Basketball (M)

Razorback Run Ends in NCAA Elite 8

March 29, 2021
FINAL STATS Musselman Press Conference Tate Press Conference

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – Arkansas, ranked 10th and seeded third, cut a double-digit deficit to four (64-60) with 7:34 left but could not get any closer in an 81-72 loss to top-seed and third-ranked Baylor in the NCAA Elite 8 Monday night in the South Regional final on Lucas Oil Stadium’s Unity Court.

After a slow start to the game put the Razorbacks in an 18-point hole midway through the first half, the Razorbacks made one of the team’s characteristic runs to claw back into the game and trail 46-38 at the break. The Hogs’ run was spurred by the team shooting 62.5% from the field in the opening half, including going 3-for-4 from 3-point range.

The teams played even for the most part in the second half. However, Baylor made 4-of-8 from 3-point range in the period compared to the Razorbacks going 0-of-7 from long range.

Arkansas closed within four points (62-58) with just over nine minutes remaining in the game on a Moses Moody layup. The Razorbacks would go over eight minutes without a field goal (0-of-12) but stayed in the game thanks to four Jalen Tate free throws. Baylor’s MaCio Teague drained a 3-pointer with just under four minutes left to put the Bears up nine. A minute later, a Mark Vital tip-in dunk put the game out of reach.

Davonte Davis and JD Notae led four Razorbacks in double digits with 14 points apiece. Notae’s 14 points came despite fouling out early in the second half, he poured in 12 in the first half on 4-of-5 shooting off the bench. Moses Moody added 11 points and Justin Smith scored 10 to go along with six rebounds.

Teague led all scorers with 22 points, including three 3-pointers.

Arkansas ends Head Coach Eric Musselman’s second season at Arkansas 25-7 with the program’s deepest run in the NCAA Tournament since 1996.

FIRST HALF: Arkansas 38 – Baylor 46

  • Baylor scored the first seven points and raced out to a 13-2 lead to force a Razorback timeout at 16:18.
  • The Bears’ largest lead was 18 (29-11) at the 11:01 mark.
  • Arkansas made five straight baskets – three by JD Notae – and trailed 38-25 (6:42).
  • JD Notae drained a long 3-pointer to get the Hogs to back to within 10 (44-34). Davis then got a steal and layup to make t 44-36 at 2:39.
  • Arkansas trimmed the deficit to six (44-38) on a Desi Sills dunk before Baylor made to free throws with 54 seconds left to provide the 46-38 halftime score.
  • Arkansas out-shot Baylor – 62.5% to 56.3% – and the rebounds were tied at 13-13. However, Arkansas committed 10 turnovers to Baylor’s six.
  • JD Notae led the Hogs with 12 first-half points.

SECOND HALF: Arkansas 34 – Baylor 35

  • Arkansas out-scored Baylor 8-7 to open the second half and trailed by seven (53-46) at the first media timeout (15:46). Davonte Davis sank two free throws coming out of the timeout to make it a five-point game (53-28).
  • Arkansas out-rebounded the Bears 12-5 the first nine minutes of the second half, but both squads scored 16 points through the span for a 62-54 Baylor lead with 10:54 left.
  • Davonte Davis and Moses Moody had back-to-back layups to make it a four-point game (62-58) with 9:34 left.
  • Arkansas got to within four, but Baylor went back up nine (69-60) after a Macio Teague 3-pointer.at 4:48.
  • The Razorbacks were down eight after a Justin Smith layup with 1:19 left before Adam Flagler answered with a 3-pointer with 55 seconds left. Flagler was 4-of-4 from the free throw line inside the last 32 seconds to seal the win.
  • Davonte Davis led Arkansas with 12 second-half points on 5-of-9 shooting. Moses Moody added 10 points making all six of his free throws.
  • Arkansas out-rebounded the Bears 21-16 in the second half and only committed five turnovers.

GAME NOTES

  • Arkansas ends the season with 25 wins, marking the 14th time the Hogs won at least 25 games in a season. The last time Arkansas won at 25 games was going 26-10 in 2016-17.
  • Arkansas reached the program’s 10th NCAA Elite 8 and first since 1995. Arkansas is 6-4 when playing in the Elite 8.
  • Arkansas is 45-33 all-time in the NCAA Tournament
  • Arkansas is 101-155 when playing a ranked opponent and is 0-15 when facing a team ranked #3.
  • Arkansas is 404-116 when playing as a ranked team and is 15-4 when playing as the #10 team.
  • Arkansas and Baylor are old Southwest Conference rivals but had not faced each other since Dec. 2009. Baylor was on Arkansas’ schedule the first year the Razorbacks played basketball (1923-24) and the Hogs own a 96-48 advantage in the series.
  • Arkansas made three 3’s to extend its streak of making a 3-pointer to 1,076 games – the third-best streak in the nation. UNLV has made a trey in every game since the rule was implemented in 1986-87 for the nation’s best streak of 1,127. Duke is second (1,112) and Western Kentucky is third (1,068).
  • Arkansas’ starting lineup was Jalen Tate (G) – Davonte Davis (G) – Moses Moody (G) – Justin Smith (F) – Jaylin Williams (F) for the third (straight) time this season.
  • The opening tip wet out of bounds ad Baylor was given possession. Arkansas is 10-4 when the opponent controls the tip.
  • Baylor’s Davion Mitchell scored the first points of the game, a jumper at 19:44. Jaylin Williams scored Arkansas’ first points, a layup at 18:03. (Williams also scored Arkansas’ first points at 18:03 versus Oral Roberts in the Sweet 16). Arkansas is 9-3 when the opponent scores first.
  • JD Notae was the first sub for Arkansas. He has been the Hogs’ first sub 16 times and Arkansas is 13-3 in such games.
  • JD Notae fouled out with 13;38 left in the second half. He was 5-of-6 from the field (2-of-2 from 3-point) and 2-of-3 from the line.
  • Moses Moody led the team in scoring for the season with an average of 16.8 ppg. He is the sixth Razorback freshman to lead the team in scoring and his 16.8 average is the third-best among the six.
  • Moody set UA freshman records for both free throws made (151) and free throws attempted (186). Moody finished 5th in the NCAA in free throws made and 8th in free throws attempted.
  • Moody was one point shy of the UA freshman record for points in a season with 539 points. Scotty Thurman owns the record with 540 points as a frosh.
  • Davonte Davis played all 20 minutes of the second half. It marked the fifth time he played all 20 minutes of a half this season.
  • NCAA Tournament scoring leaders: Justin Smith (17.3), Jalen Tate (15.5), Davonte Davis (14.3) and Moses Moody (13.0)
  • NCAA Tournament rebound leaders: Justin Smith (9.5), Davonte Davis (6.5), Jaylin Williams (5.0), Jalen Tate (4.5) and Moses Moody (4.5).
  • Arkansas ends its season 2nd in the NCAA in free throws made (501) and 3rd in free throws attempted (677) while leading the SEC in both. Arkansas also led the SEC (25th in the NCAA) in scoring margin at +10.6 and ranked 11th in the NCAA (2nd in the SEC) in scoring 81.4 ppg.
  • Justin Smith finished 26th in the NCAA (2nd in the SEC) in offensive rebounds (3.29) and 42nd in the NCAA (2nd in the SEC) in field goal percentage (.545).

 

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