Arkansas beats No. 25 Mississippi State by one in frantic finish
Published
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. -- — Jonas Aidoo made one of two free throws with 11 seconds left to break a tie game and No. 25 Mississippi State missed two potential game-winning shots at the rim at the other end to close out Arkansas’ 93-92 victory on Saturday.
Mississippi State (20-11, 8-10 Southeastern Conference) used a 12-0 run to go up by one point with 3:14 to play, its first lead since before halftime. Arkansas (19-12, 8-10), which led by one at the break, opened the second half on a 10-run.
DJ Wagner, who scored a game-high 24 points, gave the Razorbacks a three-point lead on a 3-pointer with 44 seconds left. But Jonathan Hubbard countered, hitting a 3-pointer for the Bulldogs just 10 seconds later to set up the frantic finish.
Aidoo, a preseason second-team All-SEC selection, largely struggled in his first season with the Razorbacks after transferring from Tennessee. But he scored a season-high 21 points and had 10 rebounds in the regular-season finale.
Claudell Harris Jr. led Mississippi State with 18 points and Hubbard finished with 17.
Takeaways
The Razorbacks entered the game likely on the right side of the NCAA Tournament bubble and should be breathing fine on Selection Sunday. Mississippi State should make the tournament, as well, but the Bulldogs have seen their seeding drop as they lost four of their last five games.
Key moment
Riley Kugel, who made the 3 that gave Mississippi State its first second-half lead, was blocked at the rim by Billy Richmond in the waning seconds. RJ Melendez grabbed the offensive rebound, but missed the putback as time expired.
Key stats
The Razorbacks shot well. They made 55% of their field goals, 43% of their 3-pointers and 81% of their free throws. The Bulldogs committed just two turnovers and scored 19 points off 10 Arkansas giveaways.
Up next
Arkansas will be either the No. 9 or No. 10 seed in next week’s SEC Tournament.
Mississippi State will be either the No. 10 seed or the No. 11 seed in the SEC Tournament.