Daily Local News (West Chester, PA)
Davis’ late jumper lifts Arkansas over Oral Roberts
The chants of Arkansas’ fans echoed from the concourse long after the players had cleared the floor. “Wooooo, Pig! Sooie!” It’s not quite “40 Minutes of Hell,” but the Razorbacks are back.
Davonte Davis hit a short jumper with 2.9 seconds left, and Arkansas advanced to the Elite Eight for the first time in 26 years with a 72-70 win over Oral Roberts in the South Region semifinals Saturday night.
“It’s amazing just being able to be in this position right now as an individual and as an Arkansas player,” said Davis, who had 16 points.
The Muss Bus grinded its gears through the first half into the second, bad shots and even worse defense putting Arkansas in a 12-point hole against the 15th-seeded Golden Eagles.
Eric Musselman’s Razorbacks (25-6) got their Pig Sooie swagger back, turning defensive stops into early offense opportunities and offensive rebounds into points.
It came down to one final shot and Davis made it, sending Arkansas to the Elite Eight for the first time since the Nolan Richardson “40 Minutes of Hell” days.
Next up for the Razorbacks is top-seeded Baylor in what should be a fastpaced South Region final on Monday.
“It’s an incredible feeling to be in an Elite Eight in our second year,” said Musselman, who took over the program in 2019. “I really can’t describe it.”
The let-it-fly Golden Eagles (18-11) let history slip through their grasp.
Within reach of becoming the first No. 15 seed to reach the Elite Eight, Oral Roberts
stumbled with a series of turnovers and missed shots.
Max Abmas did his best to put the Golden Eagles in the Elite Eight for the first time in 47 years, scoring 25 points. His 3-pointer at the buzzer bounced off the front of the rim.
“We gave him a pass option, we gave him a dribble option,” Oral Roberts coach Paul Mills said. “He’s super bright and picks up things really quickly and understood and had great court awareness and had great selection on the shot. Unfortunately, it didn’t go in.” OREGON STATE 65, LOYOLA CHICAGO 58 » Ethan Thompson scored 20 points, including a pair of clinching foul shots with 35 seconds left, and No. 12 seed Oregon State (20-12) kept its dream March going, beating eigth-seeded Loyola Chicago (26-4).
Warith Alatishe added 10 points and 11 rebounds for the Beavers, who were picked to finish last in the Pac-12 but ran roughshod through the conference tournament and have kept on winning on college basketball’s biggest stage.
They’re headed for their first Elite Eight since 1982 — one that was later vacated by the NCAA — and will play second-seeded Houston or No. 10 seed Syracuse on Monday night for a spot in the Beavers’ first Final Four since 1963.
Not even the fervent prayers of Sister Jean could help Loyola deal with the constantly changing defenses that Oregon State coach Wayne Tinkle rolled out. The Ramblers wound up shooting 33% from the field and 5 of 23 from beyond the arc.