GREENVILLE, S.C. -- Moses Kingsley didn't live up to expectations after being picked by media as the SEC preseason player of the year, but the Arkansas Razorbacks center made sure his team is still alive in the postseason.
Kingsley, a 6-10 senior, had 23 points, 6 rebounds and 4 blocked shots in the Razorbacks' 77-71 victory over Seton Hall in a first-round NCAA Tournament game Friday at Bon Secours Wellness Arena.
"I don't know what happened to Moses," Razorbacks Coach Mike Anderson said. "But he awakened today, and he was big."
Kingsley came in averaging 11.8 points, 7.8 rebounds and 2.6 blocked shots. Good numbers, but a dip from last season's averages of 15.9 points, 9.3 rebounds and 2.4 blocked shots last season.
So what woke up the the sleeping giant?
"I mean, it's win or go home," Kingsley said. "I have to bring it. And my team's looking up to me to bring it in games like this. I think that's what I did."
It was the most points Kingsley has scored in the past 17 games, since he had 24 in the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville's 99-86 victory over LSU on Jan. 21.
Kingsley, a second-team All-SEC pick by the coaches and media, hadn't scored more than 19 points in any other game this season until Friday.
Making Kingsley's performance more impressive was that it came against Seton Hall 6-10 junior center Angel Delgado, a unanimous first-team All-Big East player.
Delgado, who came into Friday's game averaging 15.3 points and a national-leading 13.1 rebounds, had 12 points and 13 rebounds Friday.
"Considering the level of competition, it probably was my best game," Kingsley said. "It feels good to play this well, but the thing is we got the win.
"It was a great matchup. Delgado is a very good player, obviously. He knows how to use his body. It was tough playing against him, but I did the best I could. I feel like I made it difficult for him to score. I didn't let him get anything easy."
Arkansas senior guard Dusty Hannahs and Kingsley were AAU teammates when both were in high school.
"Moses has just grown as a player every year I've been around him," Hannahs said. "Now it's almost peak Moses, and I'm glad the world got to see him.
"It's fun to play with him, and on the defensive end you better go in there strong or it's going to get whipped right back out there."
Kingsley put an exclamation point on the Razorbacks' victory with four seconds left when he blocked a layup attempt by Seton Hall guard Khadeen Carrington.
A more important block came with 17:41 left when he rejected a dunk attempt by Desi Rodriguez and started a fast break that ended with a three-pointer by Dusty Hannahs.
Kingsley's block triggered what became a five-point swing when the Pirates were trying to build on a 42-37 lead.
"I just had to make a play," Kingsley said. "My guard got beat, and I was the last line of defense.
"I knew [Rodriguez] was going to dunk it because he's very, very athletic. He went up with his left hand, and I just waited on him. I'm glad I got the ball without fouling him."
Kingsley hit 10 of 13 shots and 2 of 2 free throws. He hit his first five shots on jumpers, including a three-pointer.
"I just had it going today," Kingsley said. "Next game it might not be me. It might be somebody else scoring.
"We don't always need scoring from me, but today we did."
Kingsley said part of the reason he shot jumpers was to try to pull Delgado away from the basket. When Delgado didn't guard him on the perimeter, Kingsley made the Pirates pay.
"The coaches told me, 'If he doesn't come out, you shoot it,' " Kingsley said. "They encouraged me to take that shot.
"I shoot a lot of those shots after every practice. Not almost every practice, but every practice I do that. I never take days off."
Arkansas senior guard Manny Watkins said he wasn't surprised by Kingsley's performance.
"Moses just played like I know he's capable of playing," Watkins said. "I think he's the best big in our conference and one of the better bigs in the country.
"Delgado is a really good player, but I'm taking Moses Kingsley every day. Moses was kllling it on the offensive end and the defensive end. We couldn't have asked for much more than what Moses did today."
Sports on 03/18/2017