Smith, Council lead Arkansas in 97-65 rout over Georgia

Feb 21, 2023, 11:24 pm

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. -- — Nick Smith Jr. scored a career-high 26 points, Ricky Council IV added 22 and Arkansas rolled to a 97-65 victory over Georgia on Tuesday night.

Arkansas (19-9, 8-7 SEC) shot 64% from the floor, had 26 assists and scored 20 points from 13 Georgia turnovers.

Smith also made a career-best five 3-pointers and Council had three, and the pair were a combined 18-of-30 shooting from the field. Anthony Black added 10 points and matched a career high with eight assists.

Kario Oquendo was 7 of 18 from the floor and scored 20 points for Georgia (16-12, 6-9). Jabri Abdur-Rahim added 12 points and Justin Hill had 10.

Arkansas opened the game on a 23-8 run on its way to a 20-point halftime lead. Council scored 14 points and Smith had eight as the Razorbacks shot 59% (19 of 32) from the field with 12 assists.

A 15-5 surge, capped by Makhel Mitchell's dunk, to start the second half stretched the Razorbacks' lead to 29 points with 15:37 left. They led by 34 with 3:52 left.

Arkansas has won three straight and 10 of the last 13 in the series.

The Razorbacks play at second-ranked Alabama on Saturday while Georgia hosts Missouri.

------

AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball and https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://twitter.com/AP--Top25