What we've learned from Arkansas women's basketball's 8-0 start to the season

FAYETTEVILLE — Arkansas women's basketball coach Mike Neighbors admits he's surprised at the Razorbacks' start to the season. The Razorbacks are 8-0, their best start since the 2016-17 season.

"When we made this schedule, I don't think any of us would have ever bet a penny of our paycheck that we'd be 8-0," Neighbors said Tuesday. "It wasn't designed to be that way."

Four of Arkansas' first eight games have been on the road. Four have been against in-state teams. Three were at the Paradise Jam tournament in the U.S. Virgin Islands, which the Razorbacks won. That stretch included a big win over No. 25 Kansas State in the championship.

The Razorbacks have seven games left before conference play begins. Before Arkansas takes on the next half of its non-conference slate, here's what we've learned from the unbeaten streak so far.

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Newcomers making an impact

Arkansas lost two regular starters from last season: Guard Amber Ramirez, who graduated, and forward Sasha Goforth, who medically retired. The Razorbacks have plenty of returning talent, but three newcomers have had an early impact.

Redshirt freshman guard Saylor Poffenbarger transferred from UConn during last season but was ineligible to play until 2022-23. A regular in the starting five, she was named SEC freshman of the week after a strong showing at the Paradise Jam. She started all three games and played the most minutes on the team, averaging 12.3 points, a team-high 6.7 rebounds, three assists and a steal per game.

Overall, Poffenbarger is the team's second-leading rebounder and is tied for the team lead in blocks.

"I would love to have her on my fantasy team because she's stuffing every stat," Neighbors said.

Syracuse transfer Chrissy Carr has started all eight games and has emerged as one of the team's top shooters. Her 42.7 percentage from the field is second-best among starters. She is Arkansas' highest-volume 3-point shooter, taking over six shots from beyond the arc per game, and she's making 37% of them.

Erynn Barnum's dominance

Redshirt senior forward Erynn Barnum has been outstanding. She leads the team in points per game (16.8), field goal percentage, rebounds per game (7.9), steals (16) and blocks (9).

Her 68.6% (49-for-75) from the field is the best mark in the SEC, and she's in the top 10 in rebounds and points per game.

"She's matured," Neighbors said. "Adversity never stops, you just get better at handling it. And I think she's gotten better at handling all those things."

Razorbacks' defense improving

Neighbors said this year's team "hangs (its) hat on defense."

The Razorbacks have the fourth-most defensive rebounds per game in the country. Their total rebound rate of 45.5 per game is tied for No. 21 nationally. Arkansas also has the SEC's fifth-lowest defensive field goal percentage, with opponents shooting 34.3%.

It's early yet, and Neighbors knows that the defense will only face more challenges ahead. But it's a sign of progress, he said, considering last season's team finished in the bottom half of the league in most defensive categories.

"It's the first time in my 10 years as a head coach that I look at all the national analytic rankings and our defense is ahead of our offense," Neighbors said. "Maybe we've got a little bit more of not only being a team that's trying to outscore you every single night, but that can lock you down a little bit."

Christina Long covers the Arkansas Razorbacks for the Southwest Times Record and USA TODAY Network. You can follow her on Twitter @christinalong00 or email her at clong

This article originally appeared on Fort Smith Times Record: What we've learned from Arkansas women's basketball's 8-0 start