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Arkansas made 11 of its 13 free throw attempts over the final 62 seconds of Wednesday night’s game at Texas to hold off the Longhorns and win a second consecutive SEC game on the road.
Johnell Davis scored 24 points, Adou Theiro added 14, and DJ Wagner contributed 13 as the Razorbacks (14-8, 3-6 SEC) beat the Longhorns (15-8, 4-6) in Austin 78-70. The win gave Arkansas its third in 4 games after opening conference play 0-5.
Since losing Boogie Fland to a season-ending injury on Jan. 18, Davis has taken his game to a different level. Over his last 3 appearances, all of them in a ball-dominant role, the former FAU scorer has produced 60 points on 45 shots while adding 10 steals, 13 rebounds, and 8 assists. He was crucial in the 89-79 win over Kentucky last Saturday and was so once again on Wednesday night.
Davis scored 16 of his 24 points in the second half. He hit 2 triples and knocked down a pair of free throws in the first 4 minutes of the half as Arkansas extended what was an 11-point halftime lead to 21.
The Razorbacks led by as many as 23 points in the second half before Texas worked its way back into the game.
Arkansas outshot Texas from the field (44% to 34%), outshot Texas from the 3-point line (41% to 27%), and committed fewer turnovers (9 to 11). Texas held an advantage in rebounds (41-36) and paint points (30-26), but the Hogs played excellent second-chance defense and limited Texas to just 8 points on 13 offensive rebounds.
“We kind of, from the beginning of the game, just went after them a little bit. And after they settled in, it was anybody’s game,” Calipari said after the game. “Now, I did tell my team after, that wasn’t one of my best performances down the stretch. But I told them I was just trying to get out of the gym, I wasn’t trying to be fancy. Let’s just get out of the gym.”
The Razorbacks have a massive opportunity to build upon a suddenly fledgling NCAA Tournament case in the coming weeks. Four of their next 5 games are against ranked opponents. Arkansas hosts No. 3 Alabama on Saturday at 8:30 p.m. ET on ESPN.
Derek Peterson does a bit of everything, not unlike Taysom Hill. He has covered Oklahoma, Nebraska, the Pac-12, and now delivers CFB-wide content.
