It would have been one of the greatest comeback stories in Arkansas Razorback basketball history.
The Hogs were down 21 at the half on the road to a very good Tennessee team. They pulled to within 2 points with 16 seconds to play, but two final shots wouldn’t fall. The Volunteers made two more free throws and escaped with a 78-74 win.
The loss dropped Arkansas out of a three-way tie for second place in the Southeastern Conference — and the Razorbacks would have had the edge, as they owned the tiebreakers. Arkansas finished the regular season in fourth place in the SEC, which is still good enough for a double bye to Thursday in next week’s SEC tournament in Tampa.
The Vols built their first half lead by hitting nine of 12 three pointers while limiting the Razorbacks to a total of nine field goals, including four of nine on threes.
Arkansas opened the second half with a 14-run, then Tennessee went on a run, but the Razorbacks fought, scratched and clawed at the lead.
The Razorbacks seemed to grab the moment with less than three minutes to play, but it took 22 minutes to finish the game because of fouls, free throws and reviews.
One review took more than six minutes. At the end of that one, the ball was awarded to Arkansas — where everyone thought it was going even before the review.
Arkansas finishes the SEC season with a 13-5 record. They could be as highly seeded as No. 5 in the NCAA Tournament.