In a game that featured a double-digit lead, a double-digit deficit, a last-second shot attempt and more, the Arkansas Razorbacks (8-2, 0-0 SEC) walked into Madison Square Garden and came out as victors in an 89-87 win over the No. 14 Michigan Wolverines (8-2, 2-0 Big 10) on Tuesday night.
There were several storylines to follow throughout the game, but the biggest was Arkansas point guard and Bronx native Boogie Fland playing in his hometown. He did not disappoint, either, as he led the scoring column with a game-high 20 points and seven assists.
Arkansas didn't get off to a slow start in this game, but Michigan seemingly could not miss in the first half. The Wolverines shot 61.5% from the field and hit seven threes in the first 20 minutes of the game, and the Razorbacks found themselves down by 15 midway through the first half.
That lead didn’t last long, though, as the Razorbacks stormed back to cut the deficit to 49-45 as the two teams headed to the locker room.
In the second half, Arkansas turned Michigan into a turnover machine and used those to jump ahead by 18 themselves with nine minutes to go. But once again, that lead was short-lived. Michigan began chipping away until it trailed by one point, 88-87, with 90 seconds remaining.
Arkansas forward Trevon Brazile came up with a huge block, added one free throw, and the Wolverines' final shot at the buzzer clanged off the front of the iron, which secured the win for the Razorbacks.
It was a wild college basketball game. Here's some of HawgBeat's takeaways from the win...
Arkansas gets statement win
On the biggest stage, with all eyes on them, the Razorbacks went up against a tough Michigan team and brought out the win. It was tough, it was gritty, it had more swings than a playground, but the Hogs got a statement non-conference win.There are things to clean up, sure. The six-minute stretch in the second half where the Hogs couldn't buy a bucket, the 14 turnovers throughout the course of the game and the Wolverines shooting 61.3% from the field with seven threes in the first half will need to be fixed by the time conference play rolls around.
"It was good just playing in that atmosphere and being down, going through adversity," Arkansas guard D.J. Wagner said postgame. "It’s all a learning lesson. Coach says it all the time, we’re nowhere near where we could be, as good as we can be. It’s good for us just seeing how we do react when we go through some of that adversity or when we go down. Especially in games like that against grat teams like that, it was good for us. It helped us learn a lot."
The one thing that sticks out the most is that the Hogs found a way to win. When they needed a scoring option, they had a plethora of options who answered. They poked Michigan's sore spot with 17 turnovers and scored 21 off them. Even though they let the Wolverines back in the game until the final buzzer, the Hogs got the win.
Trevon Brazile comes up big
With the Razorbacks clinging to a one-point lead in the final seconds of the game, Arkansas forward Trevon Brazile blocked a shot from Michigan's Vladislav Goldin that would have given the Wolverines the lead. That was the last of many moments Brazile had in Tuesday's game that propelled Arkansas to the win.
The third-year player and lone holdover from last season's team showed he can alter games with his athletic ability throughout the game. He finished 15 points, six rebounds, one block and three steals in the 26 minutes he played and was effective all over the floor.
"He did a lot of big things, and we put that trust in him to do so," Fland said of Brazile postgame. "He’s very long, athletic, can go block those shots and I feel like he came up big for us in the end. He said, ‘I’m going to hit these two,’ and he did."
Of course, every game Brazile comes up big in features a highlight-reel dunk. It came in the first half after Jonas Aidoo blocked a shot and Fland made a long pass to Brazile, who put Goldin on a poster.
Didn't stop the seven-footers, didn't matter
The focal point of Michigan's strategy rested on the play of seven-footers Danny Wolf and Vladislav Goldin, and they filled up the stat sheet again on Tuesday night.Both scored in double figures (Goldin had 17 and Wolf had 14) and had nine rebounds a piece. Goldin's 17 points led the team and was strong around the rim, but the Hogs were able to keep them at bay enough to win the game.
The big flaw in the big mens' games? Four combined turnovers. Coming into the game, Wolf had Michigan's highest turnover rate and he made several crucial mistakes down the stretch that Arkansas took advantage of.
A big part of that was the play of Arkansas center Jonas Aidoo. In his second start as a Razorback, he scored 11 points and had seven rebounds, three of which were on the offensive end. He also logged two block and two steals and was a main piece of Arkansas' frontcourt.
Defense makes Michigan pay
The Wolverines got hot in the first half and seemingly couldn't miss, and part of that was due to some miscommunication on the defensive side of the ball for Arkansas, but overall the Razorbacks had Michigan rattled, especially in the second half.
Michigan has been a turnover-prone team this season and averaged 15.2 per game coming into Tuesday's contest, but only had five in the first half. Coming out of the locker rooms for the final 20 minutes was a different story.
The Razorbacks forced 12 turnovers on the Wolverines in the final 20 minutes (17 in the entire game), and as a result the Michigan offense went stagnant. It took four-and-a-half minutes for the Wolverines to score in the second half and by then, Arkansas had erased a five-point deficit and taken a 57-51 lead.
Even though Michigan came back from what was later an 18-point deficit, it was strong defensive plays in the final minutes that kept the Hogs ahead. Brazile's block mentioned above, and the final 3.7 seconds of the game.
Michigan guard Tre Donaldson cut backdoor and beat Arkansas guard Johnell Davis, but his fast hands tipped the ball away and forced the Wolverines to take an off-balance shot that fell short at the buzzer.
"(Davis) was beat dead to rights, and what did he do? Instead of stopping, he fought, and he dove on the floor and tipped it with his right hand," Arkansas head coach John Calipari said after the game. "And we win the game because of a play where he got beat, but it was an effort play. And that's all good stuff for them to learn."
