FAYETTEVILLE -- In years past, the University of Arkansas men's basketball team has honored its seniors before tipoff of the final home game, but Wednesday night was different.
Instead of having the seniors and their family members come onto the Walton Arena court to be presented with a framed jersey, the ceremony was held after the Razorbacks played LSU.
Arkansas Coach Eric Musselman said during the previous four seasons when he was Nevada, the Wolf Pack's seniors were honored before their final home game, but that with the tipoff against LSU at 6 p.m., there was some concern about the size of the crowd for a pregame ceremony.
It proved to be a good thought because 30 minutes before tipoff, there was a sparse number of fans in the arena. Shortly after the game started, the stands filled up with an announced crowd of 15,169.
"I came out like three minutes before tip, and it was probably less people than had been there all year at that juncture because it's a work night, it's 6 o'clock," Musselman said. "Then you look up after the first timeout, and we have an incredible crowd.
"It doesn't matter if you're playing here or Nevada or at UCLA or wherever, there is probably not going to be a good crowd early on. So, if you move the senior celebration up 15 minutes before 6, who's going to be there? You want those guys to feel good about it."
All of the Razorbacks -- the seniors in particular -- were feeling good after a 99-90 victory over LSU. It was the most points Arkansas had scored in an SEC game since beating the Tigers 99-86 on Jan. 21, 2017.
Guard Jimmy Whitt was among four Arkansas seniors honored after the game along with forwards Adrio Bailey, Jeantal Cylla and Jamario Bell.
"I know it's senior night and everything, but you don't want to walk out there after a loss," Whitt said. "So that's extra motivation for the team to send everybody off the right way."
Whitt did his part to make sure the seniors enjoyed the postgame festivities with 26 points, a career-high 15 rebounds, 5 assists and 2 steals.
"The way Jimmy played tonight was what you were supposed to get from a senior playing his last game at the crib," said junior guard Mason Jones, who led the Razorbacks with 36 points. "He was getting to his spot any time he wanted to. He was rebounding.
"He was doing everything, and that game right there, Jimmy showed that he's a top player in the SEC."
Whitt hit 9 of 17 field goal attempts, including a putback dunk of a missed shot by Jones that pushed Arkansas' lead to 66-46 with 14:59 left.
The usually even-tempered Whitt let out a scream after the dunk.
Asked after the game where the dunk ranked on his career list of plays, Whitt said it was No. 1.
"You know me, I really don't get too excited on the court," Whitt said. "But that one was big for me. I felt that for sure."
Whitt helped Arkansas stay close to LSU on the boards, where the Tigers finished with a 40-35 advantage after they out-rebounded the Razorbacks 53-24 in a 79-77 victory in the Maravich Assembly Center on Jan. 8.
"I thought the biggest thing with Jimmy was his defensive rebounding," Musselman said. "To come into the game against an awesome offensive rebounding team with great length and athleticism and to think he's going to have 14 defensive rebounds? Man, I don't know if we had 14 defensive rebounds in the entire last game that we played LSU."
The Razorbacks had 21 defensive rebounds at LSU, but three were team rebounds where the ball went out of bounds off the Tigers. So Whitt had only four fewer defensive rebounds Wednesday than the Razorbacks actually grabbed in their first game against LSU.
"It's a mindset," Whitt said of rebounding. "Coming into the game, that was our main focus. It wasn't offense, it wasn't really guarding. We felt like we guarded good the first game. Obviously, rebounding was the biggest key, so all week we've been practicing rebounding drills. Just drilling it into our heads.
"For me, I just wanted to come out as aggressive as I could on the rebounding end. That's one of the reasons Coach Muss brought me here in the first place."
Whitt, who played at Arkansas as a freshman and then transferred to SMU, averaged 6.4 rebounds for the Mustangs last season. He returned to Arkansas as a graduate transfer.
"It was a pretty special moment for me for sure," Whitt said of celebrating after a senior night victory. "Just thinking about my whole journey and then coming back and being able to play like that. A win against a real quality team. I couldn't write it any better."
Beating LSU was a boost for the Razorbacks' NCAA Tournament hopes going into the regular-season finale at Texas A&M on Saturday, especially after they lost 99-89 at Georgia in the previous game.
"We can't get that Georgia game back," Whitt said. "Before this game, Coach talked to us about just trying to flush that game. It's a new one, our last game at home. This was a big opportunity for us."
Musselman hugged each senior after the game and posed with them for a photo.
"There is no doubt that this night is for the student-athlete," Musselman said. "Regardless of the sport you play, regardless of what campus you're on, it's really important.
"It's an emotional night. It's actually an emotional day for a lot of people because families are in town."
Musselman said he got emotional during the ceremony.
"Hugging Jimmy, hugging Adrio, I almost started crying and I've been through a lot of stuff," Musselman said. "But that's how emotional that feeling gets at that particular moment for those guys on senior night."
Saturday’s game
ARKANSAS AT TEXAS A&M
WHEN 3:30 p.m. Central
WHERE Reed Arena, College Station, Texas
RECORDS Arkansas 19-11, 7-10 SEC; Texas A&M 15-14, 9-8
TV SEC Network
Sports on 03/06/2020