Arkansas guard Johnell Davis finally seemed to somewhat piece things together Saturday evening with an 18-point performance in the 65-62 loss to Oklahoma at Bud Walton Arena in Fayetteville.
The Florida Atlantic transfer, who is reportedly making over $1 million in NIL money, was a key part of a second half comeback that fell just short for the Razorbacks. He scored 11 of his season-high 18 points in the second half and he also added three of his four steals on the evening during the final 20 minutes.
VIDEO: Calipari, Ivisic postgame - Oklahoma 65, Arkansas 62
"I'm with him, and he's getting better," head coach John Calipari said postgame. "There's still some breakdown stuff, but he's getting better. Got to quit thinking so much. And you know, he did some good things. We made nine threes. If you told me we're making nine threes and losing, I'm like, ‘You're nuts,’ but we missed a lot of layups too."
Davis was 5-of-16 shooting from the field and 3-of-11 from three, plus he hit five of his six free throw attempts. His attempted field goals, threes and free throws were all season-highs in those respective categories.
The 6-foot-4, 210-pound guard was the go-to guy on the final possession for the Razorbacks, as he took a pass from forward Zvonimir Ivisic while driving the basket, but absorbed contact and couldn't get a solid shot up with the Hogs down 63-62 with seven seconds left.
"We messed it up a little bit," Ivisic said of the final play. "I don’t know, concentration or something. I don’t even know. We still fough. As coach KP (Kenny Payne) said, winning is fragile. I think we are on the right track, we just got a little bit unlucky in the end."
BOX SCORE: Oklahoma 65, Arkansas 62
It was Davis who hit a huge 3-pointer with 2:13 left on the clock in the second half to tie the game at 62-62. That shot was named "Play of the Game" on the Razorback Sports Network postgame radio broadcast, but it was a free throw with 1:15 on the clock by Oklahoma's Jalon Moore that put the Sooners up by one, and then Moore drove the court for a last-second dunk to make the final score 65-62.
Davis is averaging 8.4 points per game this season and he's shooting a career-low 38.8% from the field. His free throw percentage of 94.1% is a career-high, but he's only taken 17 attempts from the charity stripe so far this season after taking 154 free throw attempts last year.
The Razorbacks have a full week off ahead of Calipari's big return to Lexington, Kentucky, for a matchup with the Kentucky Wildcats at Rupp Arena next Saturday. Tipoff for that showdown is set for 8 p.m. CT on ESPN.
