously, when you do something like this, you have no idea. Look, it’s a red and white scrimmage, so to speak, and we’re not playing against another team and the weather’s absolutely beautiful. I mean, it’s a picture-perfect day. So you don’t know what the crowd is going to be like. But I thought it was a great crowd and they stayed until the end. I didn’t know… At halftime, I said to one of the coaches, ‘I wonder what’s going to happen when we walk out there. Is it going to be half empty?’ It seems like people are intrigued by the guys on the floor and wanted to watch our ball club. And again, nothing’s going to be real pretty at this time for anybody in the country. From an execution standpoint, although we have a lot to clean up, I also think we’re far ahead in some ways, as well."

TEAM EDDIE (Red Team)

#1 Isaiah Joe

#2 Adrio Bailey

#11 JD Notae

#13 Emeka Obukwelu

#23 Connor Vanover

#24 Ethan Henderson

#33 Jimmy Whitt Jr.

TEAM NOLAN (White Team)

#0 Jeantal Cylla

#3 Desi Sills

#5 Jalen Harris

#12 Ty Stevens

#15 Mason Jones

#22 Abayomi Iyiola

#35 Reggie Chaney

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First Half Recap

Connor Vanover hit a corner three on the Red Team's first possession of the game. A couple of possessions later, he hit another trifecta. Isaiah Joe also added a 3-pointer to push the Red Team's lead to nine points with 5:25 remaining in the first quarter, 11-2. The Red Team continued to pull away, and they led by a score of 24-7 at the end of the first quarter. Joe led all scorers in the first quarter with nine points, making three of his five 3-point attempts.

“I think overall we definitely did a lot of good things we did and some things we can definitely fix, but the goal was to go out there and have fun,” Joe said. “The first times fans seeing us play, I think we came out with a lot more energy in the first half than they did in the first half, but in the second half it was vice-versa, but overall I thought it was a good debut.”

The Red Team continued to play well early in the second quarter, and they led by as many as 23 points with 3:17 remaining in the half. Adrio Bailey played the most minutes for the Red Team, 14 minutes and 32 seconds in the first half, and he scored six points while bringing down a team-high six boards. For the White team, Reggie Chaney was the leading scorer at the half with nine points, and the sophomore also brought down a rebound. The Red Team won the half, 44-20.

"I think today I was just trying to put in everything I’ve been working on through practice and just being at the gym, working on my finish and my footwork, working on my shooting, as well. I just try to put all that into aspects when we play," Chaney said.

Second Half Recap

After switching jerseys at halftime, the original White Team got off to a strong start in the second half. The score was reset, so the two teams basically played two shortened games. Jeantal Cylla scored seven points in the third quarter for the original White Team, and he was able to bring down two rebounds. He played the entire eight minutes during the quarter and his team led 19-10 heading into the fourth.

"I think we were really hot when we came out and the other team came out and made plays," Whitt said. "Everyone showed what they’re capable of doing. When we have a team like this, especially with the pace we play, things like that can happen. I think, on both sides, there was a lot of good things, a lot of things we can improve on, too."

The original White Team was able to hold on in the fourth quarter, and the scoring was highlighted by a Bailey dunk that drew a big roar from the crowd. Most of the starters were out of the game during the final two minutes, and the White Team won 33-18. Joe, who excelled in the first half, was 0-for-5 from the floor in the second half. Jimmy Whitt Jr. was the leading scorer for the original Red Team with six points in the second half, and Cylla led all scorers in the second period with 11 points, and he also dished out three assists. In terms of rebounding, Abayomi Iyiola, Cylla and Ethan Henderson all brought down three boards in the period.

Final Stats

11 5 2 112 2 5 28 7 0 310 1 3 52 0 1 118 2 2 120 1 1 134 0 0 1510 3 3 223 5 0 2315 7 0 243 5 0 3314 6 3 3519 3 3



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