Arkansas’ cushion from the NCAA Tournament bubble has disappeared yet again after Wednesday night’s 62-56 loss to No. 25 Texas A&M.
The Razorbacks led by as much as 12 points in the first half but, like many times this season already, they couldn’t keep their foot on the pedal and the Aggies came back to win. The turning point in the game came with 1.4 seconds left in the first half when Aggie guard Hayden Hefner was left open at the top of the key and drained a three at the buzzer. Instead of going into halftime up 33-21, Arkansas’ lead was just single digits, 33-24.
Texas A&M opened up the second half on a 14-4 run and were on fire from beyond the arc. The Razorbacks got cold on offense and things went south in a hurry. Arkansas went from the 7:07 mark to the 12-second mark without a single field goal.
The Aggies took the lead for the final time with 3:14 left on a layup to break a 53-all tie. [autotag]Devo Davis[/autotag] missed three straight free throws in Arkansas’ next two possessions and after his last one, [autotag]Jordan Walsh[/autotag] was whistled for his fifth foul and the game was over at that point.
Arkansas blew another chance at a signature win for their NCAA Tournament resume and there were some glaring issues with their performance in the second half that ultimately led to the loss. How the Razorback players and staff respond after this loss will be what defines this season.
Let’s go beyond the box to see what went wrong for the Razorbacks on Wednesday night.