SAN FRANCISCO – Chris Lykes played 29 minutes in Arkansas’s 79-67 win over LSU in the SEC Tournament quarterfinals on March 11, logging 18 points, 3 steals, 2 assists and a rebound.

On Thursday night against No. 1 seed Gonzaga in the Sweet 16, he logged only 4 minutes of game action.

He didn’t attempt a shot. He didn’t record a rebound. He didn’t dish out any assists or nab any steals.

But, when his name was called in a clutch moment and coach Eric Musselman sent him out onto the floor with Arkansas clinging to a 68-65 lead with 15.8 seconds left, he was ready.

Lykes shook loose of his defender on a do-or-die inbounds play, receiving the pass and drawing a quick foul. For a guy who hadn’t attempted a shot all game, the pressure of the ensuing 1-and-1 free throws was immense. Add in the fact that, to that point, Arkansas was a disappointing 5-for-10 on free throws and Lykes had even more weight on his shoulders.

With the season on the line, Lykes calmly stepped to the charity stripe, took a deep breath and buried the first free throw to make it 69-65 Hogs. A 2-possession game.

For good measure, he tacked on the second free throw — 70-65, Arkansas.

The Razorbacks never looked back from those clutch free throws, holding on for a 74-68 victory to advance to the Elite 8 for the second year in a row.

Lykes’ contribution to the Arkansas victory might get lost in the box score, but his impact didn’t go unnoticed by his teammates.

Jaylin Williams, who had a huge 15-point, 12-rebound double-double, wasn’t surprised Lykes was able to make such a big impact in such little court time.

“Chris, he’s accepted his role,” Williams said. “He’s been a great player for us. … He’s been a great leader for this team. When he steps in at the end of the game, we’re all confident in him hitting those free throws. He just comes in, he’s a confident player and we’re just as confident as he is.”

Coming from Miami, where Lykes averaged 33.8 minutes per game during the 2018-19 season and 30.1 minutes in 2019-20, this diminished role is something he’s not used to. But, as Williams noted, it hasn’t impacted his ability to help the Hogs win.

Lykes is especially confident at the line, no matter the situation. He finished second in the SEC to only Alabama’s Keon Ellis in free-throw percentage this season, converting his freebies at an 87.1% clip.

That’s certainly a luxury for Eric Musselman to be able to deploy off the Arkansas bench in late-game situations when the other team has to foul.

So, with a game against Duke looming large on Saturday night in San Francisco, with a trip to the Final Four in the balance, what will Lykes’ role be? At this point, even he and Musselman might not know.

Lykes has played as many as 31 minutes in a game this year (twice) and as few as 1 minute (at Ole Miss on Jan. 26). In 2 games in the SEC Tournament, he played 29 minutes and 18 minutes. Through 3 games in the NCAA Tournament thus far, he’s played a grand total of 19 minutes.

Gonzaga was a matchup problem for Lykes, who stands a mere 5-7. The Bulldogs’ primary rotation players were all 6-3 and taller. Point guard Andrew Nembhard is 6-5.

Duke is a different story. Blue Devils PG Jeremy Roach is only 6-1. Does that bode well for Lykes getting more court time on Saturday night?

That’s a plan Musselman and Lykes will probably keep close to the vest until tipoff at 8:49 p.m. ET on TBS. After all, it throws a major wrench into Duke’s game prep if it doesn’t know whether Lykes will be on the floor for 5 minutes, 15 minutes or 30 minutes. Will he be a primary ball-handler? Will he just be a decoy? Will he be deployed as a driver, a facilitator or just a guy who comes in off the bench to make clutch free throws? Mike Krzyzewski and his staff will have to prepare for all of those scenarios.

One thing is for sure, though. When Musselman looks Lykes’ way on the bench, he’ll be ready to go. And, if he draws a foul, you might as well just put the 2 points up on the board for the Hogs.