Anthony Black shares how Arkansas blew 10-point lead over Missouri

With Arkansas having lost four of five coming into Wednesday night, being on the other side of the only team they’d beaten in that stretch was a positive. Being up 10 on Missouri with under eight to go gave the Razorbacks a sense that they were finally about to get back on track. Instead, a flurry from the Tigers sent the Hogs home with a 79-76 loss, which is their fourth straight and fifth in their last six games.

Since he was out on the floor during that stretch, freshman point guard Anthony Black explained what happened after the game. He said he and his teammates got away from what was working for them. In doing so, they let the momentum shift back to Missouri in front of their home crowd.

“We got up by getting stops and then, offense, I thought we were playing with a lot of confidence. Just getting stops and being smart with the ball,” said Black. “And then, down the stretch, we fouled a lot, we gave up a lot of threes. A couple big threes. The momentum shifted. And we turned the ball over.”

A jumper from freshman Jordan Walsh gave Arkansas a 10-point lead with 7:02 left on the game clock. For a second, Arkansas saw the light at the end of the tunnel. Over the final seven minutes, though, they would be outscored 27-13 by the Tigers. That included the 15-5 run that tied it at 67. It also featured several trips to the free throw line for Mizzou with the game still within reach in the final minute.

In the end, Black showed a high level of maturity by taking responsibility for the collapse. He says that, as the point guard, he’s responsible for getting his team over the line in that situation. Considering what happened, he placed the weight of the fallout in the final minutes on his own shoulders.

“A lot of that’s on me,” Black said. “As the point guard and game manager? With three minutes and (we’re) up 10? You’re supposed to win the game. So I take the responsibility for what happened down the stretch.”

Arkansas has put themselves in a hole now with a 1-5 start to SEC play. If they want to get back into the race, they’ll have to figure it out on the fly as Black and his teammates will return to the floor again on Saturday against Ole Miss when the bottom two teams in the league will square off.