The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Arkansas prevails in close call
Key plays in last minute go against Seton Hall; North Carolina romps.
Arkansas did just enough in the final minute to push its way through the NCAA Tournament’s first round — aided by a couple of eye-catching calls and noncalls by the officiating crew, too.
Jaylen Barford hit the go-ahead layup with 57.8 seconds left to help Arkansas hold off Seton Hall 77-71 Friday in the first round of the South Region in Greenville, S.C.
The eighth-seeded Razorbacks (26-9) erased an 8-point second-half hole and scored the final 7 points.
“Coach (Mike Anderson) told us to keep chipping away,” said Dusty Hannahs, who scored 14. “He knows we don’t lose our head. We’ve been down a lot this year.”
Barford’s layup off Khadeen Carrington’s turnover at the other end pushed Arkansas ahead for good. Then came a critical sequence, which started with Carrington’s travel while being harassed by a double team near midcourt with 24.6 seconds left.
Hannahs threw the ball to Daryl Macon near the Seton Hall bench. As defenders converged, Macon stutter-stepped past them in an apparent travel that went uncalled. Instead, Macon threw the ball to Barford, who was knocked to the floor on a flagrant foul.
Carrington missed a 3 at the other end in what amounted to
the last gasp for the Pirates (21-12). North Carolina 103, Texas
Southern 64: Justin Jackson broke out of a shooting slump with 21 points to help top-seeded North Carolina roll past Texas Southern 103-64 in Greenville.
Jackson had 19 points by halftime to help the Tar Heels (28-7) quickly eliminate any chance of
an unprecedented upset.
Kevin Scott scored 19 points to lead the 16th-seeded Tigers (23-12). Wichita State 64, Dayton 58: Wichita State’s high-flying offense didn’t get off the ground until the closing minutes, when the Shockers played like the more tournament-experienced team and pulled away to a 64-58 victory over Dayton in Indianapolis.
The 10th-seeded Shockers (31-4) won their 16th in a row by clamping down on defense and swatting away shots down the stretch. Wichita State blocked eight shots and held the seventh-seeded Flyers (24-8) to a season-low 31 percent from the field. Cincinnati 75, Kansas State
61: Troy Caupain scored 23 points, Kyle Washington added 16 and defensive-minded Cincinnati shot it way past Kansas State 75-61 in Sacramento, Calif.
Cincinnati (30-5) was knocked out the first round a year ago and No. 6 seeds were 0-3 before the Bearcats took the floor.
The Bearcats took care of their business and the No. 6 jinx by shooting 62 percent. Cincinnati is known for its defense and did that, too, preventing Kansas State (21-14) from making much of a run after building a 17-point lead.