Arkansas defense shredded in Sweet 16 blowout loss to Arizona
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Arkansas wasn’t in the Sweet 16 in the first place because of its defense, and that showed late Thursday night in San Jose. And because of its porous defense against top-seeded Arizona, the No. 4 seed Razorbacks were booted from the West Region in the Sweet 16 after a horrendous 109-88 loss.
The Hogs gave up 54 points in the first half and another 55 in the second half in a miserable defensive showing against the wrong team. It was the third time this season that John Calipari’s team had given up 100 or more points, and Darius Acuff Jr. and the equally high-octane Razorbacks just couldn’t keep up with the Wildcats.
Billy Richmond III was ejected after a controversial Flagrant 2 foul that was upgraded after a review, making matters worse for Arkansas, which finished this season at 28-9, 2 wins from the Final Four. Instead, it’ll be Arizona (35-2) heading to the Elite 8 on Saturday to face second-seeded Purdue in a 1-2 matchup in San Jose that’ll tip off at about 8:49 p.m. ET.
The numbers for Arkansas’ defense were hard to look at. Arizona shot an astounding 64% from the field and 63% from 3-point territory, though it only took 8 3-pointers. The Wildcats’ work from inside the arc was plenty good enough, with all 5 Arizona starters scoring in double figures and 6 Wildcats in total.
It was way too much for Calipari’s defensively challenged team to overcome, as Brayden Burries led the charge with 23 points, with Koa Peat adding 21. Arkansas did have 9 steals on the night, but that didn’t make a dent on things, as Arizona advanced to the Elite 8 for the first time in 11 years and the first time overall under Tommy Lloyd.
Yes, Acuff put up 28 points to lead the way for the Hogs, but he needed 19 shots to do it, going just 8 of 19 from the field. Acuff was just 1 of 5 from 3-point land, too, in a mediocre performance, for his standards at least, to end what was a phenomenal freshman season in Fayetteville.
Arkansas shot just 5 of 23 from 3-point territory, which wasn’t going to be nearly enough to make up for its defensive shortcomings against a team like Arizona. Meleek Thomas added 17 points, 4 rebounds and 4 steals for the Hogs, and Richmond had 13 points in 29 minutes before his night ended early on the controversial ejection.
Trevon Brazile was held to just 7 points and 6 rebounds, with the senior forward being such a huge part of Arkansas’ puzzle. But on a forgettable Thursday night in Northern California, the puzzle pieces didn’t fit — not even close — for Arkansas in a season-ending thud of a loss.
Arkansas’ Final Four dreams are all done after its forgettable defensive performance late Thursday night. But Arizona is still alive and well as it tries to get to Indianapolis, and here is what the Kalshi market currently thinks of the Wildcats’ chances:
Cory Nightingale, a former sportswriter and sports editor at the Miami Herald and Palm Beach Post, is a South Florida-based freelance writer who covers Alabama for SaturdayDownSouth.com.
