Razorbacks Manage to Pull Things Out at End Against Mississippi State

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Everything was looking great for Arkansas against No. 25 Mississippi State on Saturday afternoon at Bud Walton Arena.

Until, shockingly, it wasn’t in the regular season finale.

It took a three-pointer from DJ Wagner (24 points), a free throw from Jonas Aidoo and a defensive block by Billy Richmond III to nail down a nail-biting 93-92 win that could have nailed down an NCAA spot.

Wagner’s step-back three-pointer with 44.4 seconds left gave the Hogs a 92-89 lead, then Josh Hubbard nailed a three-pointer from the top of the key to continue the blood pressure level in a packed house.

“We just have to keep playing the way we’ve been playing,” Wagner said.

That wasn’t much near the end. Trevon Brazile blew a lay-up, then Aidoo drew a foul on an offensive rebound with 11 seconds left. He made one of two, the Bulldogs missed a pair of shots at the buzzer and the Razorbacks managed to pull out the win.

Just when things were looking like Arkansas coach John Calipari and his staff figured out what his players can do with a familiar pattern to win games in February and March, things took a turn.

There will be plenty of talk about the Hogs locking down a spot in the NCAA Tournament, even with an 8-10 league record and a 19-12 overall regular-season record. This was a win over a ranked team the Hogs needed.

With guys like Aidoo finally getting back to full speed (21 points, 10 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 blocks), Richmond figuring out how to play SEC-level basketball (10 points, 6 assists) and Trevon Brazile (11 points, 11 rebounds) just playing up to expectations, this is what Razorback fans expected when Calipari came on board in April.

With a completely new team built literally from zero scholarship players, it took a while to learn everybody’s names. Then the injuries that have lasted all season long.

First, it was star point guard Boogie Fland. He was lost for the season in January with hand surgery and in an embarrassing loss to South Carolina, forward Adou Thiero was lost.

For whatever reason, they are playing like the third horse trying to get on Noah’s Ark after it started raining. Even with Mississippi State cutting a double-digit lead to 81-72 with six minutes to play, there wasn’t panic.

When the lead was cut to seven, 83-76, with 4:45 to play. Calipari took a timeout. Claudell Harris hit a three-pointer to make it a four-point game

The Hogs finally starting looking like a team expecting to win instead of playing to minimize a loss.

The Razorbacks sprinted to a 10-0 start to the second half, opening an 11-point lead and were figuring out ways to keep it in the second half.

Through a first half where the Razorbacks ended up with a 45-44 lead, neither team could get more than a six-point lead (the Bulldogs at 13:12) and the Hogs’ 8-0 run was the biggest by either team.

During the SEC Network broadcast, ESPN’s Joe Lunardi gave Arkansas a better than 50 percent chance of making the NCAA Tournament with a win. That is even with a No. 11 seed.

Considering the injuries and this team starting 0-5 in SEC play, that’s an accomplishment.

The seven-man rotation of Johnell Davis, DJ Wagner, Zvonimir Ivisic, Aidoo, Brazile, Karter Knox and Richmond did all the work.

They made it work and Calipari’s probably not dealing with anybody griping about lack of minutes.

Mississippi State suffered through three-minutes late in the first half with no points while the Razorbacks built a four-point lead, 35-31. Tied with 1:50 left in the first half at 39-39. Then Aidoo got a gift dunk underneath to take the lead back.

The Hogs probably could have had a more comfortable halftime lead except Knox threw up a brick with 3:35 left and the Bulldogs’ Claudell Harris, Jr., nailed a three-pointer. Wagner hit a pair of free throws with 5.3 left for a 45-44 lead at halftime as Hubbard’s long shot at the end bounced away.