Kansas vs. Arkansas: Live game reactions and analysis

Fayetteville, Arkansas – No. 1 ranked Kansas travels to No. 16 ranked Arkansas in this college basketball exhibition matchup. This is the first time we are seeing Hall of Fame head coach John Calipari on the sidelines for Arkansas.

This is an exhibition game, the teams will play four ten-minute quarters.

Starters, Arkansas vs. Kansas

Some of the usual starters, for both teams, will not be playing in this one. For Arkansas, they are without senior Jonas Aidoo. Kansas will be without seniors Hunter Dickinson and Shakeel Moore and junior Rylan Griffen.

Kansas – Sr PG Dajuan Harris, Sr G Zeke Mayo, Jr. SG AJ Storr, Sr. PF KJ Adams, Fr. C Flory Bidunga

Arkansas – Fr. PG Boogie Fland, So. PG DJ Wagner, Fr. SF Karter Knox, Jr. PF Adou Thiero, So. C Zvonimir Ivisic

Game Notes

2:41 1Q – Freshman guard Boogie Fland and sophomore guard DJ Wagner have been super aggressive coming out of the gates. Fland, who was the industry’s No. 1 ranked point guard in the 2024 recruiting class, played with a lot of confidence, handling the ball and attacking open space in the half-court. Wagner knocked down an early three, but he also touched the paint, getting downhill with a head of steam. Early on, this pairing has been impressive.

1:21 1Q – Kansas senior forward KJ Adams is like a wrecking ball out there. His motor is non-stop and that has been leading to a few extra plays for his team. Defensively, his length and quick-twitch have led to some positive defensive possessions. He is active on the boards and he finishes with ferocity high above the rim – Arkansas 23, Kansas 17

End of 1Q; Arkansas 25 and Kansas 17

8:24 2Q – Zvonimir Ivisic is clearly comfortable taking shots from beyond the arc, and his pick-and-pop game is something that Arkansas will utilize this season. Big Z knocks down a three off the catch and then the next time down taking an off-balanced step back. The skill of Big Z was what captivated fans last season, he has noticeably added weight. Early on though, he has only contributed in flashes. As he continues to figure out his game, he should be able to give this Razorback team an alternate look to Jonas Aidoo when he gets healthy. – Arkansas 30, Kansas 19

8:05 2Q – Flory Bidunga made his name as a high school prospect with his motor. He is a top 1 percent -type athlete and able to elevate off the floor quickly. Bidunga made back-to-back plays above the rim, one off a drop-step dunk and another off a full-court alley-oop. Bidunga has also made some plays off the ball on the defensive end, getting in the passing lanes. While he is still working on the offensive skill set, he provides something different than what the Jayhawks will get from Dickinson. – Arkansas 30, Kansas 21

5:13 2Q – Timeout – Arkansas 37, Kansas 25

1:40 2Q – Freshman Boogie Fland has been the best player on the floor to this point. He has used quick hands and anticipation on the defensive end, disrupting the flow for DaJuan Harris. He’s also utilized his love dribble to attack open pockets of the floor. He just finished with a big and-1, finishing at the rim of a steal. He has gotten this his spots in the half-court with a decisive first step, his pace has been excellent. His poise has been beyond his years to this point. – Arkansas 42, Kansas 29

1:24 2Q – While Dajuan Harris has been very loose with the ball, he has been a consistent scoring threat for the Jayhawks. The senior guard is one of the most seasoned players in college basketball. He will need to tighten things up, but he is probably being asked to play in a score-first role that is simply not his game his natural game tonight. While he has made plays, he has multiple turnovers in the paint and has not been able to lock up the point of attack on defense. – Arkansas 42, Kansas 31

Halftime; Arkansas 45, Kansas 33

Sophomore DJ Wagner finished the first half with 13 points and freshman Boogie Fland led the way with 14 first-half points for the Razorbacks. They combined to go 10-14 from the field.

8:31 3Q – Ivisic made a heck on an instinctive play, grabbing the deflected shot and quickly firing an outlet pass to Adou Thiero. The outlet was over the inside shoulder of Thiero, as the defender was running long side his outside shoulder. Thiero gathered the pass, took one dribble, and he rose up to dunk it with authority and get the crowd to its feet. It is this type of flashes from Ivisic that make him so intriguing as a long-term prospect. – Arkansas 51, Kansas 33

6:06 3Q – Boogie Fland and DJ Wagner have been able to touch the paint at will in this one. Both have been decisive off the bounce, quickly putting their foot in the ground and getting downhill. They have played with a lot of freedom, playing unselfishly, attacking with their head up, and making the appropriate play with two feet in the paint. Kansas has not offered much in the way of keeping either guard out of the paint. – Arkansas 56, Kansas 38

