FAYETTEVILLE — A record crowd of 20,327 crammed into Walton Arena on Tuesday night.
No one went home early.
When the game finally was over, a few thousand stormed Nolan Richardson Court to celebrate the Arkansas Razorbacks beating No. 1 Auburn 80-76 in overtime.
“It was crazy to be a part of that,” University of Arkansas sophomore forward Jaylin Williams said of being on the court among the mass of fans. “We were talking about it all week that it was going to be crazy after the game, and we couldn’t wait to share that experience with each other.”
Williams, who had 13 points and 11 rebounds, said the basketball players were among the fans who stormed the field at Reynolds Razorback Stadium when Arkansas beat Texas 40-21 last fall.
More from WholeHogSports: Full coverage from Arkansas' win over Auburn
“So we wanted to have our own experience of that,” Williams said.
Arkansas beat a No. 1 team for the second time in its history, along with the Razorbacks’ 65-64 victory over North Carolina in Pine Bluff on Feb. 12, 1984.
“It feels good. We’re happy about it,” said senior guard JD Notae, who led Arkansas with 28 points. “But we knew we could beat them.”
Razorbacks Coach Eric Musselman said he was almost at a loss for words to describe the fans and their reaction after the game.
“Kind of speechless about the crowd, to be honest with you,” Musselman said. “The student section, insane.
“You can go to college basketball games all over the country. You can go for the next 50 years. There’s not going to be a crowd that’s better than that.
“There might be crowds close to that, but I doubt it.”
Williams’ layup — with an assist from Notae — tied the game 66-66 with 23 seconds left in regulation.
“I saw J-Will had [guard K.D. Johnson] sealed a little bit,” Notae said. “So I just tried to drop it in there to him and he just made a great finish.”
Auburn point guard Wendell Green, who scored 19 points, missed a three-point attempt with 6 seconds left and Davonte Davis secured the rebound for Arkansas, sending the game to overtime.
“My teammates trust me,” Green said. “I want the ball in my hands at the end of the game, tie game.
“I took the shot and my teammates were not really tripping about it. Coach [Bruce Pearl] is not tripping about it too much. I just ended up missing.”
Allen Flanigan, a junior guard from Little Rock Parkview, got an offensive rebound and scored to give the Tigers a 68-66 lead in the extra period.
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Notae’s three-pointer put Arkansas ahead 70-69. A basket by Devan Cardwell made it 71-70 for the Tigers.
Williams hit two free throws to put the Razorbacks ahead for good at 71-70 with 1:52 left.
The Razorbacks hit 11 of 14 free throws in overtime, with Williams 5 of 6, Notae 3 of 4, Chris Lykes 2 of 2 and Au’Diese Toney 1 of 2.
Arkansas (19-5, 8-3 SEC) finished 26 of 32 on free throws, including 5 of 6 in the final 2:28 of regulation after Auburn had taken a 64-59 lead on Green’s three-pointer.
“We just stayed with it and kept fighting,” Notae said. “We knew they were No. 1 for a reason, and we knew we were going to be in a dog fight. So we just wanted to continue to scratch and claw, and we pulled it out.”
Auburn (22-2, 10-1) had won 19 consecutive games since losing to Connecticut 115-109 in double overtime in the Bahamas on Nov. 24.
“We understand the price is on our head,” Pearl said. “It’s very difficult on the road. Congratulations to Arkansas.”
The Razorbacks improved to 2-12 all-time against No. 1 teams.
“It’s a great feeling,” Williams said. “We’re going to be remembered for the rest of Arkansas history.”
Toney had 14 points and 10 rebounds for the Razorbacks. Davis, playing off the bench, had 10 points, 5 steals and 4 rebounds.
Jabari Smith, a 6-10 freshman, led Auburn with 20 points and hit two three-point baskets in overtime to keep the pressure on the Razorbacks.
“We knew that Jabari Smith is really talented, and with his length he’s probably going to make some tough shots and shoot over you,” Musselman said. “Which he certainly did. But we felt like he earned his points.”
Walker Kessler, Auburn’s 7-1 sophomore center, had 16 points, 19 rebounds and 7 blocked shots.
VIDEO: Eric Musselman, players recap win
Arkansas forced 19 turnovers by the Tigers and the Razorbacks had a 24-10 edge in points off of turnovers. They also held Auburn to 37.5% shooting (30 of 80).
“I give our players a lot of credit,” Musselman said. “The last couple days in preparation, shoot-around, they truly believed that they were going to win the game.
“When that thing went to overtime and we were in the huddle, I didn’t sense any panic. We had a lot of players talking in the huddles, which I thought was a great sign.”
The game had 17 lead changes and 15 ties.
“There’s not anybody that walked out that didn’t have fun at this game,” Musselman said. “That’s a guarantee. Unless it was an Auburn fan, and there weren’t any.”