Arkansas fans storm court after upset victory over Duke

It was quite the scene at Bud Walton Arena Wednesday night as unranked Arkansas took on No. 7 Duke in the ACC-SEC Challenge. The fans in Fayetteville didn’t make things easy on the Blue Devils throughout the game, and the Razorbacks led by as many as 14 points.

When the final buzzer sounded on the 80-75 victory, the PA announcer told fans to “please stay off the court.” They didn’t listen.

It was a sea of white shirts at center court as fans celebrated the win — Eric Musselman’s 100th as Arkansas head coach.

There they go.

“Ladies and gentlemen, please stay off the court.”

😂😂😂 pic.twitter.com/vwdjBkTGga

— Matt Norlander (@MattNorlander) November 30, 2023

It was a one-point game at halftime, but Arkansas found another gear to take a commanding lead with 6:32 to play. However, with Duke, it’s hard to hit cruise control. The Blue Devils battled back and made things really interesting down the stretch.

Ultimately, the Razorbacks held on. But Musselman said there’s plenty of work to do, especially when it comes to handling pressure.

“We didn’t take care of the ball,” Musselman told ESPN’s Kris Budden amid the celebration. “We’re going to work on some press breaks, I promise that. Really proud of our team without T-Mark, one of our leaders, against a great Duke team. What a great home win.”

Bud Walton Arena was absolutely rocking all night as a record crowd was on hand for the game. The Arkansas fans in attendance made things difficult for Duke, especially when Jon Scheyer tried to do his halftime interview. The Blue Devils struggled mightily on offense, shooting just 35.8% from the field and 27.3% from three-point distance.

Musselman gave all the credit to the Arkansas defense for sticking to the plan, specifically when it came to guarding Kyle Filipowski instead of Mark Mitchell. While the offense did its job — 49.1% shooting, including 40.9% from three-point distance will work — he was more proud of the defense.

“We really followed the game plan,” Musselman said. “We weren’t going to guard Mitchell and ended up having to take on one of their most active offensive rebounders. Really proud of the execution of the game plan, defensively, more than any other part of the game.”

It’s sure to be a long Wednesday night in Fayetteville as fans celebrate, especially considering things got kind of dicey down the stretch. For Musselman, the milestone victory and ensuing celebration makes it one of the most memorable nights of his tenure.

That said, it’ll soon be time to get back to work.

“Words can’t describe the feeling right now,” Musselman said. “It’s a great win. Now, we’ve got to get back and get ready for Monday.”