FAYETTEVILLE — The ESPN broadcast crew of Dave Neal and Dane Bradshaw hit the nail on the head Saturday when Arkansas guard Davonte Davis buried a critical second-half three-pointer against No. 16 Tennessee.
With Arkansas trailing the Vols 41-40 with 7:56 remaining, Davis caught a pass on the right wing from forward Jaylin Williams and stepped into his second attempt beyond the arc. His first look, from the left corner, missed badly.
But this one was pure and it gave the Razorbacks a lead they did not relinquish.
“He’s the most confident 26% three-point shooter I know, Devo Davis,” Bradshaw said.
“He’s not afraid,” Neal added.
Less than two minutes later, Chris Lykes penetrated and kicked to Davis in the left corner, where he knocked down his second three of the game. It caught all net and put Arkansas ahead 47-42.
His second triple sparked a 7-0 run that provided the Razorbacks cushion in a 58-48 win over the road-favorite Vols at Bud Walton Arena.
“That’s two home games in a row where he’s hit two really big threes for us,” Williams said. “When Devo is a confident player, we believe in him. We believe in him to do whatever Devo can do. He can defend, he can shoot those threes, he can shoot the midrange, finish layups — whatever it is.
“When he’s a confident player, he’s one of the best players in the country.”
It seems Davis has been at his best this season in Arkansas’ biggest games. Against Mississippi State on Feb. 5, he knocked down a long two-point jumper late in the shot clock to put Arkansas up 58-54 with 1:01 to play.
In the win over No. 1 Auburn on Feb. 8, Davis finished with 10 points on 2 of 3 beyond the arc and a career-high 5 steals.
Davis again rose to meet the moment Saturday in the first matchup of Associated Press Top 25 teams in Fayetteville since last February.
He recorded 7 points, 4 rebounds and 1 assist across 18 minutes off the bench. When Davis was in the lineup, the Razorbacks outscored Tennessee by 14 points, 33-19.
“It feels amazing,” Davis said of making key shots of late. “It was funny, because last practice a lot of stuff was going on and we weren’t looking for those shots as a team. We wanted to get to the paint and draw fouls and things like that, because of course we’re a really great free throw shooting team, so we want to continue to attack.
“But if those threes are open, we will continue to take them. And I continue to just make shots and I think I will continue to do that as long as I continue to work on it.”
After connecting on 4 of 8 three-point attempts in the Dec. 11 loss against Oklahoma in Tulsa, Davis went through a long dry spell from deep. In the next 13 games, he made 2 of 21 perimeter looks.
Since Feb. 5, Davis is 6 of 12 from three and has given Arkansas an unexpected jolt beyond the arc. He is 2 of 3 in three of the games since then.
Following his second made three Saturday, Davis showed some fire as he ventured to the other end of the floor. He threw up both arms and extended three fingers on each hand before letting out a brief, emotional scream.
“As long as I continue to just stay in the gym and shoot the shots that I’m able to shoot, I think every shot that goes up, I think it’s going to go in,” Davis said. “I continue to put in the work around the arc to continue to make shots like that.
“As long as my teammates continue to find me like Chris did in the corner — I found one on the spit-out — anything can happen off those type of plays.”
Earlier in the season when Davis began to find an offensive rhythm, Arkansas coach Eric Musselman credited his uptick in production to playing with a great deal of joy. He seems to have found that magic once again.
And Davis was ready when his number was called after halftime. He was saddled with two fouls in the first half, which led to him playing only two minutes.
He played 16 minutes in the second half and the Razorbacks outscored the Vols by 10 with him on the floor. His plus-10 figure matched Au'Diese Toney for the team's best.
“He’s one of our top three or four guys because he’s such a great defender, he’s a great rebounder for his position, he’s made some big-time three balls for us of late, especially when we needed a shot to fall,” Musselman said. “Whether he hears his name for introductions or not, he’s a starter in my mind.
“In practice he's been having fun. I mean, obviously, the dunk after Auburn it looked like he was having fun. I looked over after there was a timeout after one of his threes and he was laughing and joking. Some guys, you want them to show joy. And, you know, he and Jaylin are out there having fun, even in close ball games with a lot at stake.
“These guys are student-athletes. You want this experience. If you're going to grind and work and put time in studying game film and all that, you want to have a blast.”