FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – A wounded Arkansas team, suffering three losses in four games while missing arguably its best player, had something perfectly timed on its schedule.
It’s the best opportunity of this young season to turn things around.
And over the course of just over two hours, Bud Walton Arena witnessed just how powerful and enchanting college basketball can be.
Against No. 7 Duke on Wednesday night, the Razorbacks held on to win 4-3, earning one of their most memorable home wins ever in front of a record-breaking crowd. The largest gathering in the history of this basketball barn – 20,344 in a building with an official capacity of 19,200 – almost never came during the course of a game in which Arkansas outran, outran and outran Duke en route to an 80-75 victory together.
The Hogs, whose last home game was a stunning six-point loss to UNCG 12 days ago, looked like a team reborn against the hyped Blue Devils. Here they were, the rare non-ACC power conference team playing UNC and Duke in consecutive games.
The passing, the connectivity, the way this team was encouraged by their crowd. It was captivating. They did it without junior guard Tramon Mark, the Razorbacks’ leading scorer, who was bedded off the floor at the end of Arkansas’ game against North Carolina on Friday. It was a lower back injury, but Mark also struggles with groin and hip pain. Without his availability, asking Arkansas to beat Duke, even at home, felt like a difficult task after so much inconsistency.
But Mark is a special player with leadership qualities that can influence any man in the locker room. On Monday, he showed up to practice and put on his training gear, knowing he was physically unable to participate. He asked questions and did everything as if he were participating in the game.
“I’ve never seen a player do anything like that,” Arkansas coach Eric Musselman told CBS Sports.
On Wednesday morning, Mark did the same at the team’s shootaround. A game that needed no additional motivation was provided an emotional boost by Mark, a transfer from Houston who is vital to Arkansas’ culture. When the ball tipped at 8:25 a.m. local time, after nearly 72 hours of diligent practice, the Hogs didn’t let go of the pent-up frustration from their defeats, but instead showed increased confidence and competence.
After all, this was Duke. It had to go her way. Or but.
“Every time you play Duke, it’s a big game for your fan base, for your players, for your coaching staff,” Musselman said in the locker room afterward. “They’re talented and well-coached, but if you don’t win this game – it was a must for us, it really was. … You don’t want to be staring at 4-4 after eight games.” season. You worry about a team’s confidence if you don’t win the game.”
As the game dragged on, it seemed clear that there would be no loss for Arkansas, even though Duke made a late splash after Arkansas blew a double-digit lead in the final minutes. With 2:09 left, hundreds of students crept closer to the court and waited out the storm. Duke tried to erase a large deficit, but it was too little, too late. Despite half-hearted warnings before and after the final horn, a horde of Arkansas students swarmed the stage and gave us one of the best scenes in the three-plus weeks of the 2023-24 season.
“Ladies and gentlemen, please stay off the field,” the PA announcer deadpanned to a drunken group of students in the midst of a college memory they will never forget.
This was the fifth ever meeting between the two schools; Arkansas now has a 3-2 lead. An incredible night in one of college basketball’s premier venues also marked the 100th win of Musselman’s career at Arkansas. The Hogs’ win over Duke was seen as a surprise, but the worst part was that Musselman didn’t take off his jersey afterwards to celebrate. He later confirmed to me: he had never achieved such a great victory and managed to put on his shirt.
The environment was as good as it was in November. More than 1,200 students camped out the night before to watch their team earn its first top-10 home win against a non-conference school since Nov. 30, 2012 against Syracuse. It was Arkansas’ first win over a top-10 ACC team since defeating North Carolina in 1995.
“Just a crazy environment,” Musselman said.
Echo: “I don’t think you see environments like that very often,” Duke coach Jon Scheyer said.
And it was on a night that an Arkansas legend was in the building. No, not Bobby Petrino. Although the newly hired offensive coordinator repeated “WE! WANT! BOB-BY!” was sung. Amid student chants, a true Razorback icon sat in an aisle seat eight rows behind the Arkansas bench. Amid a sea of white shirts on that white-out night was 81-year-old Nolan Richardson, dressed all in black, watching the show he climaxed do what he had done twice before : sending a loaded Duke team home with a loss.
It was Richardson’s first regular season game at Arkansas since 2019. The fans gave him a standing ovation after halftime. A special one in Fayetteville. Everything came together for the home team. Arkansas has regained national prominence in recent years as Musselman’s tireless energy brings a sleeping giant back to life. Beating Duke, even if it’s unranked, helps maintain Arkansas’ status as a “Program That Matters.”
But I have to go back to what it felt like in that building. There are places that can resonate with you for days, months or years. Arkansas 80, Duke 75 seems to be just that.
“After eight minutes, I thought we were winning the game,” Musselman told me. “But I thought our team had a belief at halftime that came out of halftime.”
Bud Walton Arena was elated in the second half and Arkansas’ lead continued to grow. There was a bang at 12:18 when Khalif Battle hit a 3-pointer to make it 51-43 for the Hogs.
After a timeout, things got even louder when Battle hit a shorty off the glass to give the Razorbacks their first double-digit lead of the night at 55-45 with 11:09 left. When Battle’s 3-pointer gave Arkansas a 63-49 lead, it was so loud that even the Arkansas coaching staff told me afterward that they had never heard this celebrated, classic basketball cathedral so loud.
The mojo never wavered. Duke was bizarrely bad near the rim, missing more than 15 shots from close range. Part of that was due to the pressure from Arkansas, but part of it must have been the building. Preseason All-American Kyle Filipowski finished with 26 points and 10 rebounds, but had just three points at halftime and failed several times.
“They play a different style of defense where you can mix it up a little bit,” Scheyer said, giving full credit to Arkansas’ offense and scheme.
This was Scheyer’s first time in an SEC arena – as a player or coach. It was also Duke’s first trip to an SEC arena in 11,617 days (February 8, 1992, a 77-67 win over LSU). For over two hours, the Blue Devils took a tour of Hog Hell that was an assault on the senses. The Blue Devils are 5-2, with a 1-2 record against quality opponents. But Duke will have plenty of chances for redemption.
Wednesday night was about Arkansas. This victory will carry the fan base through Christmas. The Razorbacks were ranked 14th two weeks ago, but three losses in four games have knocked them out of this week’s AP Top 25.
“The pressure was on tonight,” Musselman said. “A lot.”
Musselman said it’s rare for a team without its leading scorer (in this case, Mark) to do better than what his group did Wednesday night. Arkansas’ bench outscored a healthy, five-star Blue Devils team 36-9, a change helped by Musselman throwing a scouting report twist and bringing in two different starters (plus El Ellis, the substituted for Mark) than those who started against North Carolina five days earlier.
Arkansas had 10 blocks on Duke – which is almost unheard of.
“They are old. “They played like that,” Scheyer said.
Khalif Battle led Arkansas with 21 points along with five rebounds and five assists. For Trevon Brazile it was a night with 19 points and 11 rebounds, including a personal best four 3-pointers. Brazile missed most of last season with a torn ACL. His achievement is a great sign of progress.
Unlike football, the basketball schedule allows for big changes in a short period of time. Arkansas entered the season with a vision of competing to win an SEC title. Then it was defeated at home by a SoCon school (UNCG) and narrowly escaped a bad Stanford team at the Battle 4 Atlantis before losing to Memphis and North Carolina.
Now it may have reset its trajectory. This must be proven in the next 4-6 weeks. Even if that doesn’t happen, we were treated to one of the best moments of the first month of the season and a game that will live on in this state for a long time. Arkansas is nicknamed the “Land of Opportunity.” On Wednesday night, the hometown Hogs took advantage of their chance and potentially changed the course of their season.