Arkansas basketball eliminated from NCAA Tournament in Sweet 16 loss to UConn as offense sputters

Maxwell Donaldson, Fort Smith Times Record
·2 min read
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Arkansas basketball was eliminated from the NCAA Tournament with an 88-65 loss to UConn in the Sweet 16 on Thursday.

The game started back and forth but UConn (28-8) went on a 14-0 run to extend its lead to 17 points with 6:53 left in the first half. Both teams entered the second half struggling from the field, Arkansas (22-14) going one of their last nine while UConn went scoreless over the last 3:54 but led by 17 points.

West Region No. 8 seed Arkansas kept the deficit within 20 until a 9-0 run by No. 4 seed UConn pushed it to almost 30 points in the middle of the second half. Arkansas went on a 10-0 run but was unable to make a sizeable cut into the deficit.

The Razorbacks were attempting to make their third straight Elite Eight under Eric Musselman.

Offensive sparks fly early

UConn held a 25-17 lead with 10 minutes to go in the first half, which was unexpected with two teams allowing around 65 points a game. The Razorbacks shot 6 of 15 from the field while UConn shot 11 of 17 from the field. The Huskies added four offensive rebounds and seven second-chance points.

UConn went on a 14-0 run over four minutes, while Arkansas shot 0 of 4 from the field.

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Razorbacks struggle down low

Arkansas registered its 10th rebound off the game in the second half. In the first half, it finished with nine total and only four on the defensive glass, UConn had seven offensive rebounds. In the paint, UConn had 24 points compared to Arkansas's 12 points in the first half.

For the game, UConn outrebounded the Razorbacks 43-31 and outscored them 42-24 in the paint.

Season low shooting day

Heading into the game Thursday, Arkansas's lowest field goal percentage of the season was 33.3% versus UNC Greensboro. For most of Thursday's game, the Razorbacks shot under 30% from the field, including under 20% in the half through the first six minutes of the second half. For the game, the Razorbacks shot 31.7% from the field, the lowest since last year versus New Mexico State.

A bright spot was that Arkansas shot 5 of 11 from 3-point range before missing its last five.

This article originally appeared on Fort Smith Times Record: Arkansas basketball eliminated from NCAA Tournament in Sweet 16