4:40 3Q – Timeout. Arkansas 56, Kansas 38

1:20 3Q – A bright spot for Kansas tonight has been freshman Rakease Passmore. He came into Lawrence with the reputation as a defensive stopper, the 6-foot-5 wing has been aggressive looking to score the ball, just knocking down a smooth catch-and-shoot three. He was the industry’s No. 42 overall recruit in 2024, he has to continue collecting and gathering his game, but there is a lot to like as he is keeping things simple. – Arkansas 63, Kansas 46

End of 3Q; Arkansas 65, Kansas 50

8:25 4Q – It simply has not been a great game for senior point guard Dajuan Harris. While his 17 points currently leads Kansas, he has not been super dynamic in creating for his teammates off the bounce and he has been consistently beaten off the bounce at the point of attack. For Kansas to live up to their preseason hype, Harris will need to have a good season. He has been at his best here, probing the defense and hunting his mid-range floater. – Arkansas 68, Kansas 52

5:36 4Q – When the game has slowed down and Arkansas found themselves moving the ball and playing in the half-court, a lot of their offense ran through Big Z. Ivisic has found himself setting up from multiple levels of the floor and he has done a good job reading the matchup. When the defense was one-on-one he took his time and looked to score (he has shown a floater, a drop step dunk, and a left-hand finish). When the help came, Ivisic showed quick processing and excellent touch on his passes. This has been a really good showing, a versatile showing for Big Z here. – Arkansas 73, Kansas 55

3:37 4Q – Arkansas made some sloppy plays up top, and DaJuan Harris scored a couple of quick baskets to bring Kansas back within 12. Straight away, Kansas tries to run back-to-back dribble handoffs with KJ Adams at the top of the key. the first one was blown up by Boogie Fland and the second one from DJ Wagner. The DHOs were pretty sloppy with Adams drawing no contact on either defender. The sign of life was promising, albeit short-lived, from Kansas. – Arkansas 77, Kansas 61

Final; Arkansas 85, Kansas 69

Arkansas: DJ Wagner 24 points (8-12 FG), Boogie Fland 22 points (8-15 FG) 6 steals, Zvonimir Ivisic 18 points (5-10 FG) 6 rebounds

Kansas: Dajuan Harris 26 points (11-17 FG), Rakease Passmore 11 points (4-7 FG), KJ Adams 9 points (4-10 FG), Flory Bidunga 6 points (3-4 FG) 7 rebounds

Arkansas, Kansas Top Performers

Fr. G Boogie Fland (Arkansas)

Boogie Fland was seemingly involved in every big play for Arkansas. He showed poise, he showed flair, he showed the ability to control the point of attack on both ends of the floor. And, the 6-foot-3 freshman did it with a glowing smile on his face.

What impressed me the most with Fland tonight was the pace he played with. He had great balance off the bounce and was able to attack the defender the second he caught him off-balance. Fland was decisive with the ball and he had a good feel attacking downhill, pulling up or getting all the way to the rim. He is going to have to clean up the balance points in his shot. While he showed a clean and consistent release, the shot load got off-kilter at times. Fland has a smooth jump shot, but these tweaks will need to continue into the season.

Defensively, Fland was excellent tonight. He had active hands both on and off the ball. The freshman finished the game with six steals. He blew up plays in the passing lanes and he ripped the ball handler in the open floor. He also had another handful of plays where he deflected the ball as Kansas attempted to touch the paint. His defense along the perimeter enabled Arkansas to secure a handful of easy transition buckets.

Calipari allowed his guards to play freely, and Fland, who was the industry’s No. 1 ranked point guard in the 2024 class, responded in kind. His first national showing in an Arkansas uniform was a test he passed with flying colors.

So. G DJ Wagner (Arkansas)

DJ Wagner had an up-and-down freshman season at Kentucky. At this point, there is no need to re-hash what happened then, he stepped on the court tonight and looked like vintage Camden (NJ) High DJ Wagner.

From the opening tip, Wagner was confident and aggressive. With the ball in his hands, there was no indecisive decision-making. He would plant his foot and get downhill, and there was not much Kansas could do to stop him. Wagner is still going to have to work on pace and continuing the make that jump shot more consistent. But the sophomore guard shot it well here tonight, going 2-4 from three and 6-8 from the line. While Wagner is not an explosive athlete, he is a twitchy one. His first step is as quick as anyone in college. What made him feared by many of his peers in the high school ranks was the relentless pressure he was able to put on the rim. Continuing to be a threat shooting the ball and cleaning up the decision-making will be big for him.

