1994 revisited

FAYETTEVILLE – The Aggies were no joke.

Texas A&M, playing only its second game since the end of January because of problems with the coronavirus within its program, pushed the number 12 male basketball team at the University of Arkansas to the limit on Saturday.

But the Razorbacks found a way to win an 87-80 victory at the Walton Arena after losing more than 29 minutes, including less than a minute to play.

It was the SEC’s 11th consecutive win for Arkansas (21-5, 13-4), matching the regular season streak of the 1994 national Razorback championship.

“I think we are in the elite company now,” said freshman guard Moses Moody, who led the Razorbacks with 28 points, 7 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals.

“A general fan just doesn’t understand how difficult it is to win 11 consecutive games in the league game,” said Razorbacks coach Eric Musselman. “Believe me, it is difficult. Winning on the road, winning with travel, winning at home, not having a disappointment. It is difficult to do.

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“Did we play well tonight? No. We played well enough to win.”

After Savion Flagg hit two free throws to give the Aggies a 78-76 lead, three-point Moody 56 seconds from the end put Arkansas ahead 79-78.

Davonte “Devo” Davis then made a heist – diverting Flagg’s internal pass to teammate Jalen Tate, who received it back to Davis for an assist at a Justin Smith dunk who made the 81-78 in favor of the Razorbacks 41 seconds left.

“Dude, Devo is an ace,” said Tate. “He does everything he can to make as many plays as he can every night. I love that he’s on our side.

“He is a luxury to have. For him to be his age [a freshman] and making the plays he’s doing, it’s definitely something special. “

Musselman said he wanted the Razorbacks to be aggressive in defending the game on the pitch.

“We were willing to take a little risk, instead of just fighting back and granting an entry pass,” said Musselman. “We wanted to try to make them play a little under pressure.

“There’s a bit of a bet on that, just because they were in the bonus and we didn’t want to miss. Sometimes you can be overly aggressive when you’re trying not to allow a pass on the pitch.”

The game was far from over.

After a timeout, Texas A&M senior guard Quenton Jackson saw the chance for a three-point attempt in the corner, but failed with 27 seconds left. Jackson had a 5 out of 7 in three points before that foul, which would have tied the game.

“It was a good shot, and it was what we wanted,” said Aggies coach Buzz Williams.

Arkansas junior guard, JD Notae, hit 4 of 4 free throws in the final 25.3 seconds, and Davis stole and buried with four seconds left to finish.

“I have a lot of respect for the Aggies,” said Moody. “They played a great game. They came and gave us their best shot.

“I am very happy that we played a bad game and still came out with the victory.”

Tate, a senior guard who comes from a 1 in 5 shooting game in South Carolina, recovered on Saturday with 22 points, 7 rebounds and 4 assists.

“Find a way in every game,” said Tate of the Razorback mentality. “At this point, it’s March. You have to keep doing this as much as you can if you want to achieve the goals that the 1994 team did. But we won’t talk about it until we get there.”

Smith, a senior striker who, like Tate, is a graduate transfer, had 11 points. Davis had 12 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists and 2 steals. Notae had 9 points, 4 rebounds and 3 assists.

Second-year striker Emanuel Miller had 23 points and 10 rebounds for Texas A&M (8-9, 2-8), and Jackson scored 23 points.

The Aggies started with 14 of 25 pitches and took a 35-21 lead over Andre Gordon’s three points, with 7:10 to go until the end of the first half.

Arkansas reduced the Aggies’ lead to 41-38 in the break in Moody’s driving basket with a second left in the break.

“They have new legs, I can guarantee that,” said Musselman of the Aggies’ 32-day layoff between games before losing to the State of Mississippi 63-57 on Wednesday night. “Their bank resisted the whole game.

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“I mean, they were urged to play the game. When you are in the top 12, it will happen. You have a target in your back.

“I will assume that on Monday we will be ranked in the top ten. So with that comes responsibility, and the opposing team has a little more motivation. They lost a month of basketball and you can see their energy level. had.”

The game had 11 advantage changes and eight draws.

“You want to play at a high level throughout the game, but I think we increased in the last minute and a half, especially from a defensive point of view,” said Musselman. “We take our game to another level from the point of view of intensity and from an aggressive point of view defensively.”

The game was tied at 76-76 when Moody blocked Jackson’s dunk attempt at 1:30 from the end.

“The blocked shot was incredible,” said Musselman. “Huge, huge block.”

Moody said he needed to make a defense move when the Razorbacks needed it.

“If he had plunged into me, the momentum would have changed tremendously,” said Moody. “So I had to get it.”

Moody landed 9 of 15 shots, including 5 of 8 from three points, against the Texas A&M zone defense.

“I think all snipers know that we love zones,” said Moody. “There were a lot of late closings and the shots were just there. They were opened, so I just caught them and a lot of them fell.”

Game outline

Arkansas RECORDS 21-5, 13-4 SEC;

Texas A&M 8-9, 2-8

STARS Arkansas freshman guard Moses Moody (28 points, 7 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals) and Jalen Tate (22 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists). Texas A&M striker Emanuel Miller (23 points, 10 rebounds) and point guard Quenton Jackson (23 points)

MAIN STAT The Razorbacks pitched 60% (18 of 30) of the field in the second half.