FAYETTEVILLE -- University of Arkansas guard Davonte "Devo" Davis said he wasn't nervous when he caught a pass from Jalen Tate and hit a jump shot with 3.1 seconds left for the game-winning points in the Razorbacks' 72-70 victory over Oral Roberts on Saturday night.
"I don't think of it as pressure on me for sure," Davis said. "I think I'm made for those type of plays. As you saw, I knocked the shot down."
Tate got the ball to the freshman Davis in the flow of the game, not off a set play.
"We don't run any plays for Devo, at least not right now," Arkansas Coach Eric Musselman said. "We will next year, obviously, but he's just a guy that just balls. He just plays."
Watch party in Walton
Arkansas will host a watch party in Walton Arena for tonight's game against Baylor. The telecast will be shown on the giant video board over the court and on TVs around the arena.
Admission is free. Doors to the arena will open at 8:15 p.m., with tipoff set for 8:57 p.m.
Fans are encouraged to park in Lots 56, 56B, 60 or any lot west of Razorback Road. No shuttle service will be provided, and fans must enter the arena through the south or east entrances.
Masks or face coverings are required and must be worn inside the arena. Fans also need to socially distance in the seating bowl and on the concourse. As is the case for games, the SEC's clear bag policy will be in place and fans must enter the arena through metal detectors.
A limited number of concession stands will be open. Fans are not allowed to bring food or drinks.
Drew on Moody
Baylor Coach Scott Drew smiled when asked what he sees when scouting Arkansas freshman guard Moses Moody.
"A lot of buckets," Drew said. "He's an outstanding player. Any time you're third in the SEC in scoring and you're projected as a first-round draft pick, obviously you've got a lot of talent and ability."
Moody is averaging 17.1 points.
"Coach [Eric] Musselman's done a great job of putting him in positions to be successful," Drew said. "He's a really talented player who can hurt you in a variety of ways."
Sunny outlook
Eric Musselman said Davonte Davis wore sunglasses around the team leading into the Oral Roberts game.
"Just all of a sudden, the last 48 hours, he's been wearing sunglasses into our dinners, our breakfasts," Musselman said. "Even when the sun's not out, he's wearing them. Maybe I ought to start wearing a pair as well."
Great Eight
The Razorbacks have a 6-2 record in Elite Eight games, going back to their first two appearances in the 1940s, with a 52-40 win over Wyoming in 1941 for Glen Rose, and a 79-76 win over Oregon in 1945 for Eugene Lambert.
Eddie Sutton won his first regional final with the Razorbacks, 61-58, over Cal State Fullerton in 1978, then fell to Indiana State 73-71 the following season.
Nolan Richardson went 3-1 in the Elite Eight, starting with an 88-85 victory over Texas in Dallas in 1990. The Razorbacks fell 93-81 to Kansas the next season in the Southeast Region final.
Richardson's 1994 national championship team beat Michigan 76-68 in the round of 8. The 1995 Razorbacks ousted Virginia 68-61 in Kansas City, Mo., en route to the NCAA title game.
The 1944 Razorbacks already had qualified for a spot in the Elite Eight but did not play in it due to a car accident on their way back from an exhibition game in Fort Smith that killed a university instructor and critically injured two players.
Series history
Arkansas has 96 victories against Baylor, which is tied for its fourth most against any opponent along with SMU, trailing TCU (105), Texas A&M (104) and Rice (103).
The Razorbacks own a 96-47 advantage in the series, dating to its inception on Feb. 18, 1924, with Baylor's 33-29 win.
Arkansas' lead in neutral site venues is 6-4. Baylor won the last meeting in a 70-47 rout in North Little Rock on Dec. 30, 2009. That was the Bears' largest margin of victory in the series since a 94-68 decision on Jan. 29, 1974.
The Razorbacks dominated the rivalry during their final 15 years in the Southwest Conference with a 25-8 margin from 1976-77 through 1990-91. However, the teams split a pair of postseason games in the SWC Tournament in Dallas during that span, with the Bears scoring a 74-73 win on March 12, 1988, and the Razorbacks taking a 115-75 decision on March 10, 1990.
3-point struggle
The Razorbacks have been well off their three-point shooting standard during the NCAA Tournament. Saturday's 1-of-9 performance (11.1%) from three-point range in a 72-70 victory over Oral Roberts dropped the Hogs to 10 of 42 (23.8%) from beyond the arc in games against Colgate, Texas Tech and ORU.
Arkansas entered the Sweet 16 shooting 33.6% (229 of 682) from three-point range, led by Moses Moody (37.4%), Vance Jackson (35.4%), Jalen Tate (33.3%) and JD Notae (33.1%).
Glass grab
Justin Smith's 11 offensive rebounds against Oral Roberts represented an Arkansas NCAA Tournament record and tied for the most by any player in the tourney over the past 30 years.
According to the Elias Sports Bureau, Smith's 11 offensive boards tied UMass' Tyrone Weeks (1998), Kansas' Jeff Graves (2003), Kansas State's Jordan Henriquez (2012) and Virginia Tech's Kenny Blackshear (2019).
On/off Notae
Arkansas guard JD Notae had a huge game against Missouri with 27 points in the SEC Tournament and had 14 points against Colgate in the NCAA Tournament opener. His other postseason games have not gone as well.
The junior guard shot 7 of 31 (.226) in postseason games against LSU, Texas Tech and Oral Roberts. Notae was 1 of 6 in 13 minutes against the Golden Eagles.
Notae is 20 of 59 (.339) overall in the postseason.
Shooting stats
The Razorbacks' 37.7% shooting against Oral Roberts was their fifth-lowest mark of the season, and second lowest in a win, ahead of only a 35.9% shooting night in a 61-45 victory over Mississippi State on Feb. 2.
Conversely, Arkansas' 13 of 15 free-throw shooting, a tidy 86.7%, was its fifth best of the season. The Razorbacks' top mark was 13 of 14 (.929) vs. Mississippi State, followed by 12 of 13 (.923) at South Carolina, 8 of 9 (.889) vs. Central Arkansas and 20 of 23 (.870) at Missouri.
Moving around
Tonight's game will be the third different venue for the Razorbacks in the NCAA Tournament.
Arkansas beat Colgate in Bankers Life Fieldhouse, beat Texas Tech in Hinkle Fieldhouse, then returned to Bankers Life Fieldhouse for the Oral Roberts game.
Baylor is playing in Lucas Oil Stadium for the second time after winning there against Hartford to open the NCAA Tournament. The Bears then beat Wisconsin and Villanova in Hinkle Fieldhouse.
Hail the SWC
The Southwest Conference disbanded in 1996, five years after Arkansas left for the SEC, but three former members of the SWC -- Arkansas, Baylor and Houston -- advanced to the Elite Eight. Including Texas and Texas Tech, five former SWC teams made the NCAA Tournament.
Getting technical
Oral Roberts Coach Paul Mills became the first opposing coach to draw a technical foul against the Razorbacks in an NCAA Tournament game since Indiana's Dan Dakich in an 86-72 Arkansas win on March 21, 2008, in Raleigh, N.C., per HogStats.com.