Arkansas into Sweet 16 with upset of No. 1 Kansas

DES MOINES, Iowa — Kansas’ worst fears about the Jayhawks’ second-round NCAA Tournament matchup against Arkansas have come true. As a result, the Jayhawks are no longer able to defend last year’s title.

Kansas, the top seed in the West, lost 72-71 to the Razorbacks. Arkansas, his eighth seed in the region, advances to the Sweet 16. Kansas will join Purdue as the number two seed for this year’s tournament.

Since the NCAA expanded the tournament field in 1985, only three times (2000, 2004 and 2018) have multiple No. 1 seeds failed to reach the Sweet 16 this year.

The Razorbacks eliminated the No. 1 seed from the tournament for the second year in a row, following last year’s win over Gonzaga. This time, coach Eric Musselman was so touched by the accomplishment that he hopped onto a courtside table at Wells Fargo Arena, stripped his shirt, and led the Arkansas fans to cheer for Pig Suey.

“I’ve been coaching for a long time, and it’s the greatest win I’ve ever had because of Kansas’ history,” Musselman said. Win our first round game. ”

The win was sweet for Musselman and the Razorbacks, but the loss was bitter for the Jayhawks. They hoped to become back-to-back champions since Florida in 2006 and 2007.

Going into the game, Kansas had concerns about the Razorbacks’ length, depth and athleticism, and indeed Arkansas qualities proved to be a problem for Kansas. Arkansas outscored Kansas 36–29 in rebounding, and outscored the Jayhawks in his second chance in points, 15–2.

Arkansas overwhelmed Grady Dick, one of Kansas’ top long-range shooters. Grady Dick scored seven points as he went 3-for-3 and just 1-for-3.

“We just didn’t want to give No. 4 Grady Dick airspace,” Musselmann said.

“We didn’t want Grady to see the light of day.

On Friday, Roberts compared the physical qualities of the Razorbacks and Texas. The Longhorns have beaten the Jayhawks twice in recent weeks, both times by him by double digits.

“They have some long athletes that made it difficult [Dick] said Norm Roberts, who stood in for Self in two tournament games in Kansas. “I think we didn’t screen as much as we wanted for him. We could have done a little more for him, but they disabled him a little bit. We shared the ball pretty well. It was a lot of balance, but they did a good job of keeping him from looking too open.

Arkansas had a ferocious second half rally after trailing by as much as 12 points as Razorbacks guard DaVonte Davis put in a spectacular second half show. Davis took over the team as Arkansas’ two leading scorers in the regular season, Ricky Council IV and Nick Smith Jr., were struggling. He went 6-7 with many shots contested from the 21-point free-throw line in the second half, shooting 7-9.

“Coach Mass told me to go downhill,” Davis said.

Davis fouled out with 1:56 remaining and the Razorbacks were down 64-63. The council took over from there. He stepped back with his jumper and his five free throws to send the Jayhawks home.