WATCH: Arkansas cheerleaders retrieve basketball after it gets stuck
For the second time in the 2022 NCAA Tournament, a group of cheerleaders have saved the day, retrieving a ball that got stuck atop the backboard — and this time, it was the Arkansas Razorbacks cheerleaders that offered a helping hand.
In Saturday night’s Elite Eight matchup between the No. 4-ranked Arkansas Razorbacks and the No. 2-ranked Duke Blue Devils, the ball got stuck above the backboard and was out of the reach of any player. Even with a broomstick, it seemed unlikely that they’d be able to get the ball down. But some quick-thinking Arkansas Razorbacks cheerleaders, perhaps taking after the heroics of Indiana’s cheerleaders a mere week and a half ago, quickly got in formation, hoisted a cheerleader up and got the ball down.
Much like the Indiana game, though, Arkansas currently doesn’t have much else to cheer for. Though the Razorbacks have mounted a second-half comeback, and have currently outscored the Duke Blue Devils 15-8 in the second half, Eric Musselman’s team trails Duke 53-48. The Blue Devils have been near-impossible to stop on the offensive side so far, and the Razorbacks will need some late-game heroics to give the cheerleaders more to cheer for.
WATCH: Indiana cheerleaders save the day, dislodge ball atop backboard
In an otherwise sloppy game for the Hoosiers, an Indiana cheerleader stole the show on Thursday night after the ball got stuck atop the basket.
Indiana, which was trailing by a large margin for the majority of the contest, had one moment to cheer for early on in the second half, when the No. 12-seeded Hoosiers — fresh off a win in a First Four play-in game against Wyoming — trailed 45-29. Indiana took the ball up the court, and guard Xavier Johnson quickly threw the ball to Trayce Jackson-Davis near the basket, but the hard pass deflected off Jackson-Davis’ hands and went over the basket. In the process, the ball got lodged atop the backboard.
Players, coaches and referees alike were unsure what to do or how to proceed — they brought out broomsticks, chairs and other random courtside items to try reaching the ball, but it appeared clearly out of reach. Then, the Indiana cheer team came to the rescue, launching one of the cheerleaders into the air who quickly took down the ball.
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After the Indiana cheerleaders helped get the ball down from the backboard, they were met with a standing ovation from the crowd, the only such reaction Hoosiers fans had in the second half. Later in the broadcast, the TBS crew even caught up with her on the sidelines to discuss her viral moment.
“We were like, ‘maybe we should throw us up there,’ but then it actually happened. I didn’t think it was going to happen,” she said with laughter.
The other Indiana cheerleader — the one that hoisted her in the air — was equally as shocked that their services were needed.
“They had the chair out there, but they couldn’t put the player on the chair. I was like, ‘Well, we lift them up all the time, so why don’t we just try that?’” he said.