Playing the 16th seed in a 16-team tournament — as ninth-seeded Arkansas will do Wednesday against South Carolina in the opening game of the Southeastern Conference tourney in Nashville — seems like a good way to post an easy win.
Except it didn’t quite work that way for the Razorbacks (19-12) when they met the Gamecocks on March 1 in Columbia, S.C.: South Carolina 72, Arkansas 53.
And as the cliche says, it wasn’t really that close.
The Razorbacks shot a frigid 12 percent in the first half and went to the locker room trailing 32-14. It was the first time this century that they scored fewer than 15 points in a half. The Gamecocks led by as many as 35 points, 66-31 with 6:03 left.
Arkansas coach John Calipari vowed to burn the game tape afterwards. If that’s what he did, it was the right decision. The Razorbacks bounced back last week to win at Vanderbilt and edge Mississippi State, likely clinching an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament.
“Everybody put us in a coffin after 0-5,” Calipari said, referring to his team’s start to SEC play. “They just forgot the nails.”
Arkansas has been led lately by guards D.J. Wagner and Johnell Davis, both of whom are averaging 11.1 points per game. Wagner dropped a 24-point, five-assist performance on Mississippi State on Saturday. Adou Thiero is the team’s leading scorer at 15.6 points per game, with Boogie Fland at a 15.1 clip. Thiero is tops with 6.0 rebounds per game.
South Carolina (12-19) is coming off a 75-65 loss Saturday at then-No. 4 Tennessee. The game was tied 34-34 at the half. After losing their first 13 SEC games, the Gamecocks have played better down the stretch.
Coach Lamont Paris said his team must forget about the season’s record and look ahead to this game.
“You have to flush it, move forward,” he said.
Collin Murray-Boyles leads South Carolina with 16.7 points and 8.1 rebounds per game. He dominated the win against Arkansas, pumping in a career-high 35 points on just 16 shot attempts.
The winner advances to Thursday’s second round against No. 8 Ole Miss.
–Field Level Media
