The second No. 1 seed in the NCAA men’s tournament went down before the Sweet 16.
No. 8 Arkansas beat No. 1 Kansas 72-71 thanks to a spirited second-half surge and late free throws by Ricky Council IV.
The Razorbacks trailed by 10 midway through the second half. Jordan Walsh went on an 11-0 run with 8:55 left for a 52-51 lead.
The lead would swing back and forth until Jalen Wilson made two free throws to tie the score with 39 seconds left.
Following that, Council drove to the basket and was intercepted by Kevin McCuller Jr. called the blocking error. The Council will undertake the first of two initiatives. His second shot missed, but he grabbed an offensive rebound and was fouled on a shot attempt. Council then sank two free throws to put Arkansas up by three.
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Wilson added two free throws for Kansas. The Jayhawks fouled Council who hit two more free throws.
Arkansas fouled Wilson with three seconds left. Wilson made two free throws and Kansas was unable to foul before the clock expired.
Davonte Davis led the Razorbacks with 25 points. Council finished with 21 points. Wilson led all Kansas scorers with 20 points.
The loss before the Sweet 16 was a disappointing finish for the Jayhawks after winning the national title last season and this year’s Big 12 regular season. They were playing without coach Bill Self, who missed the Big 12 tournament and the first two games of the NCAA tournament and was hospitalized last week for heart surgery.
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