In the lane

Sills, 21, has happy birthday

Indiana forward Justin Smith, left, recovers a loose ball in front of Arkansas guard Desi Sills in the second half of an NCAA college basketball game in Bloomington, Ind., Sunday, Dec. 29, 2019. Arkansas won 71-64. (AP Photo/AJ Mast)

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- Desi Sills' University of Arkansas teammates sang happy birthday during the Razorbacks' pregame meal on Sunday.

Then the Razorbacks serenaded Sills with it again after beating Indiana 71-64 at Assembly Hall.

"It's the best birthday present," said Sills, who turned 21 on Sunday.

Sills fouled out with 1:20 left and the Razorbacks leading 67-62, but Isaiah Joe and Mason Jones told him not to worry.

"Mason said he got me, 'Zay' said he got me when I fouled out and they were going to bring it home for me," said Sills. "When they did that it was the most amazing feeling ever, especially on my birthday. That made my birthday more special."

Sills, who had 10 points and 5 rebounds Sunday, is now 2 for 2 in fouling out of games at Indiana. He fouled out with 4:25 left after scoring 18 points in the Hoosiers' 63-60 victory in a second-round NIT game.

T on Jones

Arkansas junior guard Mason Jones was called for a technical foul by official Terry Oglesby with 9:37 left when he felt he was fouled on a driving attempt blocked by Indiana's Trayce Jackson-Davis.

"I don't think Mason did anything other than excitedly say he got fouled," Razorbacks Coach Eric Musselman said.

Jones said it was the first time he's ever been called for a technical foul on any level at which he has played.

"And all I said was, 'How was that not a foul?' " Jones said. "And [Oglesby] teched me up.

"Me being a captain and him telling me to come talk to him, I didn't really accept it or I really didn't agree with it, but it is what it is and I'm glad we came out with the W."

The technical was the fourth foul on Jones, who came out for 49 seconds, then played the final 8:48 without drawing his fifth foul. He scored 10 of his 21 points in that span.

"Just playing smarter and knowing that Coach Muss trusts me with four fouls is incredible, especially knowing how I play," Jones said of not fouling out despite his aggressive style. "I didn't want to let the team down."

Threes dropping

Arkansas hit a season-high 12 three-pointers in 31 attempts against Indiana. The previous high for the Razorbacks had been when they hit 11 of 30 in a 98-79 victory over Tulsa.

Isaiah Joe led the Razorbacks' three-point shooters with 6 of 17 while Mason Jones was 4 of 9.

"We need Isaiah to make threes, flat out," Arkansas Coach Eric Musselman said. "If he doesn't, we're going to struggle. And we need Mason to make threes.

"On nights that those guys don't knock down shots, we will struggle offensively."

Big one at Big Ten

Arkansas is now 1-7 in road games against Big Ten teams after handing Indiana its first home loss this season.

The Hoosiers had been 9-0 in Assembly Hall, including an 80-64 victory over No. 17 Florida State.

The Razorbacks' losses in their first seven Big Ten road games were 65-53 at Illinois and 75-50 at Indiana in 1949-50; 76-65 at Michigan in 1979-80; 85-84 at Ohio State in 1984-85; 80-67 at Michigan in 2012-13; and 85-71 at Minnesota in 2016-17.

Durham ejected

Indiana senior starting guard Al Durham was ejected with 7:18 left in the first half when he was called for a flagrant two foul for elbowing Adrio Bailey.

Bailey hit one of the two free throws resulting from the flagrant call to tie the game 22-22.

Durham came into the game averaging 12.4 points, 3.0 assists and 2.4 rebounds. He had 2 points, 2 assists and 1 rebound in 5 minutes at the time of his ejection.

"I find it very hard to believe that Al would do anything malicious," Indiana Coach Archie Miller said. "He's not that type of guy. If he did, obviously it's on him. He made a mistake.

"But I didn't see the play. In talking to the officials, they were adamant, 110% that it was the right and proper call. So you have to believe that. But Al is not the type of guy that's looking to do anything crazy out there."

Vs. the Hoosiers

Sunday marked the third time the Razorbacks and Hoosiers had met in the last two seasons.

Last season Arkansas and Indiana played in the first of a two-game series with the Razorbacks winning 73-72 in Walton Arena.

The teams weren't scheduled to play again until today, but they were matched in a second-round NIT game that Indiana won 63-60 in Assembly Hall.

Arkansas now leads the series 3-2, including an 86-72 victory in the 2008 NCAA Tournament.

A&M sold out

Arkansas' SEC opener against Texas A&M at 6 p.m. on Saturday in Walton Arena is a sellout, the UA announced.

It's the fifth sellout for the Razorbacks this season -- all for Saturday games in January and February.

Other home sellouts are Kentucky (Jan. 18), TCU (Jan. 25), Mississippi State (Feb. 15), and Missouri (Feb. 22).

Miller vs. Arkansas

Indiana Coach Archie Miller fell to 2-3 against Arkansas, including 1-1 at Dayton and 1-2 with the Hoosiers.

Arkansas beat Miller and Dayton 69-55 during the 2014-15 season, then the Flyers won the next year 85-81 in overtime.

Sunday marked the first time Arkansas Coach Eric Musselman faced Indiana.

One more

Arkansas has one more nonconference game left. The Razorbacks play TCU on Jan. 25 in Walton Arena in the Big 12/SEC Challenge.

Sports on 12/30/2019