Arkansas’ biggest problem all season long was its inability to close games. Coach Eric Musselman had made a point of remarking about it at several points throughout the year.
It nearly happened again Thursday night.
Nick Smith Jr.’s jumper with 16 seconds left proved the game-winner as Arkansas forced an Auburn turnover on the Tigers’ next possession and the Razorbacks held on, 76-73, in the second round of the SEC Tournament.
Arkansas advanced to the quartefinals to play Texas A&M on Friday night. The second-seeded Aggies and the No. 10-seeded Razorbacks split their regular-season series.
The win snapped a three-game losing streak for the Razorbacks, who will almost certainly become the fifth SEC team in the last 20 years to make the NCAA Tournament with a losing record in conference play.
Arkansas’ second-ranked recruiting class was the biggest reason.
Freshmen Smith, Anthony Black and Jordan Walsh – the three highest-rated recruits in the Class of 2022 on the team – combined for 44 points on 16 of 27 shooting. Black was especially good, leading the team with 19 points to go along with six rebounds and six assists.
The Razorbacks build a lead as large as 15 points in the second half thanks a night in which they shot 56[lawrence-auto-related count=1 category=130]% from the field. Auburn used a couple medium-sized runs to trim things back to within six points in the final eight minutes.
Little Rock native and Parkview graduate Allen Flanigan gave the Tigers their first lead since the game was 2-0 when his jumper went in with 41 seconds left. Smith hit his from mid-range on Arkansas’ ensuing possession.
Wendell Green had a clean look at a potential game-tying 3-pointer at the buzzer, but the ball clanged off the front iron.
Arkansas will play Texas A&M on Friday at 6 p.m.
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