PROVIDENCE — Things look a little different for D.J. Wagner than they did 365 days ago. The same coach, sure, but a new city, new uniform and a chance to redeem last year's painful loss to Oakland in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
Around this time last year, Wagner went scoreless in 17 minutes as Oakland rained three-pointer after three-pointer to knock Kentucky out of the Big Dance in the first round.
The loss stung, but Wagner said Wednesday he's glad to be back in the tournament with the Razorbacks this year.
"For me personally, it was very painful," Wagner said of the loss to Oakland. "That wasn't the plan to lose. That's never the plan, though, to lose, especially in the first round and stuff like that.
"I'm just happy to be back, happy to have another opportunity and another go at it, and now I know you can't take anything lightly or take anything for granted. None of the games are going to be easy. Every team is good. I feel like it was a good learning experience."
That loss is, at least in part, what led to head coach John Calipari leaving Kentucky to take the head coaching job at Arkansas last April. Wagner followed a short time later, and he's learned to take every opponent in this tournament seriously.
"It's very motivating, but this is something you dream of, just being able to play in March Madness," Wagner said. "It's a blessing, but I learned not to take any game lightly. Any game is going to be hard and it's not going to be easy, so just to prepare for every game like it's your last."
It won't be easy for Wagner or the Razorbacks, though. Their first opponent in the Big Dance, the 7-seed Kansas Jayhawks, present a difficult challenge.
"They're a very well-coached team, very talented, very experienced, as well, especially when it comes to the tournament and stuff like that, very experienced," Wagner said. "A lot of our players have been here before. We're excited. We're just excited to be able to go up against them and compete against them, just knowing how good a team they are.
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"We prepared as much as we can and we're preparing as much as possible because we know it's not going to be easy."
Wagner, like most college basketball players, has aspirations of playing in the NBA, but he said he's not focused on the future. The only thing he's paying attention to is Thursday's game against Kansas.
"I ain't even thinking about that right now," Wagner said of NBA plans. "I'm just thinking about March Madness, winning with my team. I'm in college. That's the only thing that matters to me and my teammates, just trying to win."
The Camden, New Jersey, native assumed the role of primary point guard when Boogie Fland went down with a thumb injury and has performed well. On the season, he's averaging 11.1 points per game on 40.9% shooting, but in his last five games those numbers jump to 13.6 points on 44% shooting.
With Fland back on the floor, Wagner's role will largely stay the same, but having his teammate back will provide a nice boost for a Razorback team that has struggled with depth down the stretch.
"We're happy to have him out there with us," Wagner said. "I think it's good for us, he's going to help us a lot. We can really play off each other...we're basketball players, so we'll just see how the game goes, but he's going to help us a lot. We need him, he can do everything, score pass, having him makes us even better."
Arkansas and Kansas will tip off in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Thursday at 6:10 p.m. CT, and the game will air on CBS. Stay tuned to HawgBeat for more coverage of the Razorbacks in the NCAA Tournament.
