Arkansas pulls in biggest crowd in Bud Walton Arena history vs. Duke

Wednesday night was a special night for the Arkansas basketball program. The Razorbacks beat No. 7 Duke 80-75 and made some history in the process.

The largest crowd in Bud Walton Arena history took in the game as 20,344 fans were on hand to watch Arkansas upset the Blue Devils.

Fans stormed the court following the win by the Razorbacks in the ACC-SEC Challenge after creating a great environment all night.

“Incredible home crowd tonight. I mean just an insane environment,” Arkansas head coach Eric Musselman said following the win. “Really cool to experience that, even as kind of an old guy.”

Arkansas shot nearly 50 percent from the field in the win and better than 40 percent from 3-point range. Khalif Battle led the way for the Razorbacks with 21 points, while Trevon Brazile pitched in with 19.

Musselman was quick to credit the Arkansas bench for playing well in the win. The Razorbacks finished with 39 bench points, compared to 6 for Duke.

“That was a big part of tonight’s win. Because when you’re down your leading scorer and your bench goes out and outscores an opponent like that, that’s that talented, with a full roster, it’s pretty clear that we do have some depth,” Musselman said.

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.”

Up next, the Razorbacks will host Furman on Monday. It likely won’t be an easy win as the Paladins went to the NCAA Tournament and won a game last season.

With that said, there are plenty of reasons for Arkansas to feel good after a big win on Wednesday.

“A lot of film. A lot of areas to get better,” Musselman said when asked what Arkansas will do before its next game. “We had some guys play some heavy minutes in a physical game, so probably get back after it Friday.”