FAYETTEVILLE -- It was another single-digit turnover game for the Arkansas Razorbacks on Wednesday night.
The Razorbacks had nine turnovers in their 95-68 victory over California State University, Bakersfield to stretch their streak of having fewer than 10 to five games.
Senior guard Daryl Macon was especially good with the ball for the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville with eight assists and no turnovers in 31 minutes.
"Just playing together, sharing the ball, not being selfish," Macon said of how Arkansas continues to limit turnovers. "Just going out there and playing the game the way it's supposed to be played.
"Turnovers come when you start forcing things. Tonight we tried not to force a lot of things."
The Razorbacks have combined for 38 turnovers in their past five games, with a low of five in a 92-66 victory over Colorado State.
"It just tells me we continue to value the basketball," Arkansas Coach Mike Anderson said. "That's the sign of a mature team, you would think, and maybe a good passing team.
"We'll find out as we go against better defenses. Teams are going to prepare for us, and can we have good ball movement. Make that extra pass and knock down shots."
CSUB Coach Rod Barnes said the Roadrunners normally would have played more pressure defense than they did against Arkansas, but he believed it wouldn't work facing three senior starting guards in Macon, Jaylen Barford and Anton Beard.
"They've got three guys starting that could all probably be point guards," Barnes said. "They're smart with the ball and they're veterans. So they understand how important it is to not turn the basketball over. They don't put themselves in bad positions."
Getting technical
Arkansas senior guards Jaylen Barford and Anton Beard both were called for a technical foul with 4:49 left and the Razorbacks leading 80-55.
"I think it was guys just jawing at each other," Anderson said. "Guys got into it.
"I'll watch the tape and find out what took place, but I'm sure it wasn't one-sided. It probably went both ways, but I guess our guys got caught."
Anderson said the Razorbacks can't afford to be called for technicals with SEC play starting Saturday when Arkansas plays No. 19 Tennessee.
"When you're in games that are really close -- and the intensity picks up in conference play -- you're going to have some guys going back and forth at each other," Anderson said. "You can't be the ones that come out on that end where you're getting technical fouls and you're hurting the team.
"To me, it's more selfish than anything else. That's something that will be addressed. There's no place for that."
Gafford on the glass
Arkansas 6-11 freshman Daniel Gafford shot 2 of 7 from the field and 2 of 4 on free throws to finish with 6 points, but he had a career-high 12 rebounds.
"I was glad to see Daniel go to the glass," Anderson said. "You always kind of judge players in terms of how they play when they're not scoring.
"Of course it wasn't a scoring night for Daniel, but he did other things to help us win."
Big first half
Senior forward Dustin Thomas scored all 10 of his points for Arkansas in the first half to help the Razorbacks lead 42-38. He also had 5 of his 6 rebounds in the first half.
"Dustin Thomas probably played one of his better games here," Anderson said. "I thought he was really engaged defensively, offensively. He played with a lot of confidence."
Home sweet home
Arkansas improved to 102-15 in Walton Arena in Mike Anderson's seven seasons as coach, including 60-1 in nonconference games against unranked opponents.
The only unranked nonconference team to beat the Razorbacks during Anderson's tenure is Akron, 88-80, during the 2015-2016 season.
Arkansas is 7-0 in Walton Arena this season.
Happy birthday, Nolan
Nolan Richardson, who in 17 seasons as Arkansas' coach had a 389-169 record with 13 NCAA Tournament appearances and led the Razorbacks to the 1994 national championship, turned 76 on Wednesday.
Richardson attended Wednesday night's game and got a big ovation from the crowd when he was shown on the large scoreboard screen.
More dunks
Arkansas has 55 dunks on the season after adding five Wednesday night.
The Razorbacks improved to 10-0 when Daniel Gafford has at least one dunk. He had two dunks against CSUB to give him 28 on the season.
Barnes vs. Arkansas
CSUB Coach Rod Barnes was 11-5 as Ole Miss' head coach against Arkansas, including 4-4 in Walton Arena.
After the game Barnes thanked Mike Anderson for agreeing to play the Roadrunners, who were 24-9 and 25-10 the previous two seasons.
"We've had problems scheduling because of the success we've had the last two years," Barnes said. "But out of the goodness of Mike's heart and knowing we needed a game, he took a chance on us.
"Obviously, he probably feels like he came out the way he needed it to come out. But I'm thankful for the opportunity. I know it was probably not one of the easiest things to do with the kind of success I've had in this arena."
Barnes is now 15-14 against Arkansas as a player, assistant coach and head coach.
Prior to Wednesday's game, all of Barnes' previous 28 games against the Razorbacks came when he was at Ole Miss.
Sports on 12/28/2017