Play alongside another guard like Boogie Fland looked like it helped open some things up for Wagner. With those two on the floor, the ball stayed hot (something that did not happen all the time at Kentucky last season) and the team played fast. It was a very good, efficient showing for Wagner as he led the way in scoring with 24 points on 8-12 shooting with four rebounds.

Sr. G Dajuan Harris (Kansas)

Dajuan Harris has won an NCAA title, earned Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year, and 3x been named Big 12 All-Defense.

On the plus side of things tonight, Harris finished with a game-high 26 points. His overall numbers would tell you that he shot the ball (11-17 FG, 4-5 3P) in an efficient manner, as well. Watching the game, Harris got loose with the ball at times, especially when his feet were in the paint, as he appeared to be forcing the issue. He did show touch on his floater and he knocked down his three-point attempts (career 39.0% 3P), but he struggled at times to create/find appropriate angles to deliver passes. And while he finished with three steals, it was a forgettable game for Harris on the defensive end as Arkansas’ guards were able to regularly touch the paint. Naturally, with his backup Shakeel Moore out, as well as Hunter Dickinson and Rylan Griffen not in tonight’s lineup, the role that Harris took on was different than what it will be in the season. He is a proven organizer when other shot makers are around him with over 111 career starts and 106 career wins.

Kansas has high expectations for this season. And while they were without three rotation players tonight, Dajuan Harris might be Kansas’ most important player this season.

Other Kansas, Arkansas notables

Sr. F KJ Adams (Kansas) plays with a lot of pop. With a shortened rotation, it looked like Kansas was giving Adams some expanded play-making duties away from the basket. He is going to have to tighten that part of his game up. At his best, he is a disruptive defender, an active rebounder, and a ferocious above-the-rim finisher. Adams finished with nine points, three rebounds, and two steals.

So. C Zvonimir Ivisic (Arkansas) showed consistent flashes tonight. The first half was a little more quiet than the second, it felt like he played a lot early on facing the basket, which seemingly left him out of a lot of plays. In the second half, Big Z lined up from multiple areas inside the three-point arc. He made great reads, finished in multiple ways, and delivered some nice passes. He can play a little upright and stiff at times, but he is clearly becoming more comfortable with the totality of his skill set. Along with his 18 points, Ivisic went 2-5 from three with six rebounds and four assists. This was a very promising showing for Ivisic.

Sr. G/F Johnell Davis (Arkansas) came off the bench in this one and struggled to find a consistent place to insert his game. In tonight’s game script, Davis was clearly the third option at guard. Within that role, he played solid defense, laying his fingerprints on the game on that end. He is going to need to be more comfortable, as the season goes on, finding his spots to generate offense. So much of his production came on the ball at FAU, he will need to find his spots off the ball this season. He had five points, going 2-9 FG, 1-6 3P, with three rebounds and two steals.

Fr. G/F Rakease Passmore (Kansas) had some very positive flashes throughout this game. Things were simplified for the freshman tonight and when that happens, the game slows down and skills can show. Passmore came into the game with a reputation built on the defensive end. Tonight, his offense carried his torch. He finished second on the team with 11 points and six rebounds. He shot 4-7 from the field and 1-3 from three.

Fr. C Flory Bidunga (Kansas) has a motor that runs non-stop. The explosive and twitchy athlete simply did not slow down for any of the 26 minutes he played. Bidunga finished with some crowd-pleasing dunks and his seven rebounds led the way for the Jayhawks. He is going to have to continue figuring out the offensive game, but his motor and athleticism will offer such a stark contrast to Hunter Dickinson’s game. He finished with six points (3-4 FG), seven rebounds, and a blocked shot.

Jr. G/F AJ Storr (Kansas) left little imprint on this game as he was unable to get into any type of rhythm on the offensive end. Throughout his college career, he has proven to be a high-usage player, tonight he was able to get up 11 shots in 18 minutes played (he was 7th on Kansas in minutes played and 2nd in shots attempted). Storr was inefficient on his touches and did little on the defensive end to stand out. Kansas has a deep roster, and when guards Shakeel Moore and Rylan Griffen get back into the lineup, there will be even more capable, and proven bodies in the backcourt. Storr was brought into Lawrence with a lot of fanfare out of the transfer portal. In his two collegiate seasons, one at St. John’s and one at Wisconsin, he has averaged 13.0 points on 35.2 percent shooting from three. There is enough talent on this roster for Storr to take on the role of designated scorer, but he is going to have to expand his game (reads, shot selection, defense, etc.) to maximize his minutes and provide toward his expectations coming in. Storr finished with 8 points (4-11 FG/0-4 3P) and three rebounds.