It required a comeback and some freshman heroics, but Arkansas avoided what would have been a resume-killing loss at Miami (Fla.) on Tuesday.
Boogie Fland gave the Razorbacks their first lead of the game by knocking down a corner 3 with 1:47 remaining and they hung on in the closing seconds for a 76-73 win over the Hurricanes in the ACC/SEC Challenge.
For the third time in as many games against high-major opponents, Arkansas found itself facing a double-digit deficit in the first half, trailing by as many as 11. Unlike the first two, when they couldn’t get over the hump against Baylor or Illinois, the Razorbacks finally overtook the Hurricanes by ending the game on a 12-2 run.
The final seven of those points were courtesy of Fland, who also knocked down a jumper to push Arkansas’ lead back to three after Miami had pulled within one.
“We had a bunch of guys that fought,” Arkansas basketball coach John Calipari said. “In these kinds of games, you claw and give yourself a chance. We gave ourselves a chance and Boogie made some plays down the stretch.”
Adou Thiero missed a pair of free throws that would have given the Razorbacks a two-possession lead with 11.2 seconds left, but they survived anyways. With two fouls to give, Arkansas used both of them to leave the Hurricanes with only 3.5 seconds.
They actually got a really good look at the buzzer, but Jalen Blackmon air balled what would have been a game-tying 3 from the right wing.
It’s a good thing he did, too, because it was shaping up to be an utterly devastating loss for the Razorbacks.
That may seem like an extreme thing to say about a non-conference game in early December, but Miami was riding a four-game losing streak that included an ugly home loss to Charleston Southern on Saturday.
While Arkansas’ first two losses were to teams ranked No. 15 and No. 19 in this week’s AP Poll, this was a Quadrant 3 opportunity because the Hurricanes check in at No. 196 in the early NET rankings. At this point, it’s unlikely they climb out of that range, so a loss would have been damaging to the Razorbacks’ postseason hopes — especially considering how deep the SEC appears.
Coming out on top Tuesday may not boost their resume, but it is certainly better than the alternative.
Fland’s Freshman Heroics
The way he’s come out of the gates strong, it can be easy to forget that Boogie Fland is just a freshman. The 18-year-old finally looked like it in Arkansas’ last game, though.
In a decisive loss to Illinois on Thanksgiving, Fland shot just 2 of 12 from the floor and missed all three of his 3-point attempts. He finished with 8 points, failing to reach double figures for the first time in his young career. On top of that, Fland had more turnovers (2) than assists (1) for another first.
That seems like an anomaly at this point, as he bounced back with a big-time performance at Miami. Fland scored a team-high 18 points on 6 of 13 shooting, including 4 of 9 from deep, while dishing 6 assists with only 2 turnovers. He also grabbed 4 rebounds.
Those numbers may have been even better, but Fland struggled with foul trouble in the first half. He picked up his second foul with 5:38 left and spent the rest of the half on the bench. When he was on the floor, though, the Razorbacks were clearly a better team.
While all of his teammates were in the negatives, Fland posted a plus-minute of 0 in his 13 first-half minutes, so Calipari knew he’d have to put the game in the hands of his freshman point guard.
“Watching how we were playing in the first half, I just told him, ‘I’m going to have to put the ball in your hands and you’re going to have to make plays,’” Calipari said. “Because he’s capable of doing it.”
Playing all but 16 seconds after halftime, Fland proved his coach’s confidence was justified. He scored or assisted on 21 of the Razorbacks’ 44 second-half points.
Overcoming (More) Early Struggles
If you only tuned into the second half of the Arkansas vs Miami game and didn’t have access to a scoreboard, you would have thought the Razorbacks won in blowout fashion.
After all, they shot 54.8% from the field and made 8 of 14 (57.1%) attempts from beyond the arc, helping them out-score the Hurricanes by 11.
Of course, that’d also mean you were spared from watching what was yet another agonizingly slow start for Arkansas. After throwing the ball away on their first two possessions, the Razorbacks opened the game just 6 of 19 (31.6%) and made only 1 of their first 6 three-pointers.
More than 12 minutes into the game, Arkansas was barely on pace to score 50 points.
Making this start even more concerning than similar struggles against Baylor and Illinois was the fact that the Hurricanes own one of the worst defenses among the high-majors. They came into the game ranked 276th nationally in adjusted defensive efficiency on KenPom and 328th on sports-reference — out of 364 Division I teams.
Even though it eventually got something going offensively, questionable shot selection and unforced turnovers plagued the Razorbacks and significantly contributed to their 40-32 halftime deficit.
