HawgBeat - Top 15 most important games in Razorback basketball history: 15-11
Ranking the most important basketball games in Arkansas history, 15-11.
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Arkansas is one of the most storied programs in college basketball history. Boasting two national championship appearances with one victory, six Final Fours, 11 Elite Eights, and 14 Sweet Sixteens, there have been dozens of games the Razorbacks have played with great importance.
In ranking the most important games in program history, there are certain ways to look at each entry in this list. Did the game have a direct and/or immediate impact on the program? Did it elevate the program? Was it the cause of an event or chain of events that impacted the trajectory of the program?
For this list, most of these will be measured by positive effect, rather than negative, so while the 1995 loss to UCLA, which prevented the Razorbacks from being repeat champions could be included, it was not in this list. With all that said, here is the list:
15. Loss to North Carolina in the 2017 NCAA Tournament
I know I just said that the list would not include negative important games, but hear me out. Even though it was one of the more gut-wrenching losses in recent memory for Arkansas, it was a net positive.The Razorbacks led by five, 65-60, with just 2:56 remaining in the game, but would go scoreless down the stretch to lose 72-65. Razorback fans do not look back on the matchup fondly, as it was riddled with controversy down the stretch. That controversy was brought back to life recently with North Carolina forward Justin Jackson commenting on the game in a recent podcast appearance.
"Shout out to those referees, too, for that game," Jackson said, sparking outrage yet again on Arkansas Twitter.
The reason the game ranks as one of such importance, though, is because of the circumstances surrounding it. It was year six of the Mike Anderson era and the prodigal son had struggled to restore Arkansas to a similar status to when he was an assistant under Nolan Richardson. The NCAA Tournament birth was just Anderson's second in that time frame, but the hopes were high that Arkansas could take the next step like UAB and Missouri did under Anderson.
With All-SEC performer Moses Kingsley and a backcourt trio of Jaylen Barford, Dusty Hannahs and Daryl Macon, the Razorbacks beat Seton Hall, but lost in heartbreaking fashion to the Tarheels when they were in position to end a 21-year Sweet Sixteen drought.
Arkansas would not win another NCAA Tournament game under Anderson, only making one more appearance the following year, and the loss seemed to solidify the fact that Anderson was not going to take Arkansas to the next level, opening the door for the Razorbacks to fire him in 2019 and hire Eric Musselman.
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