Myles Stute blocked Stanley Umude’s potential go-ahead lay-up with two seconds left and JD Notae’s last-ditch 3-pointer rimmed off as Vanderbilt escaped Bud Walton Arena with a 75-74 win over Arkansas on Tuesday night.
Umude had his best game in an Arkansas uniform, scoring 28 points on 11 of 20 shooting. As he drove down the left side with seconds remaining, he had a clean look until Stute, Vanderbilt’s center, slid over to help and blocked the ball out of bounds.
The ensuing inbounds pass came from the corner and Notae had a contested look from the wing just before the buzzer sounded.
Only five Razorbacks players joined him in scoring as coach Eric Musselman tightened his rotations against the Commodores.
Notae returned from illness after missing the team’s SEC opener against Mississippi State last week and had 16 points in 37 minutes. Au’Diese Toney (20 points), Jaylin Williams (six points) and Jaxson Robinson (three points) joined him cracking 30-plus minutes. The Arkansas player with the next most minutes was Chris Lykes, who made a single free throw in 10 minutes.
Arkansas loss starts the team 0-2 in league play. It’s the first time the Razorbacks have started the SEC with losses in their first two games since 2013-14.
Scottie Pippen Jr. led Vanderbilt with 22 points.