Arkansas upsets No. 15 Missouri to keep NCAA Tournament hopes alive

Arkansas earned a statement victory Saturday against No. 15 Missouri to keep its March Madness hopes alive. The Razorbacks were in control down the stretch all the way in an eventual 92-85 win.

Arkansas entered the second half down seven points but would quickly claw its way back. A pair of free throws from Johnell Davis at the 15:33 mark saw them take their first lead.

From there, the Razorbacks took control and would go on to lead by as many as nine points in the eventual win. All five starters scored in double figures, led by Zvonimir Ivisic with 20 points, two blocks and two steals.

The victory for Arkansas keeps its hopes of making the NCAA Tournament alive. The Razorbacks now improve to 16-11 (5-9 SEC) with four more games remaining in the regular season.

Ivisic and Davis made back-to-back 3-pointers during a second-half run that saw the Razorbacks (16-11, 5-9 SEC) turn a three-point deficit into a seven-point lead with less than eight minutes to play.

Missouri (20-7, 9-5) committed 18 turnovers and Arkansas took advantage, scoring 30 points off them. The easy layups off several giveaways contributed to the Razorbacks shooting 55% from the field.

Arkansas sits in a decent position to earn a few more wins down the stretch as three of its four remaining games come agaisnt currently unranked opponents. It will need to win at least two, if not three, of those to give itself a realistic shot heading into the SEC Tournament.

Next up for Arkansas is a matchup against Texas at 8 p.m. CT on Wednesday.

Dick Vitale rips Arkansas, SEC teams with losing conference records participating in March Madness

With three weeks to go until Selection Sunday, the SEC appears in line to get the most bids of any conference. ESPN’s latest Bracketology Friday showed 12 teams from the league getting into March Madness.

That number includes Arkansas making the field despite a 4-9 record in conference play entering Saturday. To Dick Vitale, teams below .500 shouldn’t be in the bracket.

Vitale cited the need to avoid recognizing “mediocrity at best” when putting the tournament field together. He also pointed out what it means for mid- or low-major teams that had strong years, but would miss the cut for others in Power Conferences that didn’t get to .500.

“You mentioned the fact about Arkansas,” Vitale said in the first half of Alabama vs. Kentucky. “I love John Calipari – he’s a close friend. He’s done a great job, where I thought at Kentucky, he did a tremendous job. Fifteen years, sometimes you wear yourself out a little bit and a change had to be made. However, being in the tournament right now – 4-9 in conference – you’d better start getting some wins [in] conference. You’d better get at least mediocre.

“I don’t care how tough the conference is. The tournament’s not to recognize mediocrity at best. I mean, come on. It’s about, you’re gonna … [put] teams in over teams [that are] 24-2. I mean, come on.”