Las Vegas Review-Journal (Sunday)
Arkansas muscles up, unseats Kansas
Reigning champion ousted; Razorbacks get back to Sweet 16
DES MOINES, Iowa — Kansas’ national title defense ended in the NCAA Tournament’s second round Saturday when Arkansas guard Ricky Council IV made five free throws in the closing seconds and the eighth-seeded Razorbacks beat the top-seeded seed Jayhawks 72-71.
NCAA TOURNAMENT ROUNDUP
Davonte Davis scored 25 points and Council 21 as Arkansas (22-13) rallied from a 12-point second-half deficit. Fourth-ranked Kansas (288), playing without ailing coach Bill Self, became the second top seed not to escape the tournament’s first weekend after third-ranked Purdue lost Friday to No. 16 seed Fairleigh Dickinson.
The Razorbacks and coach Eric Musselman return to the Sweet 16 for a third straight year and will play either No. 19 Saint Mary’s (27-7) or No. 10 Connecticut (26-8) in a West Region semifinal Thursday at T-mobile Arena.
Musselman and his players rushed to a group of fans sitting courtside after the final buzzer. The 58-yearold coach ripped off his polo shirt, waved it over his head and shouted with joy.
“That’s such an unbelievable win for our program,” said Musselman, UNR’S coach from 2015 to ’19. “I keep telling people that we’re getting better. Not many teams can get better this time of year. I’ve never been prouder of a team like tonight.”
Self, 60, has been with the Jayhawks since they arrived in Des Moines and attended practices and meetings but didn’t feel well enough to coach a game after having a heart procedure March 8 to clear clogged arteries.
Longtime assistant Norm Roberts was acting coach for a fifth straight game in Self ’s absence.
Kansas, bidding to become the first repeat national champion since Florida in 2006 and ’07, was ahead 35-27 at intermission and lost for the first time in 27 games when entering the second half with a lead. The Jayhawks had been 47-0 in the NCAA Tournament when leading by eight points or more at the half.
Davis scored 21 points after intermission. He fouled out with 1:56 left, turning things over to Council, a transfer from Wichita State who scored nine of the Razorbacks’ final 11 points.
“This team was struggling, and we figured it out,” Davis said. “I’m glad we did at the right time. Hopefully we continue to do it.”
Jalen Wilson led Kansas with 20 points.
A free throw by Council put Arkansas ahead to stay, at 68-67, with 24 seconds left. He then rebounded his miss of the second free throw, was fouled and made two more to put the Razorbacks up by three points.
The teams traded free throws, and Arkansas sent Wilson to the line with three seconds left to prevent a potential tying 3-pointer. Wilson made the first free throw and appeared to try to miss the second, but the ball banked hard off the glass and in, and Kansas didn’t regain possession.
The Razorbacks played a No. 1 seed for a third straight year. Last year, Arkansas knocked out Gonzaga on the way to its second straight Elite Eight.
The Jayhawks looked in control early. Kansas got its fans out of their seats with a series of electric plays that included Gradey Dick’s fastbreak dunk off Dajuan Harris’ steal, Wilson’s contested inside basket and his primal scream directed at Arkansas fans and Joseph Yesufu’s high-arcing 3 from the logo to beat the shot clock.
Davis started a game-turning 11-0 Arkansas run in the middle of the second half, and Jordan Walsh’s 3-pointer with eight minutes left gave the Razorbacks their first lead since their first basket.
■ No. 7 UCLA 68, Northwestern 63: At Sacramento, Calif., Jaime Jaquez Jr. scored 24 points for the second-seeded Bruins (31-5), who held the seventh-seeded Wildcats (22-12) to 1-for-12 shooting in a key late stretch. UCLA advanced to a third straight Sweet 16 for the first time in 15 years and will face either No. 9-ranked Gonzaga (29-5) or No. 22 Texas Christian (22-12) in a semifinal Thursday at T-mobile Arena.
Midwest
■ No. 2 Houston 81, Auburn 64: At Birmingham, Ala., Tramon Mark scored 26 points and Marcus Sasser 22 for the top-seeded Cougars (333), who overcame a 10-point intermission deficit. The ninth-seeded Tigers (21-13) missed 20 of 24 second-half shots, going more than 10½ minutes without a field goal. They also made only 19 of 36 free throws.
■ No. 5 Texas 71, Penn State 66: At Des Moines, Iowa, Dylan Disu had 28 points and 10 rebounds for the second-seeded Longhorns (288), who shot 50.8 percent despite missing 12 of 13 3-point tries and moved to their first Sweet 16 in 15 years. The 10th-seeded Nittany Lions (23-14) were coming off their first NCAA Tournament win in 20 years.
South
■ No. 18 San Diego State 75, Furman 52: At Orlando, Fla., Micah Parrish scored 16 points for the fifth-seeded Aztecs (29-6), who shot 50.0 percent while advancing to their first Sweet 16 since 2004 and the first for the Mountain West since UNR’S 2018 berth. Foul trouble helped limit Jalen Slawson, the Southern Conference player of the year, to eight points. The 13th-seeded Paladins (28-8) shot 32.0 percent and were outrebounded 41-24.
East
■ No. 20 Tennessee 65, No. 12 Duke 52: At Orlando, Fla., Olivier Nkamhoua scored 27 points, including 13 straight for the fourth-seeded Volunteers (25-10) during their decisive second-half run as they halted a 10-game win streak by the fifth-seeded Blue Devils (27-9). Tennessee had just nine turnovers and bullied Duke with a physical brand of play that left Blue Devils 7-footer Kyle Filipowski with a cut under his left eye.