In the lane

Thomas enjoys 2nd go-around

Arkansas forward Dustin Thomas goes up for a shot during the Razorbacks' 77-71 NCAA Tournament win over Seton Hall on Friday, March 17, 2017, in Greenville, S.C.

GREENVILLE, S.C. -- Dustin Thomas' second NCAA Tournament game went a lot better than his first.

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Colorado made the 2014 NCAA Tournament when Thomas was a freshman for the Buffaloes, but it was a quick trip to Orlando, Fla.

Pittsburgh beat Colorado 77-48. Thomas played 18 minutes off the bench and had 1 point and 2 rebounds.

"Pittsburgh took it to us," Thomas said. "It wasn't too pretty."

Thomas, who transferred to the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville from Colorado and had to sit out last season, played a beautiful game Friday.

The 6-8 junior from Texarkana, Texas, had 13 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal and 1 blocked shot to help the Razorbacks beat Seton Hall 77-71 in their NCAA Tournament opener and advance to play North Carolina on Sunday.

Thomas, who played a season-high 31 minutes, more than doubled his scoring average of 5.2 points and matched his season-high of 13 points against Mount Saint Mary's on Nov. 28.

"That was probably Dustin Thomas' best game as a Razorback," Arkansas Coach Mike Anderson said.

With Seton Hall packing its defense around the basket to clog driving lanes for the guards, Thomas needed to be productive because he was left open, Anderson said.

It seemed like sound strategy, but Thomas foiled it by hitting 6 of 9 shots, including three jumpers.

"I told myself I had to show up big this game for us to win," Thomas said. "I feel like that's what happened.

"I knocked down that first jumper and got confident and got into a good rhythm. Everything started flowing after that."

Arkansas guard Manny Watkins said Thomas showed his true skills.

"D.T. is a talented guy, and you never know how well he can play," Watkins said. "He might come out and play crazy good, and that's what he did today."

Flagrant or not?

Arkansas Coach Mike Anderson and Seton Hall Coach Kevin Willard had different opinions on the flagrant foul called on Pirates forward Desi Rodriguez with 18.3 seconds left and Arkansas leading 72-71.

Barford was driving hard to the basket when he was pushed by Rodriguez, clipped feet with him and fell to the floor.

A reporter asked Anderson about what the reporter called a "borderline" call.

"I thought it was no play on the ball," Anderson said. "That's as simple as that. I mean, what's borderline?"

Barford said Rodriguez pushed him.

"I don't know if he was trying to make a play on the ball or what, but it came in our favor," Barford said. "I knocked down two free throws and it helped a lot."

After Barford's free throws put Arkansas ahead 74-71, the Razorbacks kept possession because of the flagrant call.

Willard watched a replay of the flagrant call by the time he spoke to the media after the game. He praised the officiating crew of Doug Sirmons, David Hall and Mike Nance, but he said it was disappointing to see the call made under the circumstances.

"It was a physical, athletic game," Willard said. "I think it's one of those things ... if you've been around the game long enough, you've got to know time, score.

"It's an NCAA Tournament game. I think you've really got to understand what's going on. So I can't really complain about whether I agree or not. I'm always going to disagree with it."

It was a nice change for the Razorbacks, who were called for two flagrant fouls in the final 1:20 of their 82-65 loss to Kentucky in the SEC Tournament final Sunday.

"We've had some of that take place, too," Anderson said. "So it just came at a bad time, but probably the right time for us. But I just didn't think there was a play on the ball."

Macon free throws

Arkansas junior guard struggled with his shooting from the field (1 of 7) and the free-throw line (5 of 8) against Seton Hall, but he was all smiles in the locker room after the game.

Macon came into the game averaging 13.4 points and shooting 45.3 percent from the field and 87.6 percent from the free-throw line.

"Oh man, I don't know what was going on with me today," Macon said. "But it doesn't matter.

"I could have gone 0 for 8 from the field and the free-throw line, but as long as we won, that's all that matters."

Macon hit 3 of 4 free throws in the final 17.8 seconds to help clinch the victory.

"I kind of got down on myself when I missed those free throws," Macon said. "But I got my confidence back at the end. I had to believe in myself like I've been doing all season."

Macon, a former Little Rock Parkview star, transferred to Arkansas from Holmes (Miss.) Community College.

"I'm so excited," he said. "I never thought I'd be here. It doesn't seem real right now."

Willard vs. Arkansas

Seton Hall Coach Kevin Willard is a combined 0-3 against the Razorbacks as a player and head coach, including two postseason losses.

Willard first faced Arkansas in the 1997 NIT when he was a senior point guard for Pittsburgh. The Razorbacks won 76-71 in Walton Arena.

That was Willard's last game as a college player.

In Willard's first season as Seton Hall's coach, Arkansas beat the Pirates 71-62 in Louisville, Ky., on Dec. 8, 2010, in the Big East-SEC Challenge.

The Arkansas-Pittsburgh NIT game was March 17, 1997, 20 years to the day of Friday's Arkansas victory.

In the Dance

Arkansas improved to 42-30 in 31 NCAA Tournaments.

The Razorbacks have won each of their last three openers -- including 86-72 over Indiana in 2008 and 56-53 over Wofford in 2015 -- but haven't advanced to the Sweet 16 since 1996 when they beat Penn State and Marquette before losing to No. 1 seed Massachusetts.

Seton Hall fell to 15-11 in 11 NCAA Tournament appearances. The Pirates haven't won an NCAA Tournament game since 2004 when they beat Arizona 80-76 before losing to Duke 90-62.

Sports on 03/18/2017