“All of a sudden, I’m happy we’re only down 8,” Calipari said. “Could have been down 20.”
Miami’s 1-2 Punch
Reports out of Miami indicated the Hurricanes would likely be without star point guard Nijel Pack because of the lower-body injury that kept him out the previous game.
However, he toughed it out as a game-time decision and not only started, but played 33 minutes. He was phenomenal, too.
Despite clearly grimacing as he ran up and down the court, even limping at times, Pack led all scorers with 22 points on 9 of 16 shooting, plus added 6 rebounds and 6 assists. He did miss a couple of critical 3s down the stretch, though.
Pack formed a dynamic 1-2 punch alongside fellow returner Matthew Cleveland. A two-year starter, he came off the bench for the second straight game. Unlike the previous one, though, he looked like his former self.
The 6-foot-7 guard made a couple of highlight reel plays, including an incredible one-handed tip-slam, and finished with a 15-point, 10-rebound double-double.
Unfortunately for the Hurricanes, that dunk — which came with 12 minutes remaining — proved to be the final points scored by Cleveland.
Another Injury in the Frontcourt
For the first time since taking over the Arkansas basketball program, John Calipari was able to hold a team scrimmage leading up to the Arkansas vs Miami game. In fact, he held two — on Saturday and Sunday.
Prior to those two practices, the Razorbacks have been too shorthanded to scrimmage because of numerous injuries.
Calipari’s excitement didn’t last long, though, because Zvonimir Ivisic went down with a turned ankle.
“I didn’t think he was going to play today,” Calipari said. “I was so mad because the scrimmage had to stop. And I said, ‘His ankle better be swelled.’ And it was. … I begged him for 10 minutes. I said, ‘Please just give us 10 minutes if we need you.’ He said, ‘Alright, I will.’”
Ivisic actually gave him 13 minutes, and he was really good when on the floor. He knocked down another 3 of 4 shots from beyond the arc on his way to scoring 11 points, plus had 2 rebounds, 2 blocks and 1 assist.
Those minutes came off the bench, as Trevon Brazile started in his place and played 19 minutes with 6 points (3 of 4 FG), 5 rebounds and 1 steal.
It also helped that Jonas Aidoo continued his comeback from an injury by playing a season-high 12 minutes. He was particularly good early on, throwing down a couple of dunks and grabbing some tough rebounds. The Tennessee played so well that he actually replaced Brazile in the second-half starting lineup.
However, Aidoo is clearly still trying to get back into game shape.
“He got a little tired,” Calipari said. “When the guy spins and scores on him, that’s when I said, ‘Okay, you (are tired).’”
Up Next for Arkansas Basketball
The Razorbacks return home for their only mid-major matchup mixed in amongst the current four-game stretch. Sandwiched between the road trip to Miami and a neutral-site game against Michigan in New York City, Arkansas will host UTSA on Saturday.
An overtime loss at St. Mary’s dropped the Roadrunners to 3-4 on the season. One of those four losses was an 81-64 home defeat at the hands of Little Rock — a team Arkansas beat by 12 a couple of weeks ago.
Tipoff is scheduled for 1 p.m. CT and will be streamed on SEC Network-Plus.
Other Arkansas Basketball Tidbits
- The announced attendance for Arkansas vs Miami was 6,389. That is 80.1% of the capacity at the Watsco Center, but videos showed that the building wasn’t actually that full.
- It’s been a rough start to the season for Johnell Davis, but he came up big Wednesday night. Widely regarded as one of the best transfers in the past cycle, he scored 11 of his 12 points in the second half against Miami. That includes knocking down 3 of 5 attempts from deep.
- Arkansas’ leading scorer, Adou Thiero, was limited to a season-low 7 points on 3 of 10 shooting despite playing a season-high 38 minutes. He came into the game averaging 19.1 points in 29.0 minutes. “I played him too many minutes today, so he missed some layups that he would normally make,” Calipari said. “He missed a couple free throws. He’s got to get more confident, and going to have to get in the gym and take 500 free throws.”
- The SEC dominated Day 1 of the second annual ACC/SEC Challenge, as Arkansas was part of a 9-1 day for the league. The lone loss was No. 4 Kentucky getting upset 70-66 at Clemson. There are six more matchups Wednesday, but the SEC has already clinched the challenge.
- John Wall, who starred for Calipari at Kentucky, attended the game. Calipari also said he got to see Bam Adebayo, another of his former players who now plays for the Miami Heat, before the game.
Arkansas vs Miami Highlights
Postgame Interviews
Arkansas vs Miami Box Score
***
More coverage of Arkansas basketball and Arkansas vs Miami from BoAS…
