Hogs survive Kansas, advance to NCAA Second Round

March 20, 2025

PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Arkansas survived a 4:20 scoring drought in the second half and, after a 12-2 Jayhawk run put Kansas up 67-64, the Razorbacks went on a 7-0 run to go up four before holding on to beat Kansas, 79-72, in the First Round of the NCAA Tournament at Amica Mutual Pavilion on Thursday night.

The win was Razorback head coach John Calipari’s 58th NCAA Tournament win (58-22 in 24 NCAA appearances). He leads all active coaches (breaking a tie with Kansas head coach Bill Self) and ranks sixth-best all time behind Mike Krzyzewski (101), Roy Williams (79), Dean Smith (65) and Jim Boeheim (62).

After a high-scoring first half between the Razorbacks and Jayhawks that saw the two teams combine for 91 points, the game turned into a defensive grind in the second half with the teams scoring 60 total points.

The Hogs took a three-point lead into the half thanks to 16 points from Jonas Aidoo on 8-of-13 shooting. Arkansas then surged to an 11-point lead with an 8-0 run out of the break. The Jayhawks then switched to a zone defense that slowed down the Razorbacks and allowed Kansas to claw back into the game. Trevon Brazile’s jumper with 13:41 on the clock were the team’s only points for nearly a five-minute stretch. Back-to-back buckets from AJ Storr and KJ Adams put Kansas back in front by three points with under five minutes remaining.

The Hogs, however, had the winning run started by a Boogie Fland layup. A pair of free throws from Aidoo put Arkansas back in front for good with 2:14 left in the game. Johnell Davis’ 3-pointer with under two minutes extended the lead to four points. Kansas cut the deficit back to two points before Arkansas finished the game 8-for-8 from the free throw line to seal the NCAA Tournament victory.

Aidoo was fantastic with a season-best and game-high 22 points on 10-of-19 shooting. Brazile posted a double-double with 11 points and 12 rebounds, including five offensive. Davis added 18 points, powered by four 3-pointers, with D.J. Wagner chipping in 14 points, including 12 in the first half.

Zeki Mayo paced the Jayhawks with 18 points, including four 3-pointers of his own. Star big man Hunter Dickinson was held to 11 points with none coming in the second half.

Arkansas will play #2 seed and 5th-ranked St. John’s in the NCAA Second Round. Tipoff is set for 2:40 pm (ET)/1:40 pm (CT) and the game will be televised on CBS.

FIRST HALF: Arkansas: 47 – Kansas: 44

Arkansas scored first and led for 9:45, compared to 6:53 for Kansas. The first half featured seven ties and eight lead changes.
Thanks to Jonas Aidoo’s 16 points (8-of-13 FG), Arkansas out-scored Kansas 24-12 in the paint. Aidoo also had three blocked shots.
D.J. Wagner added 12 points. He and Boogie Fland each dished out three assists.
Arkansas shot 54.3% from the field and was 5-of-5 at the line.
Kansas stayed close by making 6-of-11 (54.5%) from 3-point but shot 43.8% from the field overall. The Jayhawks were 10-of-12 at the line in the first half. Kansas did had 12 assists on 14 made baskets.
Zake Mayo led Kansas with 13 points while Hunter Dickinson and AJ Storr each added 11.
Arkansas went a on a quick 7-0 run early to lead 12-5 to force a Kansas timeout.
With Kansas up three (37-34), Arkansas used a 9-2 run to lead 43-40 with 2:29 left.

SECOND HALF: Arkansas: 32 – Kansas: 28

Much like the first half, Arkansas started hot, opening the half on a 7-0 run to force a timeout.After the timeout, Trevon Brazile extended the tun to 8-0 with a free throw.
After going down 11 (55-44), Kansas started chipping away at the lead. They used a 6-0 run to get to with one, 62-61. Trevon Brazile ended the run with an alley-oop dunk. However, Kansas answered with another 6-0 run to lead 67-64.
Boogie Fland ended the Jayhawk spurt and the Razorback 4:20 scoring drought with a steal and a layup.
Fland’s points ignited a 7-0 Razorback lead. After Fland’s layup, Jonas Aidoo made two free throws to put the Hogs up one (68-67) and the Hogs held the lead the rest of the way. Johnell Davis added a 3-pointer to cap the 7-0 run.
Leading by two with 1:223 left, Davis made two free throws for a four-point cushion. Wagner made two free throws with 21 seconds left, Davis made two more with 10 seconds left and Billy Richmond III hot two with two seconds left for the seven-point win.

GAME NOTES:

For the first time this season, Arkansas’ starting lineup was D.J. Wagner, Johnell Davis, Karter Knox, Trevon Brazile and Jonas Aidoo. It marks the 10th different starting lineup by Arkansas this season.
Kansas won the opening tip.
Karter Knox scored the game’s first points with a dunk at 19:27.
Billy Richmond III, Boogie Fland and Zvonimir Ivisic were Arkansas’ first subs.
Arkansas trailed by one with five minutes to play. Arkansas is now 3-12 when trailing with five minutes to play. However, Arkansas is 14-1 when leading at the half, 19-3 when leading with 10 minutes to play and 18-0 when leading with two minutes left.
Joans Aidoo not only had a season-best with 22 points, it was also his first 20-point scoring effort in an NCAA Tournament game.
Trevon Brazile had 13 points and 11 rebounds has four double-doubles this year, all within the last six games.
Arkansas and Kansas have met on 15 occasions with the Jayhawks owning an 8-7 advantage.
The Razorbacks have won the last three meetings, including a 72-71 victory in the 2023 NCAA Tournament to advance to the Sweet 16 and a 65-64 decision in the 2005 Maui Invitational.
Arkansas is 2-1 all-time versus Kansas in the NCAA Tournament.
This was the third NCAA Tournament matchup between Calipari and Kansas coach Bill Self. Self won in the 2008 NCAA Championship game when Kansas def. Memphis, 75-68 OT. Calipari won in the 2012 NCAA Championship game when Kentucky def. Kansas, 67-59.
Arkansas is 51-35 all-time in the NCAA Tournament including a 20-8 record first round games (including a loss in a “2nd round game” in 2015 when the “first four” were considered the 1st rd).
Arkansas is 4-1 all-time in Providence at Amica Mutual Pavilion. The Razorbacks have played the Providence Friars twice in Providence (1-1). Arkansas lost, 87-81, at Providence on Dec. 23, 1999, and won, 84-72, at Providence in the 2019 NIT First Round. Also, the Razorbacks (the #12 seed) won two games when it played in Providence for the 1996 NCAA East Region 1st and 2nd Rounds to reach the Sweet 16. The Hogs beat #5 seed and 18th-ranked Penn State, 86-80, on Mar. 14, 1996 and beat #4 seed and 20th-ranked Marquette, 65-56, on Mar. 16, 1996.
John Calipari is 3-0 as head coach when playing in Providence. Also in 1996, while at UMass, Calipari led the Minutemen to 1st & 2nd round wins in the then-called Providence Civic Center over UCF and Stanford, respectively. Ironically, after those wins, UMass beat Arkansas in the Sweet 16 then lost to Kentucky in the Final Four.

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