Hogs' run ends in Elite 8 loss to Duke

March 26, 2022

SAN FRANCISCO – Arkansas’ run in the NCAA Tournament came to an end in the Elite 8 on Saturday night at Chase Center in a 78-69 loss to a hot-shooting Duke.

The two teams opened the game by trading baskets and the game remained tight until an 8-0 Duke run midway through the half. Jaylin Williams’ lay-up snapped the run but the Blue Devils maintained a lead the remainder of the half. Duke fully swung the momentum their way to end the first half when Trevor Keels nailed a 3-pointer at the buzzer to finish another 8-0 run for the Blue Devils. Duke made four of their final five shots of the half while holding Arkansas scoreless over the final 2:14 on 0-of-5 shooting.

The Razorbacks’ resiliency showed up in the second half. A 9-2 Arkansas run cut the Blue Devils’ lead to five with 13:19 remaining but the Blue Devils rattled off the game’s next 10 points to establish a 15-point lead with 10:18 left. Duke held off the Hogs down the stretch to advance to the Final Four.

Duke shot 55% for the game and dominated the game from the inside, outscoring Arkansas 46-34 in the paint.

Williams led three Arkansas players to reach double digits in the game with 19 points along with 10 rebounds for his 16th double-double of the season. JD Notae and Stanley Umude each added 14 points with Notae adding four assists.

Notae and Williams were named to the NCAA West Regional All-Tournament team.

Paulo Banchero led the Blue Devils with 16 points to go along with Mark Williams 12 points and 12 rebounds.

Arkansas ends the season 28-9 overall.

FIRST HALF: Arkansas: 33 – Duke: 45

Arkansas led 9-6 at the first media timeout thanks to five points from JD Notae. Arkansas forced three early turnovers, while committing none.
Duke used an 8-0 run to take an eight-point lead (22-14). However, Jaylin William took two charges and scored twice to get the Hogs back to within three, 24-21, at the under 8 timeout (7:56).
Arkansas was down four, 37-33, after a pair of Chris Lykes free throws before Duke closed the half on an 8-0 run, including a 3-pointer at the buzzer, to lead by 12 (45-33) at the break.
Duke shot 55% from the field and out-rebounded the Hogs 22-12.
JD Notae led Arkansas with eight points while Jaylin Williams and Devo Davis each added seven. Williams had five rebounds.
Mark Williams led Duke with 10 points and eight rebounds.

SECOND HALF: Arkansas: 36 – Duke: 33

Arkansas got to within five at 53-48 before Duke reeled off 10 straight to take a 63-48 lead (10:18).
Jaylin Williams had 12 second-half points while Stanley Umude added nine.
Arkansas out-rebounded Duke, 13-12, in the period.
Arkansas had seven assists with just six turnovers.

GAME NOTES

Arkansas’ starting lineup was JD Notae – Au’Diese Toney – Stanley Umude – Trey Wade – Jaylin Williams for the 20th game. The group was 17-3.
Duke won the opening tip. Arkansas was 8-2 when the opponent wins the opening tip.
JD Notae scored the game’s first points, a layup at 19:25.
Davonte Davis and Kamani Johnson were the first subs for Arkansas.

ARKANSAS SEASON NOTES

Was 28-9 overall

Won at least 28 games for sixth time in school history and the most wins since 1994-95 (32-7)
Won at least 25 games for the second straight year and the 15th time in school history
53 wins over the last two seasons is most wins in back-to-back years since the Razorbacks won 63 in the 1993-94 and 1994-95 seasons.
73 wins in the three-year Eric Musselman era is the best start to a Razorback coaching tenure by 11 wins (Eddie Sutton won 62 games in his first three seasons
The 73 win by Arkansas are the most among SEC teams since Eric Musselman’s arrival in Fayetteville. Auburn is second with 66 wins. Arkansas also has an SEC-best 47 home wins over the last three seasons.

Was 13-5 in the SEC

Won 13 SEC games in back-to-back seasons
Won at least 13 SEC games for the sixth time with the school record being 14 SEC wins

Arkansas reached the Elite 8 for the second straight year

Arkansas and Houston were the only two schools to reach the Elite 8 in each of the last two years
It is the 11th Elite 8 appearance, and the Hogs make their 13th Sweet 16
It is the first time Arkansas made back-to-back Sweet 16 appearances since earning three straight in 1994 (national champion), 1995 (national runner-up) and 1996 (Sweet 16)
Arkansas’ six wins in the NCAA Tournament over the past two seasons were more NCAA wins than the program had experienced in the previous 23 seasons (5 dating back to 1998)

