By CHUCKIE MAGGIO
BUFFALO — Eric Musselman climbed the chairs lining the Arkansas bench and posed for a few photos with the fans, his face emanating the relief that accompanies an opening round NCAA Tournament win. Not even a barking shoulder he placed in a heating pad at the postgame podium could dampen his joy after the team’s performance.
“Just getting the first win, it’s the hardest one to get, in my opinion,” Musselman remarked.
The Razorbacks avoided the fates of Iowa and Connecticut before them, preventing a tearful press conference and early hotel checkout by defeating Vermont 75-71. Despite JD Notae’s first-half foul trouble, 40 combined points from Catamount stars Ryan Davis and Ben Shungu and a 4:25 period without a field goal at the end of the game, Arkansas secured a Saturday date with New Mexico State.
Stanley Umude led all scorers with 21 points in his first NCAA Tournament game. Umude also dished three assists without committing a turnover and recorded nine rebounds and two blocks defensively.
Musselman noted that he did not know what to expect from Umude’s performance, given that it was the South Dakota transfer’s first tournament appearance. The 6-foot-6 guard’s pregame preparation, however, was businesslike.
“We got here early, because the tip time kind of kept getting moved back,” Musselman explained, “and we just have one locker room, so I would kind of pop in from the hallway and a couple guys had their phones, because we don’t collect the phones until 90 minutes before tip-off. He wasn’t one that had the phone; he was staring right at the video screen as we had Vermont film rolling.”
Davonte Davis did not start for Arkansas but turned in a 14-point performance, making six of his 10 field goals. Jaylin Williams posted a double-double, scoring 13 points and corralling 10 rebounds. The Razorbacks asserted themselves on the boards, outrebounding Vermont 39-32 despite being outscored 30-28 in the paint.
Davis scored 12 of the Catamounts’ first 16 points in the second half, spurring a 12-2 run to gain a 39-36 lead. He made seven of his 10 field goal tries, including four of five 3-pointers. Davis did not attempt a field goal over the final 13 minutes, however, which UVM coach Ryan Becker attributed to Arkansas’s defensive strategy.
“The way they were guarding him, they were just staying matted to him,” Becker noted. “So we were just running middle ball screen, they were staying matted and our guards were coming off the screen, just getting downhill. … So he was generating wide-open offense for us without him touching the ball. Obviously, do I wish in hindsight that he could’ve gotten more touches? Absolutely. But they did a good job of really not letting that.”
Shungu made a 3-pointer to cut Arkansas’s lead to 73-71 with 12 seconds remaining, after which the Catamounts trapped Notae and appeared to turn him over. Even Notae, who poured in 17 points in the second half after being held scoreless in 10 minutes in the first, felt he had relinquished the ball and allowed Vermont a chance to tie the game on a 3-pointer.
The officials originally ruled in favor of Vermont but overturned the call on review. Notae was intentionally fouled and sank both free throws, effectively advancing his team to the second round.
For Shungu, playing his last collegiate game, it was a tough call to stomach. From Notae’s vantage point, it was a moment of relief.
“I thought it was out on me, honestly,” Notae said, grinning.
The Arkansas fan base can keep grinning, acknowledging it was fortunate to avoid a day of upsets while preparing for the New Mexico State team that dealt one. The Razorbacks have advanced past the first round in consecutive NCAA Tournaments for the first time in program history.
“We all know that there’s going to be upsets, so watching those games earlier today didn’t really affect my mentality at all,” Musselman stated. “As a matter of fact, I used in part of our pregame, just talking about how much respect we had to have for Vermont and how every possession was going to matter.
“So I don’t think that necessarily that, you know, nerves or angst or anything like that needs to come into play.”
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