PORTLAND, Ore. -- Ninety minutes before Arkansas tipped off against North Carolina on Friday, Daryl Macon strode onto the Veterans Memorial Coliseum by himself, the first player from either team to start shooting around.
There's no guarantee Macon will do the same today when the Razorbacks face Connecticut at 2 p.m. on ESPN in the third-place game of the Phil Knight Invitational's Victory Bracket.
The 6-3 senior guard suffered a right ankle injury in the 87-68 loss to the No. 9 Tar Heels when he drove baseline and rolled his ankle with 14:55 remaining. He didn't return, and Coach Mike Anderson said after the game he "didn't know" about the severity of the injury or Macon's status for today.
Macon, the team's second-leading scorer at 16.4 points per game, could be the difference between heading home after a 2-1 weekend in Portland or a plane flight back to Fayetteville after back-to-back losses.
"Coming out here, I told my guys we're going to find out a little bit more about ourselves," Anderson said. "And we haven't arrived yet."
Sophomore guard C.J. Jones likely would take Macon's place in the starting lineup if the senior can't go. Jones played a career-high 26 minutes against North Carolina, scoring 12 points and knocking down 4 of 10 three-pointers, including a pair during Arkansas' 10-0 run to pull within six late.
"He looked comfortable out there, and I think that's only going to [grow]," Anderson said. "I thought he was one of those positives that came off the bench and gave us some good minutes."
Without Macon, an already thin backcourt would be tested further.
Senior Anton Beard played 38 minutes against North Carolina and is averaging a team-high 31 minutes. Fellow senior Jaylen Barford played a season-low 27 minutes against the Tar Heels, but that was the result of him sitting the final 7:33 of the first half after picking up his second foul.
Jones took on a bigger role in Macon's absence. If Macon missed today's game, freshman Darious Hall could see a bump in playing time. He played just five minutes Friday and is averaging only 11 this year.
North Carolina was the stronger team late, closing on a 13-0 run after Arkansas cut its lead to 74-68.
"They were much fresher I thought," Anderson said. "We had no answer late."
Connecticut opened the tournament with a 71-63 victory over Oregon before losing 77-57 to No. 4 Michigan State on Friday in what was a five-point game midway through the second half. The Huskies are coached by Kevin Ollie and were predicted to finish fifth in the American Athletic Conference after going 16-17 last season.
Junior guard Jalen Adams was a preseason first-team all-conference selection and is averaging 17.2 points per game, as is 6-8 junior wing Terry Larrier. Redshirt freshman guard Alterique Gilbert missed last season with a shoulder injury, but he was the conference's preseason freshman of the year and is averaging 10.6 points, 4.6 rebounds and 3.4 assists.
The University of Arkansas, Fayetteville positioned itself well with the 92-83 victory over Oklahoma in the first round. The victory gave the Razorbacks a strength-of-schedule boost, setting them up with a matchup with North Carolina instead of Portland. The Tar Heels are ranked No. 9 in the latest AP Poll and are No. 8 in KenPom.com's rankings. Portland is No. 301.
"Having an amazing schedule like this, you get to see where your team is, get to see where the young guys are that we have, that we have so many [of]," Macon said after Thursday's victory over Oklahoma. "Get a chance to bond. This is great bonding time for us to see how your teammate plays, how the younger guys play.
"We try to use this time to gel together so late in the season we already know how to play together."
Macon's teammates hope they're playing with him today. His long-term health is the most important question right now, but ending the trip with a victory over the Huskies would be boost.
"Just leave on a positive note," Barford said. "Just play hard [today]."
Sports on 11/26/2017