Arkansas defeated #1 twice

Arkansas defeated AP #1 Auburn 76-73 (ot) on Feb. 8
Arkansas defeated AP #1 and NCAA tournament overall #1 seed Gonzaga in the Sweet 16
Arkansas became the first team to ever beat an AP #1 team in the regular season (Auburn) and defeat the AP #1 (Gonzaga) in the NCAA Tournament
Also, no men’s college basketball team had beaten two different No. 1 teams from the AP poll in the same season since 1992-93 when Georgia Tech beat Duke and North Carolina in the same season. (Both regular-season games.)
Arkansas became the 16th #4 seed to defeat a #1 seed in the Sweet 16 and the first since Michigan State beat Virginia in 2014 (NCAA)
The two wins vs #1 this season gives Arkansas a 3-11 record all-time when playing the top-ranked team in the nation
Arkansas also claimed its first win ever versus a #1 seed in the NCAA Tournament

Arkansas vs Top 25; QUAD1

Arkansas was 5-2 versus top 25 teams with six of those games coming over the last 14 games.
In addition to beating #1 Auburn and #1 Gonzaga, Arkansas won at #12 LSU and defeated #16 Tennessee and #6 Kentucky at home. Losses were at #11 Tennessee and vs #9 Duke in the Elite 8.
Prior to the NCAA Tournament, nine of Arkansas’ final 10 opponents are listed as NCAA QUAD 1 opponents. The Hogs posted a 6-3 record vs those QUAD 1 opponents including wins.
One of those QUAD1 wins was a victory at Florida. The win snapped a 14-game losing streak to the Gators in Gainesville dating back to Feb. 28, 1995.

Getting Hot at the Right Time

Arkansas won 18 of its final 22 games
The Hogs were 7-1 in February and 5-3 in March
Over the last two seasons, Arkansas has posted a record of 24-6 in the months of February and March

Nation’s Best at the Free Throw Line

Arkansas was 11-of-11 at the free throw line versus Duke. It marks the fourth time Arkansas has shoot 100% at the line in a game while attempting at least 8 FT
Arkansas led the NCAA in both free throws made (633) and free throws attempted (833)
Arkansas has ranked among the NCAA top 10 in both categories in each of Coach Musselman’s three years.
Arkansas has led the SEC in free throws made each of the last three years and Musselman’s teams (Arkansas and Nevada) have led their conferences in in free throws made 6 of his 7 years as a head coach and free throws attempted in 5 of his 7 years.

Arkansas Team Record Book

Points Scored – All Games: 2,810 (9th)
Field Goals Made – All Games: 972 (9th)
Free Throw Made – All Games: 633 (3rd) – SEC Games: 301 (4th)
Free Throw Att – All Games: 833 (9th) – SEC Games: 401 (4th)
Free Throw Pct – All Games: .760 (3rd) – SEC Games: .751 (3rd)
Rebounds – All Games: 1,399 (4th) – SEC Games: 682 (1st)
Free Throw Att – All Games: 833 (9th) – SEC Games: 401 (4th)

JD Notae

Arkansas’ 34th All-American
Averaged 17.5 points, 5.3 rebounds, 4.3 assists, 3.0 steals and 1 blocked shot at the NCAA Tournament
Has scored 1,999 points in his four-year career
Has scored 1,070 points in two seasons at Arkansas, tying Daryl Macon for 36th on the school’s all-time list. He became the 45th player to score 1,000 points in a Razorback uniform and is the 6th Razorback to accomplish the feat in two seasons.
Consensus first team All-SEC as his 19.70 scoring average in league games ranks 5th-best in school history.
Points Scored – All Games: 660 (8th-t) – SEC Games: 335 (4th-t)
Field Goals Att – All Games: 589 (1st) – SEC Games: 287 (1st)
Ranked 3rd in the NCAA in steals (81) and 14th in steals per game (2.25)

Jaylin Williams

Took an NCAA-best and school-record 54 charges
First team All-SEC and member of the Lefty Driesell Defensive All-American Team
Averaged 14.3 points and 11.8 rebound in the NCAA Tournament
Ranked 15th in the NCAA in double-doubles (16) – including one in each of his 4 NCAA games – and 2nd on the school’s single-season list
Ranked 6th in the NCAA in defensive rebounds (8.32) and 19th in overall rebounds (9.84)
Rebound Avg – All Games: 9.84 (5th) – SEC Games: 10.17 (1st)
Total Rebounds – All Games: 364 (1st) – SEC Games: 183 (1st)
Total Rebounds – All Games: 364 (1st) – SEC Games: 183 (1st)

Stanley Umude

Scored 14 points in the Elite 8 loss to Duke and average 12.3 points in the NCAA Tournament
Finished his career with 1,960 points
Scored in double figures 20 times this season and 91 times in his career

Rare Loss

Arkansas forced 15 turnovers and committed just 11. Arkansas was 14-4 this season when forcing at least 15 turnovers and 21-2 when committing less than 15.