No. 1 Kansas goes down and out

Arkansas advances to Sweet 16 after eliminating defending national champion.

DES MOINES, Iowa — Eric Musselman and his players rushed across the floor at the final buzzer to celebrate with their joyfully delirious friends from Arkansas.

The 58-year-old coach jumped onto the press table, ripped off his red polo shirt and waved it over his head, shouting all the while to the fans’ delight, as has become his tradition after the biggest of his wins.

Kansas’ national title defense ended in the second round of the NCAA tournament Saturday when Arkansas’ Ricky Council IV made five free throws in the closing seconds and the eighthseeded Razorbacks beat the No. 1 seed Jayhawks 72-71.

“It’s really hard to make this tournament,” he said. “It’s really hard to win a game in this tournament. It’s really hard to beat defending champions, No. 1 seed. We did it.”

Arkansas was playing a No. 1 seed for the third straight year. Last year, the Razorbacks knocked out Gonzaga on the way to their second straight Elite Eight. This time, the Razorbacks survived shaky offensive play early and foul trouble late. They became the first team to beat a No. 1 seed with three players fouling out, according to OptaSTATS.

“That’s such an unbelievable win for our program,” Musselman said. “I keep telling people that we’re getting better . ... I’ve never been prouder of a team like tonight.”

Davonte Davis scored 25 points and Council added 21 as Arkansas rallied from a 12-point second-half deficit. Kansas, playing without ailing coach Bill Self, became the second top seed not to escape the tournament’s first weekend after Purdue lost on Friday night to No. 16 seed Fairleigh Dickinson.

Arkansas (22-13) is in the Sweet 16 for the third straight year and will play either Saint Mary’s or Connecticut in the West Region semifinals in Las Vegas on Thursday.

Self has been with the Jayhawks (28-8) since they arrived in Des Moines and has attended practices and meetings, but he still 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 2006-07, was ahead 3527 at halftime and lost for the first time in 27 games when entering the second half with a lead. Kansas had been 47-0 in the NCAA tournament when leading by eight points or more at the half.

“Our guys have been terrific all year,” Roberts said. “They fought to the very end, made huge plays. It was tough not having Coach here, but we don’t make any excuses. We have to line up and get it done, and we came up a little bit short today.”