Arkansas’ shirtless, sweaty Sweet 16 run survived on razor-thin margins of March Madness

DES MOINES — It’s straightforward sufficient for a cynic to imagine the celebration was premeditated, and perhaps it was. When the ultimate buzzer sounded and No. 8 seed Arkansas had executed the unthinkable — knocking off the No. 1 seed Kansas Jayhawks within the spherical of 32 of the 2023 males’s NCAA event — Razorbacks head coach Eric Musselman knew precisely the place he was going.

Musselman discovered his household seated within the entrance row of the world, jumped on the media desk, and ripped off his purple polo shirt. The coach led the Razorback trustworthy on a delirious rendition of the college’s “Woo Pig Sooie” chant, however he couldn’t make it via with out breaking character. Musselman locked eyes along with his spouse Danyelle and his daughter Mariah halfway via the custom, and began laughing — seemingly acknowledging how ridiculous it was for a 58-year-old man to be standing on a desk shirtless hooting and hollering in the midst of Iowa.

The defending nationwide champions had been out of the event within the first weekend, and Arkansas was going to Las Vegas to proceed the dance.

A Candy 16 run wasn’t presupposed to be so stunning for this explicit Arkansas staff. Musselman had led the Razorbacks to the Elite Eight every of the final two years, and had essentially the most gifted staff of his faculty teaching profession this season. Arkansas began the yr within the top-10 of the preseason polls, buoyed by the nation’s No. 2 recruiting class. There’s not less than 4 NBA gamers on this roster, and perhaps greater than that. However simply because a staff can recruit a number of five-stars and land high-impact transfers within the portal doesn’t imply the season goes to be straightforward. This Razorbacks’ marketing campaign has been something however, and the sport towards Kansas was a very good distillation of that.

It didn’t really feel like Arkansas was the higher staff on Saturday. The Hogs shot 3-of-15 from three-point vary on the night time. They’d three gamers foul out. They needed to climb out of a 12-point second half deficit. Kansas led or was tied for all however 1:47 of recreation time.

If Kansas makes just a few extra free throws, if Kansas grabs one or two extra free balls, if the referees make or don’t make one or two extra calls both approach, it’s a special recreation. In fact, simply getting the sport to coin flip standing towards a program like Kansas is an accomplishment in itself.

“This can be a staff that’s nonetheless rising,” Musselman mentioned after a good first spherical win towards Illinois. “There was different groups which have plateaued. Perhaps a few our groups at Nevada we had been previous, veteran guys, and perhaps sooner or later we had been simply attempting to avoid wasting legs. However this can be a staff that’s of steady enchancment.”

Two days after Arkansas misplaced to Coach Okay’s final ever Duke staff within the Elite Eight final season, Musselman tweeted a photograph of himself in entrance of three McDonald’s hamburgers with the hashtag “let’s eat.” One of many 10 highest paid coaches within the nation was not hungry for quick meals — as a substitute, he simply landed his third McDonald’s All-American within the class of 2022.

Arkansas already had commitments from five-star recruits Nick Smith Jr. and Jordan Walsh. The third ‘burger boy’ to hitch on was Anthony Black, a 6’7 guard out of Dallas with immense defensive versatility, a powerful really feel for the sport, and a successful pedigree popping out of Duncanville Excessive in Dallas. The Razorbacks would want to interchange virtually their whole rotation from the earlier yr, however grabbing three McDonald’s All-People is an efficient technique to begin. Including two terrific transfers with Missouri’s Trevon Brazile and Wichita State’s Ricky Council IV helped, too.

Sadly for Arkansas, the adversity hit virtually instantly. Smith — thought-about the highest NBA prospect in faculty basketball coming into the yr — suffered a proper knee damage in preseason and was sidelined indefinitely at one level. Brazile tore his ACL in December, taking away the staff’s most gifted massive man for the season. Arkansas misplaced 5 of six to open SEC play, and by no means actually recovered. They completed convention play with a shedding file at 8-10, and positioned No. 10 within the 14-team league on the finish of the yr.

Nonetheless, the SEC was ok, and Arkansas’ non-conference slate was spectacular sufficient, to get the Razorbacks into the event with a No. 8 seed.

A staff with as a lot expertise on-paper as Arkansas ought to profile as an offensive powerhouse. As an alternative, the one purpose Arkansas remains to be dancing — the one purpose it made the event within the first place — is due to its protection. It’s uncommon for five-star freshmen to carry extra on the defensive finish than the offensive finish, however that’s actually the case for Black and Walsh. Whereas their field rating numbers had been modest within the win over the Jayhawks, their contributions had been immense.

Walsh took on one of many hardest assignments within the nation in First-Crew All-American Jalen Wilson. Wilson carried the Jayhawks offense early on Saturday, not less than till Walsh checked in. The freshmen’s protection was so spectacular that Wilson might solely muster area aim makes an attempt for the primary quarter-hour of the second half. Walsh blanketed probably the greatest scorers within the nation along with his size (7’2 wingspan), his quickness, and his self-discipline — even when he nonetheless fouled out by the top.

Black, in the meantime, took on a fellow McDonald’s All-American freshman and future lottery decide in Gradey Dick. Dick is likely one of the finest three-point marksmen within the nation at 6’8, and his means to bend the protection along with his capturing gravity by working round screens makes him an especially powerful cowl. Black largely shut him down, at one level within the second half combating excessive of a display and getting a clear block on a Dick three-point try. What number of different gamers within the nation might have swatted that shot?

“It means a lot simply to get one cease on him,” Walsh mentioned after the sport on guarding Wilson. “To the staff it’s greater than only a cease. When you’re sacrificing your self to cease him from scoring, even when you’re not scoring on the opposite finish, it reveals you’re sacrificing to your staff and affecting successful.”

Whereas the freshmen fueled so most of the headlines for this Arkansas staff, it was a pair veterans who carried the scoring load. Davonte Davis, the lone holdover from final yr’s rotation, scored 25 factors on 9-of-15 capturing with slippery drives into the paint. Council had 21 factors regardless of making simply 5-of-18 photographs from the sector. He’s such a robust driver that Kansas needed to play off him to keep away from letting him waltz to the rim. After they dropped, Council popped jumpers from mid-range, together with a pair massive ones in crunch time. His offensive rebound off his personal missed free throw with underneath 30 seconds left was the most important play of the sport.

“We’re celebrating again there as a result of we have now such unbelievable respect for Kansas, defending champions, MVP of their league in No. 10, Jalen Wilson,” Musselman mentioned after the sport. “They’re a tough, arduous, arduous staff to arrange for.”

The catharsis Musselman confirmed standing on the media desk solely comes via surviving the razor skinny margins of March Insanity. On Saturday, he was fortunate sufficient to be on the appropriate aspect of destiny. The least he might do was let America see his naked chest.