FAYETTEVILLE — With a trip to the Bahamas looming, Arkansas vs UNC Greensboro appears to be a classic trap game for Eric Musselman’s squad.
It would be easy for the Razorbacks to get caught looking past the 7 p.m. CT tipoff against the Spartans on Friday.
After all, the Battle 4 Atlantis is next week and then a home date with Duke after that. It’s a much sexier four-game stretch than the one Arkansas concludes against UNC Greensboro.
However, the Spartans are no push-over. The Razorbacks should remember that from last year.
While most remember it as the game in which Trevon Brazile tore his ACL, UNC Greensboro pushed Arkansas to the brink on Dec. 6, 2022.
Thanks to 22 points from Nick Smith Jr., the Razorbacks rallied from a five-point halftime deficit (which was actually 12 with about 5 minutes left in the first half) and won 65-58. Click here for the final box score from that game.
That should be plenty of motivation for Musselman to use ahead of the Arkansas vs UNC Greensboro game, but it’ll still be up to the players to execute.
As always, Best of Arkansas Sports is in the building and will provide live updates from the matchup below…
LIVE UPDATES – Arkansas vs UNC Greensboro
Get ready for the matchup by reading our in-depth preview here.
15:50, 1H – UNC Greensboro 10, Arkansas 6
Arkansas won the opening tip and scored on the game’s first possession. Davis missed the tough layup, but Brazile grabbed the offensive board and put it back up.
Tramon Mark scored in the paint, but immediately fell to the floor in pain. He’s able to walk off the floor under his own power after the trainers come out to check on him, though.
Davenport got beat on a drive to the basket, but did a great job of recovering and blocking the shot. However, UNC Greensboro came up with the ball and got a 3 out of it to take an early 5-4 lead.
Mark checks back in at the 16:30 mark.
Arkansas is once again having a hard time defending the 3, as the Spartans have made 2 of 3 from deep.
11:29, 1H – UNC Greensboro 15, Arkansas 11
Makhi Mitchell checks in out of the media timeout. The Hogs will have two bigs on the floor for the first time tonight. Mitchell promptly picked up an offensive foul trying to set a screen before a second even ticked off the clock.
After missing a wide open look from the left corner, Battle drained a 3 from the right wing.
Mikeal Brown-Jones picked up his second foul at the 13:34 mark. That’s a significant development for UNC Greensboro.
Davis just had a great feed to Mitchell. He jumped up like he was going to take a 3, but saw Mitchell streaking down the middle of the lane with no one near him, so he passed to him instead for a dunk.
Jalen Breath picks up his second foul at the 12:37 mark for UNC Greensboro.
Battle had his pocket picked late in the shot clock and then committed a foul going for the ball. That sends us to the U12 timeout.
The Hogs already have five turnovers – more than they had all of the last game.
7:15, 1H – UNC Greensboro 17, Arkansas 15
Makhi Mitchell leaves his feet and picks up his second foul at the 11:02 mark. It came late in the shot clock.
It has been a foul fest so far, with each team committing six in the game’s first 10 minutes.
After a couple of misses by Brazile and an ugly miss from really deep by Davis, Arkansas is now just 1 of 7 from beyond the arc.
Battle picked up his second foul at the 7:15 mark.
3:49, 1H – UNC Greensboro 26, Arkansas 21
Musselman called a rare timeout at the 6:51 mark just to angrily yell at El Ellis.
Arkansas has made only 2 of its last 10 shots, allowing UNCG to extend its lead to 7.
The Hogs had a chance to cut it to a one-possession game, but Battle had his pocket picked for the second time today and then committed another foul soon after. It’s his third.
HALF – UNC Greensboro 38, Arkansas 24
Layden Blocker checks in out of the media timeout, following Battle’s third foul.
Arkansas is playing poorly – there’s no other way to put it. It just committed its eighth turnover of the game, doubling last game’s total.
Brazile notched his first block of the day on a layup attempt by UNCG, but Arkansas promptly turned it over on the other end.
A 3 by Tim Ceasar, the Arkansas native, pushes UNCG’s lead to 11. On the other end, the Hogs committed their 11th turnover of the game.
Wow, Arkansas forced a turnover and looked like it might be able to do something offensively, but UNCG poked the ball out for the 12th turnover and got a fast break layup out of it to push the lead to 13.
Mark knocked down a mid-range jumper to snap what was a 7-0 run by the Spartans. However, Keyshaun Langley knocked down a tough 3 in the closing seconds to give him 18 points.
15:29, 2H – UNC Greensboro 45, Arkansas 33
Mitchell started the second half and picked up his third foul just 32 seconds in. He stayed in the game and ended up blocking a shot on UNCG’s first possession.
After a miserable first half, Ellis knocked down a jumper to start the second-half scoring.
Mitchell picks up his fourth foul with 18:35 remaining.
An old-school three-point play by Mark cuts the deficit to 12 and brings the crowd to its feet, but a layup on the other end quickly quieted the arena again.
