Razorbacks return to Sweet 16 with 53-48 win over Aggies

BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) — Au’Diese Toney’s fast-break dunk capped the decisive run with about six minutes left and launched fourth-seeded Arkansas to the Candy 16 for a second consecutive yr following a 53-48 win over No. 12 seed New Mexico State on Saturday evening.

JD Notae scored 18 factors earlier than fouling out with 1:22 left and Jaylin Williams had 10 factors and 15 rebounds for the Razorbacks (27-8). Notae’s substitute, Chris Lykes, hit all 4 free-throw makes an attempt within the closing 10 seconds to safe the win after the Aggies closed inside two factors on Teddy Allen’s 3-pointer with 12 seconds left.

The Razorbacks advance to play the winner of the sport between top-seeded Gonzaga and No. 9 Memphis on the West Regional web site in San Francisco on Thursday.

Allen was restricted to 12 factors after scoring 37 within the first spherical towards Connecticut. Johnny McCants scored 16 factors and added 12 rebounds for New Mexico State (27-7). The Western Athletic Convention champion was denied an opportunity to achieve the Candy 16 for the second time at school historical past, and first since 1992.

The Razorbacks, making their thirty fifth match look, reached the Elite Eight final yr earlier than dropping to eventual champion Baylor. Arkansas is making consecutive Candy 16 appearances for the primary time since a four-year run spanning 1993-96.

Toney scored simply seven factors, however performed a key defensive position in guarding Allen. Nicknamed `Teddy Buckets,’ Allen completed 5 of 16 from the sphere two days after scoring 37 factors in a 70-63 tournament-opening win over fifth-seeded Connecticut.

Down 33-32, Williams sparked the 9-0 run by hitting two free throws to place Arkansas forward for good. Toney’s dunk was arrange by a deep move from Davonte Davis off a turnover.

DEEEE-FENSE

The Razorbacks protection attacked the Aggies on the perimeter, pushing them additional past the 3-point line. The strain led to New Mexico State forcing quite a few makes an attempt with the shot clock working down. The Aggies had been simply 6 of 25 with 12 turnovers within the first half.

Arkansas then capitalized on New Mexico’s missed pictures and turnovers by scoring 13 factors on the quick break within the first 20 minutes.

New Mexico State tailored within the second half by working the ball extra inside.

FRIGID IN BUFFALO

With Arkansas hitting simply three of its first 15 makes an attempt, the groups mixed to go 6 of 28 from the sphere via the primary 11 minutes. The Aggies had been the primary to get to double digits when Notae accomplished a three-point play to place Arkansas up 12-0 with 7:47 left within the first half.

The Razorbacks completed the half hitting 9 of 27 and led 26-17.

BIG PICTURE

The Aggies turned the ball over 19 instances and had been outscored 15-0 in fast-break factors.

The Razorbacks improved to 17-3 of their previous 20 video games, which got here after opening the SEC season with three consecutive losses.

UP NEXT

Arkansas superior to the Candy Sixteen the place they’ll play both top-seeded Gonzaga or No. 9 Memphis at San Francisco on Thursday.

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Extra AP protection of March Insanity: https://apnews.com/hub/march-madness and https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball and https://twitter.com/AP_Top25

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