Overview
- Freshman Cam Ward delivered 18 points and 10 rebounds off the bench, with Coen Carr adding 15 points and seven boards as Michigan State moved to 2-0 and Arkansas fell to 1-1.
- The Spartans owned the glass 45-33, including 19 offensive rebounds turned into 18 points, and scored 46 in the paint while going 1-for-14 from three.
- Arkansas erased a late eight-point deficit to tie it at 66 before Carson Cooper hit a go-ahead free throw and Jeremy Fears Jr. added two more, with the Razorbacks missing potential tying threes in the final seconds.
- Razorbacks freshmen Darius Acuff Jr. and Meleek Thomas scored 16 each, and John Calipari criticized their late-game decision-making in his postgame remarks.
- This was the first non-neutral meeting in the Izzo–Calipari series and the opener of a home-and-home, with Michigan State visiting Arkansas next season; MSU hosts San Jose State on Thursday and Arkansas returns home Tuesday.