![]() The Razorbacks (22-14) never led as the Huskies took a 46-29 halftime lead on two free throws by Hawkins with 28 seconds left in the half. Junior forward Andre Jackson had 7 points, 8 rebounds and 7 assists.Ĭouncil scored 17 points and freshman guard Nick Smith added 11 points for Arkansas. It's a really good team."Ĭonnecticut sophomore forward Alex Karaban had 11 points, 7 rebounds and 2 steals. "Guys off the bench contributed for them. "I know we caused 17 turnovers, but they got inside game, two great centers. "We tried to cause turnovers and rush the quarterback, but 22 assists is a lot of assists. "To me, the most impressive thing is that they had 22 assists," Musselman said. He moves without the ball really well."Ĭonnecticut shot 57.4% (31 of 54) from the field, hit 17 of 21 free throws and had 22 assists. "Hawkins is as good of a shooter as we've played all year," Musselman said. He hit 6 of 13 shots, including 3 of 9 three-pointers, and was 9 of 9 on free throws. Musselman said the Razorbacks came into the game believing they had to hold the Huskies to five or fewer three-point baskets. The Razorbacks pulled within 62-43 on junior guard Ricky Council's jump shot with 13:22 left.Ĭonnecticut then removed all doubt about the outcome with back-to-back three-pointers by Alleyene and Hawkins for a 71-46 lead with 11:43 left. ![]() Senior guard Nahiem Alleyne and sophomore guard Jordan Hawkins hit three-pointers and Hawkins hit three free throws after being fouled by Black to push Connecticut's lead to 59-33 with 16:10 left. "That's what happened - we didn't execute on the defensive end, even though we tried." "We just didn't do it the correct way every time in the game. "When we went over how they make their threes, we guarded it right in practice," Davis said. The Huskies have two dominant post players in 6-9 junior Adama Sanogo, who had 18 points and eight rebounds against Arkansas, and 7-2 freshman Donovan Clingan, who had five points and five rebounds.Īrkansas junior guard Davonte Davis said the Razorbacks stressed guarding the three-point line in their preparation for Connecticut. And honestly, I thought we probably could have made one or two more." But when you have dominant centers, it creates pretty good looks at three. "They've got such great length on the perimeter. "We make threes a lot, but it's hard to get threes against Arkansas because they do such a great job," Connecticut Coach Dan Hurley said the Razorbacks holding opponents to 30.6% three-point shooting come into the game. The Huskies (28-8) have hit 30 of 67 three-pointers in their three NCAA Tournament games.īefore lighting up the Razorbacks, Connecticut hit 11 of 25 three-pointers in an 87-63 victory over Iona and 10 of 22 in a 70-55 victory over Saint Mary's.Ĭoming into Thursday's night game, the Huskies were shooting 36.2% on three-pointers for the season. And uncharacteristically we did not defend at the level that we have for most of the year." "They did a great job rebounding the ball for the entire 40 minutes. They crashed the offensive boards, especially early in the game. "I thought from the opening tip they came out with a great sense of urgency. "I think our whole team - I'm speaking for all the players and coaches - give UConn a ton of credit," Arkansas Coach Eric Musselman said. Their previous most-lopsided loss was by 18 points at Tennessee 75-57. The 23-point losing margin was the largest for the Razorbacks (22-14) this season. "They just got momentum and started feeling good and making shots." "We just didn't do a good job of stopping the bleeding. "I think the threes came in bunches," said freshman guard Anthony Black, who led the Razorbacks with 20 points. 8, were denied a third consecutive Elite Eight appearance after they advanced the previous two seasons as a No. 4 seed, advanced to the Elite Eight for the 12th time, and first time since 2014, when the Huskies won their most recent of four national championships. It was the timing of Connecticut's three-pointers, more than just the volume, that did in the Razorbacks.Īll of the Huskies' made three-pointers were in the game's first 29 minutes and helped them build a 29-point lead.Ĭonnecticut, a No. The Huskies hit 9 of 20 three-pointers and beat the Razorbacks 88-65 in the West Region semifinals at T-Mobile Arena to end Arkansas' season. LAS VEGAS - Connecticut buried the University of Arkansas basketball team under a three-point barrage Thursday night in an NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 matchup.
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