Coach John Calipari and the Arkansas basketball team (21-13, 8-10 SEC) survived and advanced Thursday past the Kansas Jayhawks, 79-72, in the first round of the NCAA Tournament at Amica Mutual Pavilion in Providence, Rhode Island.
High-caliber basketball was played in the first half, as the Hogs limited themselves to three turnovers and shot a blistering 54.3% from the field. Jonas Aidoo stole the show with 16 points with D.J. Wagner not far behind with 12 points.
Freshman guard Boogie Fland played 12 minutes in the first 20 minutes and went 1-of-4 from the field with two free throw makes and three assists.
Kansas got off to a good start from beyond the arc, going 6-of-11 from three with 10 charity-stripe shots to boot. By halftime, Arkansas still managed to lead 47-44. There were eight lead changes and seven ties overall.
After opening up a 10-point lead to start the second half, Arkansas slowly started to unravel throughout the course of the game. Turnovers, poor shooting and the inability to score against the zone helped Kansas bring its deficit to one point at the 6:37 minute mark.
Back and forth the game went, and Arkansas found itself down 67-64 with 4:55 minutes in the game. That was, until, the Razorbacks capped off a 7-0 run with a Davis three to take a four-point lead.
With the game on the line with under 30 seconds to go, Davis sunk four huge free throws to seal the win for the Razorbacks.
Below are highlights and social media reactions from Arkansas' postseason win...
HIGHLIGHTS
