RALEIGH, N. C. - Over the course of the season, Eric Gordon's name has been repeated hundreds of times by commentators on national networks and printed in newspapers across the country. He is the face of Indiana, the top freshman in the Big Ten.

And in order to get past the Hoosiers on Friday in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament, Arkansas assistant coach Rob Evans asserted, the Razorbacks needed to stop Gordon.

The Hogs did and as a result they defeated Indiana 86-72, securing their first victory in the Big Dance since 1999 and earning a date with top seed North Carolina on Sunday.

" He was the main option, " Razorbacks sophomore Patrick Beverley said.

But Gordon didn't play like one. He scored a season-low eight points and his performance Friday epitomized the decline the Hoosiers have experienced in the last few weeks since Kelvin Sampson resigned as coach and Dan Dakich replaced him for the final five regular season games.

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" It was hard to execute, " said Gordon, who appeared dazed after making just 3 of 15 field goal attempts and committing three turnovers. " We couldn't get inside and I never got in a rhythm. "

Arkansas denied Gordon opportunities to crash the basket and as a result he was left to launch shots from the perimeter - many of which did not go through the hoop. On one of the few chances he had to penetrate the paint, Gordon made a finger roll but then watched the officials wave off the basket and assess him an offensive foul.

Gordon, who averaged 21. 3 points per game before Friday, flashed a look of disgust. Later in the half, after missing four of his first five field goal attempts, Gordon was called for traveling.

He then reluctantly rolled the ball to the referee, the frustration etched on his face.

For much of the game, Arkansas hounded Gordon, stalking him with several players.

" We felt if we could send multiple people we could give him problems, " Evans said.

Beverley shadowed Gordon, tracing the Indiana freshman's every step. And while Beverley was quiet on the offensive end, it didn't seem to matter. Metaphorically speaking, his job was to chop off the head of the monster that was Indiana.

" Slow down Gordon, " Beverley said. " That's what we tried to do. "

Over the course of the game, Beverley did just that, working within the constraints of the zone defense that Pelphrey instructed his team to play and receiving help from Sonny Weems, the best player on the floor Friday night. Weems hawked Gordon and when the Razorbacks had the ball he torched the Hoosiers, pumping in 31 points.

Weems, Arkansas' leading scorer who averages 14. 3 points per game, played his role perhaps better than he has in his two seasons with the Razorbacks. Gordon, meanwhile, had perhaps the worst performance in his brief career.

With 40 seconds left, Gordon walked off the court and heard a smattering of applause from Indiana's supporters for perhaps the last time. Gordon is an NBA prospect and his future seems bright. But on this night he was simply average.

And the Razorbacks had a lot to do with that.

" It was our defense that won this game, " Beverley said. " It was the key. "