No. 1 Auburn held Arkansas without a field goal the final 3:06 of the game on its way to a 67-60 win.
The Razorbacks took a 58-57 lead on a steal and basket by Johnell Davis with 3:06 remaining in the game. However, Auburn then outscored the Hogs 10-2 the remainder of the game to escape the upset bid by John Calipari's team.
"We've had some great games in this building, haven't we?," Calipari said. "I mean, we’re up with three minutes to go and they’re the No. 1 team in the country. We kind of quieted the crowd a little bit, but that’s why they’re the No. 1 team and that’s why we have the record we have, because we had that against Alabama, we had it against A&M, I can go on and on and on, and we don’t finish people off. That’s what makes them the No. 1 team in the country. They made the plays and they made their free throws."
Arkansas only shot 50% (7-14) from the free throw line while Auburn hit 76% (13-17). Auburn also won the rebounds 42-29. Zvonimir Ivisic, who has been hot from the field in recent games, was 0-10 from the field including missing all nine 3-point attempts.
"Wasn’t the missed shots," Calipari said. "Wasn’t the missed shots. It was that missed rebound that killed us. That’s why I’m saying you don’t have to make shots, but fight, come up with balls. Don’t give me an excuse. He out-worked you. That’s what we’ve had happen. The game-winning rebound, they seamed Alabama, got it and laid it in. Same thing just happened here. It’s the game-winning rebound. Let’s go. Now, I have enough faith in him that I kept running stuff for him and he was wide open. You all thought it was going in, I did too. There was only one person in the building that didn’t think it was going in: Him. The last one, on the step-back, he didn’t need to just throw an air ball. We had plenty of time. Go get a two. It’s a five-point game, a 3 doesn’t do that much for us. But that’s alright."
Ivisic did have eight rebounds and blocked three shots. Adou Thiero had 16 points as did Davis to lead the Razorbacks. Karter Knox and D.J. Wagner each added 11 points. Billy Richmond was the only other Razorback who scored finishing with eight points. Is the team being on the bubble for the NCAA Tournament causing any additional pressure?
"Yeah, I can’t sleep at night, I’ve got the shakes," Calipari said. "No. My focus is my team. I have a card I read everyday. I’ve been blessed my entire life. I’m going to have a great attitude. I’m going to use this experience to help these kids get better and stronger and me be a better coach. I’m going to keep an eye on them to make sure they’re not being overrun by this. I want to write our own story. I want us to write it. We have a chance. It is all in our hands. If you’re in a league with no level 1 wins, you’ve got nothing left. Whatever your record is, it is. You have no… We, in this league, what makes it hard is they’re all Quad 1 wins or losses. But that also gives you a… we had a chance today. The A&M game tied up. We had a lead with 3 minutes to go here. We’ve got a chance. We’ve got to finish it off now, and if you don’t finish it off or don’t take advantage, that’s on us. But it’s in our hands. It’s not going to be in the committee’s hands, it’s in our hands. You either do it or you don’t. I told them that.
"Finally after last game, because you know I didn’t want shaky hands, every game we play is an NCAA Tournament game now. I didn’t want to say that before Texas A&M because I thought they’d miss every shot. But I said it for this game and I’m saying it’s our NCAA… that is a Final Four game, because that’s what they are. That’s a Final Four game. The next game is probably an Elite Eight game. Alabama was probably a Final Four game. The other one was an Elite Eight game. Every game we play, it tells us, okay, what’s going to work and what won’t. But we defended, created turnovers, got our turnovers down, made some shots. But again, 3-for-19 from the three — do you win? How do you beat the No. 1 team when you shot 3-for-19 from the three? We had a chance to win. Did you hear what I just said? 3-for-19. What if we went 8-for-19? And I’m going to ask you, how many of those were wide open? A bunch of them. We’ve just got to make some shots."
Johni Broome topped Auburn with 16 points and 13 boards. Chad Baker-Mazara had 15 points and Chaney Johnson 14.
Arkansas (15-11, 4-9) will be at home Saturday night to host No. 15 Missouri. Auburn (24-2, 12-1) continues to roll trying for the top seed entering the SEC Tournament.