FINAL: Arkansas 82, Florida 74
Tuesday, February 22, 2022 | Men's Basketball, Chris Harry
AT THE BUZZER
No. 18 ARKANSAS 82, FLORIDA 74
No. 18 ARKANSAS 82, FLORIDA 74
WHAT HAPPENED: Senior guard JD Notae scored 22 points to lead five of his Razorback teammates into double-figure scoring, as the nation's 18th-ranked team rallied past the Gators over the final five minutes to get out of Exactech Arena with a Southeastern Conference win Tuesday night. UF led by six with just over seven minutes to go when Arkansas scored the next seven points, including a go-ahead 3-pointer from forward Jaylin Williams (15 points, 10 rebounds) at the 5:23 mark. The Hogs' lead was still a point, 72-71, after a layup with 1:23 left from senior forward Colin Castleton, who was sensational in scoring a career-high 29 points and grabbing six rebounds. At the Arkansas end, however, Notae buried a dagger 3 from the top of the key to make it a two-possession game and UF got no closer the rest of the way. The Hogs, who also got 19 points and six rebounds, from backup guard Devonte Davis, shot 46.6 percent for the game and handled the Gators on the glass 39-31. UF, which also got 19 points and four assists from fifth-year senior guard Tyree Appleby, shot just under 45 percent from the league's top-rated defense in SEC play, but also went 1-for-9 from the 3-point line in the second half after making seven of 16 in the first half. Florida grad wing Phlandrous Fleming Jr. had nine points, eight rebounds and three assists. Guards Stanley Umude (11 points, 6 rebounds) and Au'Diese Toney (12 points, 4 rebounds) rounded out the Razorbacks' five players in double digits.
IN THE SPOTLIGHT: Kentucky 6-foot-9 forward Oscar Tshiebwe is the runaway favorite to be named 2022 SEC Player of the Year. He's the best big man in a conference full of good ones, but Castleton has to be the most offensively skilled of them all. Three days after working Auburn's 7-1 Walker Kessler, the favorite for SEC Defensive Player of the Year, for a second time this season, Castleton finished 10 of 16 from the floor and 9-for-10 from the free-throw line mostly facing the 6-10 Williams, one of the best low-post defenders in the country. He's been incredible since returning to the lineup after missing six games with a shoulder injury.
STAGGERING STATISTIC: The Razorbacks won for the first time in Gainesville since Feb. 28, 1995, when they came to town as the reigning NCAA champions and defeated the Gators 94-85. Arkansas had lost 13 straight at the O'Dome, dating to UF's 74-63 win on Jan. 3, 1997, which was the program's first SEC game under Coach Billy Donovan.
UP NEXT: Florida (17-11, 7-8), after a couple back-to-back home games against ranked opponents, goes on the road for a couple against unranked SEC foes, the results of which will go a long way toward determining what side of the postseason bubble the Gators sit when they head to the SEC Tournament at Tampa in two weeks. First off will be Saturday's noon game at league cellar-dweller Georgia (6-21, 1-13), which lost Tuesday at Texas A&M. Three days later, Florida will take its annual visit to Nashville, Tenn., to face a much-improved Vanderbilt squad in a game that, pending this week's results, could represent a Q-1 opportunity. Arkansas improved to 22-6 overall and 11-4 in league play. The Hogs get sixth-ranked Kentucky at home Saturday in what should be one of the SEC games of the year.
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