Late three-pointer lifts TCU over Arkansas in charity exhibition

The No. 16 Arkansas Razorbacks suffered a 66-65 loss to the TCU Horned Frogs in a charity exhibition game Friday night at Dickies Arena in Fort Worth, Texas.

Arkansas was in control for most of the game, but the Horned Frogs outscored the Hogs by six points in the final quarter and a late 3-pointer from TCU’s Brendan Wenzel was the dagger the Horned Frogs needed to win the game.

Kentucky transfer Adou Thiero led Arkansas with 20 points, seven rebounds, four assists and four blocks in the game. Arkansas shot 42.6% from the field, 29.2% from three and 54.5% from the free throw line in the game, plus they turned the ball over 14 times.

The first quarter of the game – they played four quarters, not two halves – was the Theiro show for Arkansas, as the Kentucky transfer totaled 14 of 19 points for the Razorbacks, who at the end of the first ten minutes trailed 20-19. The Horned Frogs led by as many as four in the period, the Hogs took a lead with 17 seconds left and then TCU hit a three with 10 seconds left in the first quarter to lead by one when the buzzer sounded.

Arkansas opened the second quarter and outscored the Horned Frogs by one point in the first four minutes, making the score 27-27 at the first stoppage of play in the period. Hogs’ true freshman Billy Richmond III then knocked down a basket to give the Hogs a two-point lead from the break.

Four-star freshman Karter Knox of Atlanta gave the Razorbacks a 35-31 lead with a 3-pointer at 2:52 of the second quarter. The next bucket was a floater by fellow freshman Boogie Fland at the 1:26 mark and Knox added a jumper to make it 39-31, which was the final score at the halftime buzzer.

TCU closed the first half after a three-minute scoring drought, while the Razorbacks closed the first 20 minutes of play on a 7-0 run. Thiero’s 14 points led all scorers at the time, and all eight Arkansas players who hit the court scored in the first half.

Arkansas maintained a 45-36 lead over the Horned Frogs during a media timeout with 3:58 to play in the third quarter. Kentucky transfer DJ Wagner had four of the six points in the quarter to that point.

TCU continued another three-minute drought and the Razorbacks had four straight shots to force Horned Frogs head coach Jamie Dixon to call a timeout with his team down 54-41 with 1:40 to go in the third quarter. The Horned Frogs then went on an 8-0 run to cut the Hogs’ lead to five points at the end of three quarters.

The Horned Frogs capitalized on that momentum by cutting the deficit to two points with less than eight minutes to play, and that remained the case when Dixon called for a timeout with TCU down 60-58 at 5:09 in the fourth after a Frankie Collins made a layup for the Horned Frogs.

Arkansas made it a five-point lead on a three from Fland, but the Horned Frogs refused to go away and it was only a 65-63 lead for the Hogs at the 3:20 mark. The score remained the same and the Hogs had the ball after a TCU turnover and Calipari called a timeout with 1:28 left in the fourth quarter.

With 18 seconds left, TCU’s Brendan Wenzel hit a three from the wing to give the Horned Frogs a 66-65 lead. A three-point attempt by Fland at the buzzer did not bode well for the Hogs, who dropped their final exhibition before the regular season was set to begin.

Arkansas did not score in the final 3:28 of regulation and missed all of its final six shots from the field in the game.

Then the Razorbacks officially open the 2024-25 season against Lipscomb on Wednesday at Bud Walton Arena in Fayetteville. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:00 PM CT and the game will be streamed live on SEC Network+.