'He's just in your personal space': Davis locks up in Hogs' 2 tournament wins

Arkansas guard Davonte Davis (4) reacts after a play against Texas Tech in the second half of a second-round game in the NCAA men's college basketball tournament at Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis on Sunday, March 21, 2021. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)

With a solid contest, Arkansas forward Justin Smith forced a missed layup on Texas Tech’s final possession Sunday.

Smith was stellar defensively in the 68-66 win, limiting Red Raiders players to 3 of 17 shooting, including 1 of 13 inside the three-point line, when he was the nearest defender. But it was hardly the best defense played by a Razorback in the waning moments of the second-round matchup at Hinkle Fieldhouse.

Freshman guard Davonte Davis’ all-out denial of Red Raiders guard Mac McClung did not show up in the box score and was likely missed by some, but the full-court effort during that sequence altered the course of the game’s finish. Texas Tech’s leading scorer did not touch the basketball in crunch time.

It was the latest and final example of Davis’ stout defensive play in the opening weekend of the NCAA Tournament, and it helped push Arkansas toward its first Sweet 16 appearance in 25 years.

"That's what I put my pride into is defense,” Davis said Sunday. “I’m going to try my hardest. If I have to guard the best player, I'll do it. If it's for him not to touch the ball, I'm going to deny him and make sure he doesn't touch the ball. I'm going to do my job and let everybody else do their job.”

After JD Notae split a pair of free throws, Davis jumped into action. He first denied McClung a would-be pass from Kyler Edwards 80-plus feet from the Red Raiders’ basket. Once in the frontcourt, McClung sprinted to the sideline opposite his team’s bench in an attempt to take a dribble handoff from Edwards.

With 7.2 seconds remaining, Davis denied McClung again, and Edwards opted to get to the rim. Notae grabbed the miss and ran out the clock.

The Razorbacks’ on-court celebration began. Davis chest-bumped freshman Jaylin Williams then hugged injured guard KK Robinson and assistant coach Corey Williams.

“As you seen, I did my job by not letting him catch it,” Davis added. “That's what coach wanted. We made them try a tough layup, and he missed it. As you see, we got the win and everybody's happy. That's what it's all about."

In Arkansas’ wins over Colgate and Texas Tech, Davis allowed only one score on seven field goal attempts as the Razorbacks’ nearest defender. Raiders guard Jordan Burns was 0 of 1 against Davis, and the freshman forced two turnovers and had two steals.

McClung missed both attempts when guarded by Davis, and he created two more Red Raiders turnovers. Edwards tallied the only bucket against Davis.

He also played a key role in slowing Colgate guard Jack Ferguson, who scored 11 first-half points last Friday on 4 of 6 shooting and 3 of 5 from three-point range. With the freshman attached to him, he did not score after halftime.

Ferguson missed all three shots from the floor and his lone three-point attempt. He was 0 of 3 shooting in the game with Davis as the nearest defender.

"He’s just in your personal space the whole game," Notae said Tuesday. "He's just there. He just aggravates the whole game and is just frustrating for other players."

This postseason, including the SEC Tournament, Arkansas’ defense has allowed 0.88 points per possession over 249 defensive possessions with Davis in the lineup, according to HoopLens analytics.

Opponents have turned the ball over on 22.5% of their possessions and shot 38% inside the three-point line. Without question, Davis is a key reason why the Razorbacks enter the Sweet 16 with the No. 10 defensive efficiency rating nationally, per KenPom data.