Council, defense lift No. 10 Arkansas past Fordham, 74-48

Fayetteville, Ark. (AP) — Ricky Council scored a game-high 15 points as No. 10 Arkansas beat Fordham 74-48 on Friday night.

Jordan Walsh added 12 and Anthony Black had 10 for the Razorbacks (2-0), who took control with a 26-4 run in the middle of the first half.

Arkansas overcame a sluggish start. Neither team broke into double-digit points for the first nine minutes.

Five players scored for Arkansas during the run. Every player who logged more than five minutes had at least six points.

Arkansas scored 30 points off 30 Fordham (1-1) turnovers. The 30 takeaways were the most turnovers the team had forced since 2004 against Louisiana-Monroe.

Darius Quisenberry was the only Fordham player in double figures, scoring 10.

Arkansas outscored the Rams 54-20 in the paint, but the Razorbacks made just 2 of 16 3-pointers.

STILL OUT

Arkansas is still waiting on the debut of freshman guard Nick Smith Jr. Coach Eric Musselman said Smith's status is day-to-day due to a knee injury.

One of the top recruits in 2022, Smith is a likely NBA lottery selection in the spring. He also missed the team’s opener against North Dakota State on Monday.

BIG PICTURE

Arkansas isn’t likely to be truly tested until Maui Invitational from November 21-23 when the Razorbacks will play their first power-conference opponents of the season.

UP NEXT

Arkansas will host defending Summit League champion South Dakota State on Wednesday.

Fordham hosts New Hampshire on Tuesday.

___

More 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