Arkansas upsets Kansas in first round of NCAA tournament, 79-72

PROVIDENCE, R.I. — It has all been building to this. Every up and down and twist and turn of the Arkansas men’s basketball season led them to Providence Rhode Island, to take on Kansas in the first round of the men’s NCAA Tournament. 

The Hogs got a 10-seed, the Jayhawks the 7, and on Thursday night they went to battle.

The underdog Hogs came hot out the gate, forcing a frustrated timeout from Bill Self just a couple of minutes in. Arkansas built the lead out to 12-5 before the Jayhawks showed signs of life, fighting back to tie it at 14. 

As the back-and-forth continued, the battle of the bigs was on. Trevon Brazile and Zvonimir Ivisic quickly found themselves in foul trouble trying to stop Kansas’s big man, Hunter Dickinson, while Jonas Aidoo did the heavy lifting for the Hogs, the Tennessee transfer picking up twelve points in the game’s first 15 minutes. 

A big talking point coming into the game for Arkansas was the return of Boogie Fland who hadn’t been seen in action since January 18 due to injury, but suited up against Kansas.

As expected, he came off the bench in short stretches but showed some promising bounce in the first half as he shook off the rust, despite taking a couple of nasty falls. 

Kansas found some success beyond the arc, but Aidoo continued to counter inside, finishing the first half with 16 points. The Hogs hit the locker room leading 47-44. 

The second half started much the same as the first for the Hogs, a 7-0 run forcing a quick Bill Self timeout. But Kansas adjusted, going on a 5-0 sport of their own until Calipari decided he needed a stoppage of his own, as the battle of hall of fame coaches played out on the benches.

As Arkansas remained flummoxed by the Kansas switch to zone, the Jayhawks took their first lead of the second half with five minutes to play, but the Arkansas defense kept things tight. 

Back-to-back steals led to back-to-back Hog buckets, and Arkansas retook the lead with two minutes left. Then another steal, a Nelly Davis three, and Kansas called timeout, trailing by four with 1:45 left in regulation.

But the Arkansas defense stayed intense, forcing turnover after turnover, and the Hogs hit their free throws to build a six-point lead. But Kansas hit a prayer of a three with 12 seconds left, and the Hogs would have to sweat it out. Boogie Fland struggled to inbound the ball, forced to call two timeouts in a row. 

The third time was the charm, and Kansas had to foul, sending Nelly Davis to the line with ten seconds left. He made them both, and the lead was back to five. Kansas missed on the other end, and after one more trip to the foul line, it was over, and the Razorback pulled out a 79-72 win.

Arkansas advances to the Round of 32 on Saturday, where they will play the winner of #2 St. Johns and #15 Nebraska-Omaha.