Billy Richmond III Scores 16 as No. 19 Arkansas Pulls Away From Robert Morris 76-53

For a while on Wednesday night, Robert Morris looked like it had come to Fayetteville to make a point. The Colonials scored the first five points, traded baskets with the Razorbacks and led for a good chunk of the first half. Then Arkansas went to work in the paint, and the night turned into the kind of comfortable home win John Calipari's team needed after a loss on Sunday. No. 19 Arkansas beat Robert Morris 76-53 at Bud Walton Arena.

Billy Richmond III led Arkansas with 16 points on 8-of-14 shooting. Davion Thompson gave the Razorbacks 15 points and seven assists off the bench without a turnover, Cooper Bowser posted a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds, JJ Andrews added 11 points and eight rebounds, and Jeremiah Wilkinson scored 10. Arkansas improved to 2-1. Robert Morris fell to 0-3, with all three losses coming away from home.

The numbers explain how a close game became a blowout. Arkansas outrebounded Robert Morris 45-21, grabbed 14 offensive rebounds, outscored the Colonials 44-20 in the paint and 18-8 in transition, and assisted on 25 of its 31 baskets. Robert Morris led for 29 percent of the game, according to ESPN, but its biggest lead was five. Arkansas led by as many as 25.

Robert Morris Lands the First Punches

Arkansas won the opening tip, but Robert Morris did the early damage. Samuel Obenjo scored the first basket of the night on a layup set up by Ace Valentine with 18:42 left in the half, and Valentine followed with a 26-foot 3 at the 17:31 mark to make it 5-0. The Razorbacks did not help themselves early, with Wilkinson and Richmond each throwing a bad pass in the first three minutes.

The Colonials kept their noses in front for a while after that. ESPN's key plays had Robert Morris ahead 11-10 in the first half, and the visitors were hanging with a ranked SEC team on its home floor. Valentine was the engine, and Darius Livingston and KJ Garris Jr. were both willing to let it fly from deep.

Arkansas eventually took control. Richmond converted a three-point play that made it 31-28, and the Razorbacks closed the half on an 8-2 run from there to take a 39-30 lead into the locker room. Thirty first-half points were a solid showing for Robert Morris, but the visitors had already started to lose the battle on the glass.

Arkansas Owns the Second Half

The second half belonged to the home team. Arkansas outscored Robert Morris 37-23 after the break, and the plays that defined it came at the rim. Bowser threw down a dunk that made it 47-35, Richmond added a dunk for a 50-38 lead and then another slam that pushed the margin to 57-45.

Robert Morris was still within 12 at that point, but the Colonials did not have another push in them. Arkansas closed the game on a 19-8 run from that 57-45 mark, and the lead peaked at 25 before settling at 23 at the final horn.

The second-half surge was built on the same things that carried Arkansas all night. The Razorbacks shot 50 percent from the field, made 5 of 15 3-pointers and dominated the boards so thoroughly that Robert Morris finished with only three offensive rebounds. Free throws were the one blemish. Arkansas made just 9 of 17, and Bowser, Richmond, Muurinen and Toure combined to go 3-of-9 from the line.

Richmond and Bowser Do It Inside

Richmond did nearly all of the damage in close. Richmond made 8 of 14 shots, missed the only 3-point attempt, and added four rebounds, four assists and a steal in 30 minutes. Three of those four rebounds came on the offensive end, and Richmond had two of the second-half dunks that ESPN flagged as key plays.

Bowser was just as efficient. The big man made 6 of 8 shots, grabbed 10 rebounds, four of them offensive, and blocked two shots in 30 minutes without committing a turnover. It was the kind of steady night that lets the rest of the Arkansas offense play off the paint.

Andrews was a big part of the rebounding edge too. In 21 minutes off the bench, Andrews scored 11 points on 4-of-7 shooting and pulled down eight rebounds, six on the defensive glass. Abdou Toure made all three shots for seven points in 12 minutes, and Caleb Ourigou blocked a shot in one minute on the floor.

Thompson Steadies the Backcourt

Thompson might have been the most complete player on the floor. In 26 minutes, Thompson scored 15 points on 5-of-8 shooting, made 2 of 3 3-pointers and 3 of 4 free throws, and handed out a team-high seven assists with two steals and zero turnovers. The Arkansas bench outscored the Robert Morris bench 33-15.

Wilkinson, who entered the night leading the SEC with seven made 3-pointers, went 2-of-5 from deep and finished with 10 points and four assists. Miikka Muurinen did not score from the field, going 0-of-5, but still contributed five rebounds, three assists and a block. Jordan Smith Jr. had a tough shooting night at 1-of-8 for three points, though Smith added five rebounds and two assists.

As a team, Arkansas committed only 10 turnovers against a Robert Morris defense that came up with eight steals. That ball security, combined with the 25 assists, made for a clean offensive night even with the misses at the line.

Valentine Leads Robert Morris

Valentine led the Colonials with 13 points, five assists and two steals, going 5-of-11 from the field and 2-of-7 from 3. Valentine also had five of the team's 10 turnovers. Garris scored 11 points but needed 13 shots to get there, Livingston added 10 on 2-of-8 shooting from deep, and Ta'Zir Smith hit two 3s on the way to seven points off the bench. Jalik Dunkley made 3 of 5 shots for six points and had two steals.

The problem for Robert Morris was the size gap. The Colonials shot 37.3 percent from the field and 8-of-27 from 3, and without many second chances, those misses ended possessions. Obenjo grabbed five rebounds in 28 minutes, but no Robert Morris player had more than five, and the Colonials committed 18 fouls to Arkansas' 13.

There were real positives for a team still searching for its first win. Robert Morris came up with eight steals, scored 7 points off turnovers to Arkansas' 8, and made a ranked opponent work for most of a half.

What It Means

This was a homecoming of sorts for Calipari, who grew up in Moon Township, Pennsylvania, where Robert Morris is located, and graduated from Moon Area High School in 1978. Calipari entered the night 2-1 all-time against the Colonials, with all of those games coming at Kentucky. It was only the second meeting between the programs. Arkansas won the first one 79-74 in Fayetteville on Dec. 20, 2012.

For Arkansas, the bigger story is the bounce-back. The Razorbacks opened with a 106-61 rout of Arkansas-Pine Bluff and then lost to Virginia 91-72 in Washington, D.C., on Sunday. Wednesday's win was not perfect, especially early and at the free throw line, but the rebounding and paint scoring were exactly what a team with this much size should produce against a smaller opponent.

The schedule gets tougher quickly. After one more home game, Arkansas heads to Madison Square Garden to face Indiana, and a Thanksgiving matchup with Michigan State follows. How Arkansas handles those tests will say more about this team than a home win over a winless opponent.

Read about Arkansas' season-opening rout of UAPB and the loss to Virginia in the Capital Showcase. For full stats, see the ESPN box score (opens in a new tab).

Sources: ESPN box score, team stats and play-by-play, Arkansas Athletics game preview. More men's college basketball coverage on Undrafted.

Arkansas hosts Central Arkansas on Friday, Nov. 13, then faces Indiana at Madison Square Garden on Tuesday, Nov. 17.

Photo: Arkansas Athletics (file photo).