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Arkansas outlasts Illinois for NCAA Tournament win, sets up showdown with Kansas
By Andrew Olson
Published:
No. 8 seed Arkansas is moving on to the Round of 32. The Razorbacks outlasted No. 9 seed Illinois for a 73-63 win in the NCAA Tournament’s first round.
Ricky Council IV led the way for the Hogs. Playing a team-high 39 minutes, Council had 18 points. He made 3-of-9 field goals, including 1-of-3 from 3-point territory. Council did most of his scoring at the free-throw line, going 11-of-12. He made it a double-double with a team-high 10 rebounds.
Council’s big game puts him in an exclusive club among Razorbacks in the NCAA Tournament.
Ricky Council IV becomes the 4th player in @RazorbackMBB history to get 18+ points, 10+ rebounds, 1+ block and 1+ steal in an #NCAATournament game, joining Corliss Williamson (2x), Scott Hastings and Justin Smith.
— HogStats.com (@HogStats) March 16, 2023
Davonte Davis led Arkansas in field goals, with 7-of-14 shooting from the floor, including 2-of-4 from 3-point range, for 16 points. Davis also had a team-high 4 steals in the game.
Eric Musselman’s squad will now face No. 1 seed Kansas on Saturday.
Andrew writes about sports to fund his love of live music and collection of concert posters. He strongly endorses the Hall of Fame campaigns of Fred Taylor and Andruw Jones.