GREENVILLE, S.C. -- The wait is over for Dusty Hannahs.
Hannahs, a senior guard from Pulaski Academy, will play in the NCAA Tournament for the first time when the Arkansas Razorbacks (25-9) take on Seton Hall (21-11) at 12:30 p.m. today in a first-round South Regional game in Bon Secours Arena.
The game will be televised on TNT.
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NCAA Tournament South Regional
(8) Arkansas vs. (9) Seton Hall
WHEN 12:30 p.m. WHERE Bon Secours Wellness Arena, Greenville, S.C. RECORDS Arkansas 25-9; Seton Hall 21-11 SERIES Arkansas leads 1-0 (Arkansas won 71-62 in 2010) RADIO Razorback Sports Network TELEVISION TNT
PROBABLE STARTING LINEUPS
SETON HALL POS. NAME, HT., YR. PPG RPG G Khadeen Carrington, 6-4, Jr. 16.9 3.1 G Madison Jones, 6-2, Sr. 5.7 2.4 F Desi Rodriguez, 6-6, Jr. 15.9 5.1 F Michael Nzel, 6-10, Fr. 4.3 3.7 C Angel Delgado, 6-10, Sr. 15.3 13.1 COACH Kevin Willard (128-101 in seven seasons at Seton Hall, 173-150 overall in nine seasons)
ARKANSAS POS. NAME, HT., YR. PPG RPG G Dusty Hannahs, 6-3, Sr. 14.6 1.7 G Jaylen Barford, 6-3, Jr. 12.6 3.7 G Manny Watkins, 6-3, Sr. 6.2 3.9 F Dustin Thomas, 6-8, Jr. 5.2 3.8 C Moses Kingsley, 6-10, Sr. 11.8 7.8 COACH Mike Anderson (127-73 in six seasons at Arkansas, 327-171 overall in 15 seasons)
TEAM COMPARISON
Seton Hall Arkansas 73.3 Points for 79.8 70.2 Points against 74.0 +6.7 Rebound margin +0.1 -1.3 Turnover margin +1.4 45.0 FG pct. 46.1 33.8 3-PT pct. 36.4 64.3 FT pct. 76.2 CHALK TALK Arkansas is 8-2 in its last 10 games. Seton Hall is 7-3 … Arkansas guard Daryl Macon, who has played off the bench the previous 11 games, is averaging 13.4 points. … The Pirates are 1-1 against SEC teams this season, losing to Florida 81-76 in Lake Buena Vista, Fla., and beating South Carolina 67-64 in New York … Seton Hall is the first Big East team Arkansas has played since losing at Connecticut 75-62 on Dec. 3, 2011.
"It's been a long time coming," said Hannahs, who began his career at Texas Tech five years ago. "I'm really excited and ready to play. I'm just hoping to go and represent the state and handle business."
Hannahs hadn't even played on a college team that had a winning record until this season.
During his first two seasons at Texas Tech, the Red Raiders finished 11-20 in 2013 and 14-18 in 2014.
Hannahs transferred to the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville and redshirted in 2015 when the Razorbacks went 27-9.
But NCAA rules prohibit a player redshirting from traveling with his team, so while the Razorbacks were playing in Jacksonville, Fla., in their first NCAA Tournament appearance in seven years, Hannahs was 330 miles south spending spring break in Miami.
Then, in a bitter twist for Hannahs, Texas Tech made the NCAA Tournament even though the Hogs beat the Red Raiders 75-68 in overtime. Arkansas finished 16-16.
"I didn't even have a team that had sniffed the bubble yet," Hannahs said.
Arkansas' season ended with a 68-61 loss to Florida in the SEC Tournament, and Hannahs was visibly despondent, despite leading the Hogs with 33 points.
"I remember after that game in the locker room Dusty saying, ' 'Dang, I'm tired of losing, man. I've lost every time in college,' " Arkansas center Moses Kingsley said. "We all felt bad, but I felt really bad for him. He was so sad."
Kingsley declared for the NBA Draft a few weeks later, but withdrew his name to return for his senior season.
