STARKVILLE, Miss. -- Daniel Gafford could not have asked for an easier dunk for his first bucket against Mississippi State on Tuesday.
The play started when Dustin Thomas hit cutting guard Anton Beard down the right side of the lane.
Beard's drive to the hole pulled Gafford's defender, Aric Holman from the middle of the lane, and the senior guard made an easy side dish to Gafford, whose slam was the freshman's 30th and Arkansas' 58th of the season.
Gafford turned in a much more impressive dunk a few minutes later, when he drove against E.J. Datcher on the right block and put in a one-hand stuff over the 6-10 freshman.
He added a third dunk in a four-minute span on a pick-and-roll pass from Daryl Macon to give Arkansas an 11-9 lead at the 13:32 mark.
Hogs and Dogs
Arkansas held an edge of 33-27 in the all-time series with Mississippi State entering Tuesday's late game.
Arkansas held a 27-24 advantage since joining the SEC and a 21-6 lead in games played in Fayetteville.
The Bulldogs led the series in games played at Humphrey Coliseum by a record of 20-7.
Tough slate
Arkansas' opponents entered Tuesday's games with a 98-67 record for a 59.4 percent winning clip. The best opponent records were Oklahoma (11-1), North Carolina (12-2), Houston (12-2) and Minnesota (12-3).
The oppositions' record is getting better for the Razorbacks as well. After facing 12-1 Mississippi State on Tuesday, Arkansas will face Auburn (13-1), which downed Tennessee 94-84 in Knoxville, Tenn., on Tuesday.
Cue the 'Q'
Arkansas kept defenders on the hip of Mississippi State guard Quinndary Weatherspoon, the Bulldogs' leading scorer with 14.2 points per game, while on the perimeter.
Weatherspoon snapped Mississippi State's 0 for 9 start from three-point range with a shot from deep in the left corner with 2:51 left in the first half to give the Bulldogs a 29-27 lead. Mississippi State went 1 of 12 from three-point range in the opening half.
Weatherspoon hit 6 of 7 three-point shots against the Razorbacks last year and scored a game-high 25 points in the Bulldogs' 84-78 victory at Walton Arena on Jan. 10.
Acrobatic tip
The Bulldogs struggled with their three-point shooting in the opening half, but it didn't mean they went scoreless on those trips.
Guard Quinndary Weatherspoon went high off the left block to tip in an errant three-point try from Xavian Stapleton to give Mississippi State a 13-11 lead almost midway through the first half. Weatherspoon did the same thing late in the half, sticking back a missed three-pointer from Lamar Peters in mid air for a 26-25 Bulldogs lead at the 3:17 mark.
Make it 2
Each of Arkansas' first five personal fouls resulted in two-shot free throw opportunities for Mississippi State.
The Bulldogs went 6 of 10 from the line in that stretch.
Mississippi State went 9 of 16 (56.3 percent) from the stripe in the first half while Arkansas made 2 of 4 free throws, with both Daryl Macon and Jaylen Barford going 1 of 2.
Turnover turn
Mississippi State's ball security was a big reason why the Bulldogs led 32-28 at halftime. The Bulldogs had only three turnovers at halftime, while Arkansas had seven.
The Bulldogs enjoyed a 4-0 advantage in fast break points and also led 7-3 in second-chance points.
Mississippi State also had four steals against one by the Razorbacks.
Sports on 01/03/2018