SAN FRANCISCO -- University of Arkansas Coach Eric Musselman's six NCAA Tournament victories the last two seasons are more than the Razorbacks had the previous 22 tournaments combined.
From 1997-2019 -- the NCAA Tournament was canceled in 2020 due to coronavirus -- the Razorbacks had five victories in 10 appearances.
"I guess the bar has been raised," Musselman said after Duke beat Arkansas 78-69 on Saturday in the West Regional final at Chase Center.
Senior All-American guard JD Notae, sophomore forward Jaylin Williams and sophomore guard Davonte Davis were key contributors in both of the Razorbacks' runs to the Elite Eight the past two seasons.
Arkansas finished 25-7 last season with a loss to eventual national champion Baylor in the South Regional final and went 28-9 this season.
The Razorbacks reached the Elite Eight in back-to-back seasons for the first time since 1994 and 1995 when Arkansas beat Duke to win the national championship and lost to UCLA in the title game under Coach Nolan Richardson.
"It's a great feeling, but it's like a standard now for us," Williams said last week after Arkansas reached the Sweet 16 by beating Vermont 75-71 and New Mexico State 53-48 in Buffalo, N.Y.
The Razorbacks beat a No. 1 seed for the first time in 11 tries with a 74-68 victory over Gonzaga -- the NCAA Tournament's top overall seed and No. 1 team in The Associated Press poll -- on Thursday night in the West Regional semifinals.
Arkansas became the first team to beat an Associated Press No. 1 team in the regular season (80-76 in overtime against Auburn on Feb. 8) and No. 1 team in the NCAA Tournament in the same season according to ESPN Stats and Info.
"Of course, we all wanted to get further, but the fight this team has shown all year has been incredible," said Williams, who had 19 points and 10 rebounds against Duke for his 15th double-double this season, including in all four NCAA Tournament games. "For the way that we started off conference, nobody would have expected us to get this far."
The Razorbacks were 0-3 in SEC play, but finished 13-5 and recovered from a 10-5 overall start in which they lost five of six games in one stretch.
"We fought all season," said Notae, who led Arkansas with 21 points against Gonzaga and had 14 points, 4 rebounds and 4 assists against Duke before fouling out with 3:47 left. "That's been us all season.
"Keep fighting, keep fighting, never give up. We just had each other's backs, so I'm very proud of this team."
Senior forward Trey Wade, a transfer from Wichita State who had 15 points against Gonzaga and seven against Duke, was among seven newcomers for the Razorbacks.
"We started off pretty slow, but we just kept pushing, keeping our heads up," Wade said. "And we fought back and put ourselves in a position to compete at a high level."
Senior guard Stanley Umude, a transfer from South Dakota, scored 14 points for Arkansas against Duke.
Davis, who made the transformation from starter to sixth man midway through the season, added nine points off the bench.
Duke (32-6) advanced to the Final Four -- the record-setting 13th time for Coach Mike Krzyzewski -- by using its talent and size to overpower Arkansas inside.
Freshman forwards AJ Griffin (18 points, 7 of 9 shooting) and Paolo Banchero (16 points, 7 rebounds) and sophomore center Mark Williams (12 points, 12 rebounds on 6 of 6 shooting) all are projected as first-round NBA Draft picks.
The trio helped the Blue Devils shoot 54.7% and outscore the Razorbacks 46-34 in the paint and finish with a 34-25 rebounding edge.
Duke also benefited from having most of the sellout crowd of 17,739 cheering for the Blue Devils, though Arkansas used its full allotment of 1,000 tickets.
"Duke had a phenomenal crowd," Musselman said. "It was close to a home game for them with the amount of people that were here.
"But having said that, we would much rather perform and play in front of the crowds that we've had, sellouts throughout the tournament."
Arkansas played to sellout crowds at home in Walton Arena, and several thousand fans stormed Nolan Richardson Court after the Razorbacks beat Auburn for their second victory over a No. 1 team and first since beating North Carolina 65-64 on Feb. 12, 1984 in the Pine Bluff Convention Center.
"The fans have been great, man," Wade said. "It's a fan base that I have never experienced before, the games, the community. They embraced us. I've got a lot of love for Arkansas."
Williams starred at Fort Smith Northside before signing with Arkansas.
"Being a hometown kid, the fans showing out how they did every home game, the love they gave us throughout the season, has been amazing," Williams said. "It's just been great. Thankful for everything they did for us."
Arkansas sold out of tickets before this season started.
"The crowd the entire year was incredible, and I think the group last year that made an Elite Eight created a lot of excitement in the offseason," Musselman said. "And I know that this group of guys has created a lot of excitement for us going into next season as well.
"So the enthusiasm for Arkansas basketball, we hope that it will be a little bit higher, if that's even possible."
Musselman, a former NBA head coach with the Golden State Warriors and Sacramento Kings, is 8-5 in NCAA Tournament games -- 6-2 at Arkansas and 2-3 at Nevada.
In the past five years Musselman has led two different programs to the Sweet 16 including Nevada's 2018 appearance. He led the Wolf Pack and Razorbacks to five NCAA Tournament appearances in the last five years when it was held.
"I would just say it's his fire," Williams said in Buffalo of Musselman's NCAA Tournament record. "He pushes everybody to be just as good as they can be."
Williams paused and smiled.
"He might cuss you out, might yell at you," Williams added as Musselman listened and laughed. "But it's because he wants you to be the best player that you can be.
"He's pushing you to be a perfectionist. He's pushing the team to be the best we can be every day."
Musselman praised the Razorbacks for their effort all season, and especially for how they stayed locked in traveling to Buffalo, then across the country to San Francisco.
"Everybody works so hard," Musselman said. "The players buy into everything, and we've had two really good years."
The Razorbacks finished 20-12 in Musselman's first season in 2019-20 -- they were 19-7 when Isaiah Joe played and didn't miss games because of a knee injury -- and needed perhaps another victory in the SEC Tournament to secure an NCAA Tournament bid.
"I thought even in year one the guys played incredibly hard," Musselman said. "And we internally have high expectations, meaning in that locker room, and we will have high expectations all summer."
Immediately after the Duke game, Musselman was ready to begin preparations for his fourth season at Arkansas.
"As soon as we get out of here, I'm going to start working on next year," he said. "That's a definite."