FAYETTEVILLE — No. 19 Arkansas leads Central Arkansas 43-27 at halftime of Friday's game inside Bud Walton Arena.

Here are three takeaways from the first half of action.

Billy Richmond flexes improved shot

Billy Richmond has been a better shooter and scorer every year at Arkansas, but it appears this year's version of the Memphis native is the best yet from an offensive standpoint.

Richmond had 13 points on 5-7 shooting just past the halfway mark of the half and made his first three shots from beyond the arc. After scoring a season-high 16 points against Robert Morris on Wednesday, Richmond's improved offensive prowess was once again on full display on Friday.

Richmond ended the half with 15 points on 6-9 shooting.

Lob City

Miikka Muurinen had a pair of alley-oop dunks off assists from Richmond and Jordan Smith Jr., respectively. Arkansas' other dunk of the half come courtesy of Smith.

Against Virginia, the Razorbacks struggled to get out and run. They did plenty of running on Friday, totaling 15 fastbreak points, including Muurinen's first slam of the night.

Jordan Smith, Miikka Muurinen bounce back

Both Jordan Smith Jr. and Miikka Muurinen struggled against Robert Morris on Wednesday, especially offensively. That was far from the case on Friday evening.

Smith had a perfect first half shooting the basketball, scoring eight points on 3-3 shooting from the floor. He scored the first two points of the night by making a pair of free throws. After only scoring three points on 1-8 shooting from the floor against Robert Morris, he found his offensive groove on Friday — coincidentally, the first time all year Smith wore a headband.

Smith appeared to injure his wrist late in the first half, though he did not go back to the locker room and came back into the game with 1:14 to go in the half.

Muurinen scored just two points against Robert Morris and shot 0-5 from the field, but was much more effective on Friday. Muurinen had four first-half points thanks to a pair of dunks and blocked two shots while also netting a rebound, assist and steal each. After a tumultuous game on Wednesday that included a brief shouting match with head coach John Calipari, Muurinen looked much more like himself on Friday.