Razorbacks ride Brazile's big second half against Texas Tech

No. 17 Arkansas had fair warning about the potency of the inside-outside combo of No. 16 Texas Tech's Christian Anderson and JT Toppin.

Arkansas projected plenty of confidence on their ability to slow down the Red Raiders' dynamic duo Saturday at American Airlines Arena in downtown Dallas.

While those two combined for 56 of Texas Tech's 86 points, it was Arkansas' own guard-big combo that closed the game in a 93-86 win.

"I'm really proud of the guys," coach John Calipari said. "I want you to know and I may be wrong in how I do this, but I'm really, my job is to get individual players to play better. That's a name on the back."

The Razorbacks got a little payback against the Red Raiders after Texas Tech ended Arkansas' season in the Sweet 16 with a massive comeback. It was Arkansas' turn to overcome a double-digit hole in the first half.

"This was 100% a personal game," center Trevon Brazile said. "Especially for the returners. I know we had this one circled, so it just feels good to get the dub. And you just seen all the emotions come out from the team at the end a little bit more."

Arkansas' Darius Acuff Jr. and Brazile scored 19 straight points in the second half as the Hogs turned a six-point second half deficit into its third straight win that now includes two Top 20 wins after defeating Louisville.

"They're more connected," Calipari said about the team. "And each week that goes by, we seem to be more connected, and we can do things out of time outs. We can do things late in the game that we've worked on."

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For all of Calipari's recruiting prowess and his ability to bring in talked young players, his most important x-factor piece in his second year of his tenure at Arkansas is someone he had nothing to do in bringing him to Arkansas.

Brazile is in his fourth season at Arkansas and scored 18 of his 24 points in the second half and finished with a double-double (10 rebounds). Brazile was just one off his career-high of 25 set earlier this season against Southern and he has now scored 20+ points in each of Arkansas' last two marquee games.

On the defensive end, Brazile also picked up two blocks and began to double Toppin inside to slow him down.

"I'm just doing what I know I have to do to help my team win," Brazile said. "Down the stretch, nobody's trying to break down, especially defensively. So I was just trying to be solid defensively, and it worked out in my favor."

Two other Hogs scored 20 points, Darius Acuff Jr. and Karter Knox. Knox has now scored 20 points in three games in his career, twice against Texas Tech. Acuff also had eight assists.

For all of Toppin's dominance inside, his struggles at the free throw line proved to be a critical part of the game. He came into the game under 50% from the charity stripe and went just 2-for-7. The team shot just 3-for-10 from the line.

As a team, Arkansas got to the free throw line 26 times compared to just Texas Tech's 10.

Arkansas also held their own on the glass and overcame Toppin's presence inside (11 rebounds). The Razorbacks outrebounded the Red Raiders 40-33, including 16-14 on the offensive class. The Razorbacks also turned the ball over just seven times.

The Razorbacks now return to Bud Walton Arena to take on Queens. Tipoff is scheduled for 8 p.m. Tuesday and will be broadcast on SEC Network.

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