Every time Arkansas scores, UNCG answers. This time it was a Davis mid-range jumper followed by a Brown-Jones blowing past Brazile for a dunk.
15:54, 2H – UNC Greensboro 45, Arkansas 36
Out of the media timeout, Ellis completed a three-point play that pulled Arkansas within 11. He nearly stole the ensuing inbound pass, as well.
The Razorbacks got a stop, forcing a tough shot in the closing seconds of the shot clock, and then Ellis took it coast-to-coast for another and-1 layup. That prompts a UNCG timeout and cuts its lead to nine – with a free throw pending.
11:52, 2H – UNC Greensboro 50, Arkansas 41
Ellis again completed the three-point play out of the timeout, making it an eight-point game.
On the other end, Arkansas again forced UNCG into a late shot clock attempt and got a stop.
The Razorbacks had a chance to further cut into the lead, but the officials swallowed their whistles despite there being quite a bit of contact on Battle’s drive to the basket. It was a big no-call, as UNCG knocked down a 3 on the ensuing possession.
Lawson’s blocked shot leads to a runout by Ellis, who drew a foul on this drive. He made both free throws to make it a seven-point game.
Lawson picks up two fouls in the span of two seconds – the second of which appeared to be a block and drew a late whistle.
After a pair of free throws by the Spartans, Battle was fouled on a drive to the basket. It’s called on the floor, though, so it’ll be 1 and 1 when play resumes from the U12 media timeout.
8:08, 2H – UNC Greensboro 57, Arkansas 48
Battle made the first free throw, but missed the second. Luckily for the Hogs, Davis got the offensive rebound. Given a second chance, Ellis got fouled on a drive to the hoop. He made both of his to make it a six-point game.
After another stop, Mark drove to the basket for a relatively easy layup to make it 50-46.
The Hogs nearly had another stop, but Ellis was called for a foul trying to rebound a missed 3. It led to a second-chance layup for UNCG.
On the Spartans’ next possession, after a layup by Davis, Atwell threw up a contested 3 late in the shot clock and it fell.
Back-to-back missed 3s by Mark and Ellis make Arkansas 1 of 15 from deep. Both were good looks.
UNCG calls a timeout after scoring a layup to quickly push its lead back to nine.
3:58, 2H – UNC Greensboro 66, Arkansas 57
Several times in the last couple of minutes, Arkansas was on the verge of a defensive stop – either forcing a turnover or shot clock violation – only for UNCG to make something happen.
Davis missed a 3 to make Arkansas 1 of 16 from deep, but Brazile grabbed the offensive rebound. Unfortunately for the Hogs, Ellis made only 1 of 2 free throws after getting fouled on the extra possession.
Wow. Once again, late in the shot clock, UNCG hit a 3 – over Brazile.
A layup by Brown-Jones pushes the lead back to double-digits and Musselman calls a timeout with 4:37 remaining.
Brazile made a pair of free throws to get the game within single digits again, but then committed a foul on the other end.
FINAL – UNC Greensboro 78, Arkansas 72
Back-to-back buckets by UNCG pushed the lead to 13 before Ellis finally knocked down a 3. The Hogs had missed 14 in a row.
An ill-advised 3-point attempt by the Spartans led to a long rebound by Arkansas, which had a chance to cut the deficit to single digits, but Ellis air-balled a 3.
A turnover gave them another shot, but this time the Hogs got a missed 3 by Mark.
After the Spartans missed the front end of a 1 and 1, Ellis finally got a 3 to fall to pull the Hogs within seven. Arkansas quickly called a timeout with 1:06 remaining.
UNCG went 1 of 2 from the free throw line and Brazile made a 3 to make it 74-69 with 47.3 seconds left. Arkansas called another timeout.
On the ensuing possession by UNCG, Arkansas decided to play for a steal and ended up getting a deflection out of bounds. It was called out on Arkansas, but went to replay. After review, it stood – UNCG’s ball.
Arkansas ended up needing to foul and this time the Spartans got both free throws.
After a quick layup by Mark, he fouled the Spartans with 23.3 seconds left. Ahemed made both free throws.
That’s all she wrote.
FINAL STATS
HALFTIME STATS
Starting Lineups
| UNC Greensboro Basketball | Arkansas Basketball |
|---|---|
| #0 – Keyshaun Langley – G | #3 – El Ellis – G |
| #3 – Kobe Langley – G | #4 – Davonte Davis – G |
| #2 – Mikeal Brown-Jones – F | #12 – Tramon Mark – G |
| #12 – Donovan Atwell – F | #24 – Jeremiah Davenport – G |
| #22 – Jalen Breath – F | #2 – Trevon Brazile – F |
How to Watch Arkansas vs UNC Greensboro
Date: Friday, Nov. 17
Location: Bud Walton Arena (Fayetteville, Ark.)
Tipoff Time/TV Schedule: 7 p.m. CT (SEC Network+ / ESPN+)
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