"I've never said this before, but Dusty was one of the reasons I came back to Arkansas," Kingsley said. "I could see how badly Dusty wanted to win.
"To help him play for a team that has 25 wins his senior year -- and hopefully will get more -- I'm very, very happy for him."
Hannahs is averaging a team-high 14.6 points and has hit 70 of 184 three-pointers (38.0 percent), but Arkansas Coach Mike Anderson said he's become much more than a perimeter shooter.
"We've seen his evolution as a player," Anderson said. "He's developing going off the dribble, getting to the free-throw line, and even playing a lot better defensively than he had in previous years.
"I think he cares more about winning now. Sometimes you're around guys who embody winning. It makes a big difference.
"Now you start doing the little things, and we're seeing that. Dusty is playing with an edge, too. I think he's turned into a leader with this basketball team."
Seton Hall Coach Kevin Willard said Hannahs' impact on the Razorbacks is obvious watching game tapes.
"Your first instinct is to run at him and chase him off the three-point, but then he can drive around you," Willard said. "He reminds me of a Europe-type player the way he can do that.
"He uses his body extremely well to get to the basket or get fouled. He's not just a three-point shooter. He's an all-around player."
The evolution start the summer after his sophomore season when Hannahs played on a USA team of collegians that toured Europe and was coached by South Carolina's Frank Martin.
"Dusty was a good player then, but obviously he's gotten a lot better," Martin said. "He's really developed his offensive abilities to make himself even harder to guard."
Martin said it's fitting Hannahs will end his college career playing in the NCAA Tournament.
"Playing for his Hogs, I know he loves it," Martin said. "That's all he could talk about when we were overseas together, how happy he was to be back home.
"He's had a wonderful season and he's been a big, big part of the run that they're on right now."
The Razorbacks won six of their final seven regular-season games to secure an NCAA Tournament bid, and Hannahs played a big role on and off the court.
Hannahs was the only Razorback who spoke to the media after Arkansas lost to Vanderbilt 72-59 at home on the heels of an 83-78 loss at Missouri. The Tigers had lost 14 in a row before beating the Hogs.
Arkansas' NCAA Tournament hopes seemed to be fading after the loss to Vanderbilt dropped the Razorbacks' record to 17-7.
"We haven't given up by any means," Hannahs said to a room full of media. "But we need to right it right now. There's no more time to waste."
The Razorbacks began playing with an added sense of urgency, and Hannahs said he never worried they weren't going to make the NCAA Tournament.
"I knew when we were playing pickup games in the summer we were going to have a special team," he said. "I could just tell.
"I could tell people's mindsets were different."
Arkansas wrapped up an NCAA Tournament bid by beating Georgia 85-67 in the regular-season finale at Walton Arena.
At least there was no doubt about it in Hannahs' mind.
Hannahs asked for permission to thank the fans for their support all season, but he made an announcement, too, after the victory over Georgia at Walton Arena.
"We haven't talked about the postseason and all that," Hannahs said into a microphone. "But we want to let you'll know we're going dancing!"
Anderson said after the game with a smile that it was "Dusty being Dusty."
Once the Razorbacks' spot in the NCAA Tournament field was announced last Sunday, Anderson said it was a good thing they made it considering Hannahs' proclamation.
Hannahs said senior guard Manny Watkins, his roommate, joked while the Razorbacks were watching the selection show on CBS after losing to Kentucky in the SEC Tournament final.
The only question at that point, it seemed, was where the Razorbacks were being sent and who they were playing in the NCAA Tournament.
Things got a little tense when the first three regions were unveiled and the Hogs still were not announced.
Hannahs said Watkins took a jab at him as the wait continued.
"Manny said, 'They're not going to put us in because Dusty thought he knows it all,' " Hannahs said. "I'm glad nothing crazy happened or I know the whole state would have been pretty mad at me."
Now that Hannahs has made it to the NCAA Tournament, he said he wants to stick around for a while.
"He doesn't want to just experience it," Anderson said. "He wants to win."
Sports on 03/17/2017
