All Hogs

Razorbacks Epitomize 'Survive and Advance' in Win Over South Carolina

Fortunately for Arkansas, style points don't matter in March, but the end result does

Curtis Wilkerson

Arkansas Razorbacks Trevon Brazile (4) and Jonas Aidoo (9) congratulate each other after their win against South Carolina in a first round game at the men’s SEC Tournament in Nashville, Tenn.
Arkansas Razorbacks Trevon Brazile (4) and Jonas Aidoo (9) congratulate each other after their win against South Carolina in a first round game at the men’s SEC Tournament in Nashville, Tenn. / Mark Zaleski / The Tennessean / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
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NASHVILLE, Tenn. — It would not be an Arkansas basketball game if it easy, right? The Razorbacks were the textbook definition of "Survive and Advance" in Wednesday afternoon's 72-68 win over South Carolina to open the SEC Tournament.

Arkansas looked primed to return the favor from a beating served up by the Gamecocks two Saturdays ago with a dazzling first-half effort on both ends of the floor that resulted in a 47-30 halftime advantage.

After getting up by as many as 20 points in the early portions of the second half, the wheels fell off for the Razorbacks as an 11-minute scoring drought allowed South Carolina to come roaring back and close the gap to 61-60 before holding on for dear life for the win at the end.

"At this point, you want to win games," said coach John Calipari. "I'll look at the tape and figure out. But I just thought we got tentative and was trying to get out of the gym. You can't play that way.

"We have a bunch of guys that compete and did what they had to to win the game, so I'm happy. Would you like to have it a big score? Yeah. But at this time of the year, everybody's fighting for their lives."

There were plenty of head-scratching moments to choose from, highlighted by the very end.

With a two-point lead and 2.5 seconds remaining, senior guard Johnell Davis stepped to the free-throw line and calmly sank the front end of a 1-and-1 before purposefully attempting to miss the second.

Fortunately for Arkansas, Davis banked the back end home to give the Razorbacks a two-possession lead and seal the victory, but the decision-making felt questionable at best in the moment.

"I've done that before," Calipari said. "You're up three, there's two seconds to go, miss it, by the time they get it, there's a second.

"Now, the other side of that is what if they throw one deep and bank it in? I've done it before. I do some unconventional stuff. He banked it in. I was, like, happy. I told him, I'm glad you banked it in."

At the end of the day, Arkansas won the basketball game, which is the ultimate goal whether it is ugly, pretty or anything in between.

Three of the last four wins for the Razorbacks have come in similar fashion with the team building up double-digit leads in the second half, squandering them, but finding a way to get across the finish line regardless.

As far as Calipari is concerned, he would rather the Hogs learn some lessons in film session after wins as opposed to the alternative.

"First of all, you got to say, Geez, you got up double figures on all those teams," he said. "What's happened is, it kind of tells you that we're still in the process of getting better. Did we win all those games?

"We figured out how to win 'em. Did we let people back in the game with a chance to beat us? Yes. All of 'em. Now it's that time of year where you're going to show some tape and just say, Was this necessary? Was this necessary? Let's not beat ourselves."

Arkansas will return to action for Thursday's quarterfinal round of the SEC Tournament against 8-seed Ole Miss. Tipoff from Bridgestone Arena is set for noon.

HOGS FEED:

• Pittman impressed by massive lineman's athleticism, maturity

• Arkansas avenges South Carolina loss with better start in SEC Tournament

• SEC Tournament starts with snafu before tip for Razorbacks

• Hogs will receive visit from Top 5 transfer

• Familiar faces homer for Hogs' in win over Central Arkansas

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Curtis Wilkerson
CURTIS WILKERSON

Curtis is in his fifth year on the beat covering Arkansas basketball, football, baseball and recruiting. Prior to his time in Fayetteville, he spent eight years coaching basketball at the small-college level in Illinois and spent two years contributing as a scout and recruiting analyst with Prep Hoops. He holds a bachelor's degree in Athletic Training and a master's in Administration.

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