12 Straight

Notae helps No. 8 Arkansas oust Missouri in SEC Tournament

Reserve JD Notae scored a season-high 27 points and No. 8 Arkansas overcame a 10-point deficit to beat Missouri 70-64 on Friday night to advance to the Southeastern Conference Tournament semifinals.

Notae scored a season-high 27 points, and Arkansas overcame a 10-point deficit to beat Missouri 70-64 on Friday night to advance to the Southeastern Conference Tournament semifinals.

“He played phenomenal,” Arkansas coach Eric Musselman said. “He threw up at one point, and then he did it again at halftime. I didn't know if he was going to come out and play the second half.”

Musselman thinks Notae was dealing with a bad reaction to some food because the Arkansas coach also didn't feel well all Friday. But the guard who sat out last season following a transfer from Jacksonville scored 16 in the first half and tied for the fourth-best scoring game for Arkansas at this tournament.

“We didn't know what it was at halftime, not knowing if he'd come back,” Arkansas guard Davonte Davis said. “So him being a fighter and just helping us out coming off the bench and giving us 27 points and contributing down the stretch helped us out a lot.”

The Razorbacks (22-5) won a school-record 12th straight SEC game, topping the 11-game winning streak

since the end of the 1993-94 season. The second-seeded Razorbacks will play either LSU or Ole Miss in the semifinals Saturday, their fourth such berth since 2015.

Justin Smith scored 16 points before fouling out for Arkansas, and Davis added 11. Moses Moody, the SEC Newcomer of the Year who had been averaging 17.5 points a game, matched his season-low with five points.

Missouri (16-9) heads home having failed to reach the semifinals at this tournament since joining the SEC for the 2012-13 season with this the Tigers’ fourth loss in the quarterfinals.

Xavier Pinson led Missouri with 14 points. Dru Smith added 11.

Big Picture

Arkansas: The Razorbacks started their SEC winning streak rallying from a 19-point deficit against Auburn. They also trailed by 14 to Texas A&M in the regular season finale. This time, they only trailed by only 10, but that could be costly the deeper they advance this month.

Up Next

Arkansas must win its 13th straight SEC game to reach the final for the first time since 2017.

Associated Press ■ Arkansas' Justin Smith drives against Missouri's Mitchell Smith, right, Friday during the first half of the Southeastern Conference Tournament in Nashville, Tenn.

Associated Press ■ Arkansas' JD Notae shoots against Missouri's Javon Pickett on Friday during the first half of the Southeastern Conference Tournament in Nashville, Tenn.