Bud Walton Arena remains fortress
FAYETTEVILLE — Stanley Umude got to experience the Bud Walton Arena atmosphere as a visiting player when the Arkansas Razorbacks beat his South Dakota team 77-56 two years ago before an announced crowd of 12,581.
This season Umude, who came to the University of Arkansas as a graduate transfer, has gotten to experience being cheered by capacity crowds of more than 19,000 in Walton Arena the last several home games.
Crowds have been reminiscent of the 1990s — when Arkansas won a national championship and made two other Final Four appearances — as the No. 14 Razorbacks have knocked off then-No. 1 Auburn, then-No. 6 Kentucky and then-No. 16 Tennessee and LSU in their last four home games.
“When we were in the media timeout under four, I was just looking at everyone like, ‘This is why we’re here. This is what we came here for,’” Umude said after the Kentucky game.
The Razorbacks finished 17-1 in Walton Arena this season when they rallied from seven points down with less than seven minutes left to beat LSU 77-76 on Wednesday night.
“I definitely didn’t want to lose this game,” said Umude, who led Arkansas with 23 points. “I didn’t want to have my last memory of Bud Walton be a loss.
“Whether I played good or not it’s just a bonus. I’m happy that my teammates were able to have this experience with me. It’s been a crazy ride, and we’ve got a long way to go still.”
The Razorbacks won their last nine games in Walton Arena, where their lone loss was to Vanderbilt 75-74 on Jan. 4.
“It’s crazy being able to play in front of this home-state love,” sophomore forward Jaylin Williams said of the capacity crowds. “How much they support us is crazy, and it makes us want to be better for them. It makes us want to work harder for them.
“We want to give back to them as much as they give to us. We get as much energy from them as we do from each other. It’s big for us.”
All of Arkansas’ home games were sold out before the season, but Walton Arena started to be filled consistently for Southeastern Conference matchups and the Big 12/SEC Challenge against West Virginia. The Auburn game drew an arena record 20,327.
“Early in the year, I understand all across the country there’s still football being played,” Arkansas head coach Eric Musselman said. “But the crowds once conference play (started) were
awesome.
“Hopefully what we’ve done and what our goal has been is to create an environment that trickles into next year when we play our first game. Then it’s up to us to try to entertain and play basketball that they want to come back for the second game.
“I do think next year we’ll be sold out and have an incredible environment the first game, and then it’s up to us from there how we play. I do think this is sustainable going into next year.”
The Razorbacks are 47-6 in Walton Arena in Musselman’s three seasons as coach, the most home victories by an SEC team in that span according to Arkansas’ media notes.
One of the losses was 78-77 to Mississippi State in 2020 when Abdul Ado scored a tip-in basket with 0.6 seconds left.
“We’ve played really good at home,” Musselman said. “Those six losses, we’d probably like some of those back and feel like a basket here or there or a block out against Mississippi State and not letting Ado tip the ball in.
“There’s a lot of things I can vividly remember, one or two plays where we wouldn’t have that many losses.”
Williams is from Fort Smith and was a Razorbacks fan before he started playing for Arkansas.
As a freshman last season, Williams and his Arkansas teammates didn’t get to experience full crowds at Walton Arena because of the coronavirus pandemic. Crowds were limited to 4,400, though the fans at games still made their presence felt.
This season the Razorbacks have enjoyed the full impact of Walton Arena’s home-court advantage.
“Growing up in the state of Arkansas, this is what you want to do,” Williams said. “You want to play on that court in front of 20,000 people.
“You grow up fantasizing about playing like that. It’s just a dream come true for me.”