As Eric Musselman rose from the chair he sat in for his postgame interview with Arkansas’ radio broadcast team, he excitedly said, “It’s going to be a fun flight home.”
It will undoubtedly be the Razorbacks’ most enjoyable trip from Gainesville, Fla., to Fayetteville in more than 25 years.
No. 18 Arkansas, which placed five players in double figures, snapped a 14-game losing streak at Florida on Tuesday with an impressive 82-74 win that felt like a statement.
The Razorbacks (22-6, 11-4 SEC) have had plenty of happy flights back to Northwest Arkansas this calendar year. With the victory over the Gators, they moved to 5-3 on the road in the SEC this season.
In the last two seasons, Arkansas has won 10 games away from home in the league. It won eight from 2017-20.
The Razorbacks’ latest road win did not come easy. They found their backs against the wall in the second half against a motivated Florida team playing for its NCAA Tournament life and confident following a win over then-No. 2 Auburn last weekend.
After carrying a 37-34 lead into halftime, Arkansas trailed by six on two occasions with less than eight minutes remaining. But, as this Razorbacks group often has since Jan. 12, it found a way.
“I think that this is a group that really believes that they can win,” Musselman said. “They certainly have great defensive toughness. It’s as tough as any team I’ve been around. It’s the belief.
“I think maybe more so than anything it’s the way that we’ve improved and kind of flipped the switch much like last year, where it looked like maybe we were discombobulated.”
It is fair to say Arkansas looked out of sorts for portions of the second half against the Gators. The Razorbacks went from up five points to down four points in a span of 3:17, and star forward Jaylin Williams battled foul trouble.
But in a mature fashion they responded to all adversity thrown their way and displayed real grit when tested both mentally and physically.
Arkansas experienced an offensive stretch after halftime in which it missed 9 of 10 shots. In the final 8:55 of the game, the Razorbacks made 11 of 18 field goal attempts, including three three-pointers.
JD Notae, who scored a team-high 22 points, provided a 75-71 lead with 1:06 remaining by nailing a left-wing three. The hit served as a gut punch for Florida.
Also, Williams picked up his fourth foul with 7:57 to play and Arkansas trailing 59-54. Rather than sit his do-it-all forward, Musselman trusted Williams down the stretch, and the 6-10 forward made a number of winning plays when it mattered most.
Over the final 7 minutes, 14 seconds, Williams scored 5 points on 2 of 3 shooting, grabbed 3 rebounds and had 1 assist and 1 steal. He finished with 15 points and 10 rebounds for his 10th double-double of the season.
He is the first Razorback with 10 double-doubles in a season since Daniel Gafford.
"It starts with our togetherness," Notae said. "I feel like this group has each other's back. We go fight for each other no matter what the situation. And we just never thought we were out of it.
"We just wanted to keep fighting, keep fighting, and that's what we did."
Davonte Davis again played a vital role in another significant win, finishing with 19 points on 7-of-10 shooting, 6 rebounds, 4 assists and 0 turnovers in 28 minutes. The Razorbacks outscored the Gators by 11 when he was on the floor. Only Williams (+15) had a better plus/minus figure.
Davis hit 2 of 3 attempts beyond the arc for the fourth time in the last five games. Since Feb. 8, he is 8 of 15 from three-point range.
And as he has been known to do, the sophomore added the exclamation point with a dunk. Davis was given a technical foul for slapping the backboard on the play, but he and Musselman were all smiles about the situation after the win.
“It’s fun. I don’t intentionally do it,” he said of his late-game slams. “Jaylin finds me every time. But it’s fun knowing that he finds me, and I think everyone likes it when I end the game like that.
“I think it’s pretty fun on my end and the rest of my team.”
Rounding out the Razorbacks’ top scorers, Stanley Umude and Au’Diese Toney pitched in 11 and 12 points, respectively. They combined for 10 rebounds — 5 offensive — and Umude added 3 steals for the second consecutive game and third time since Jan. 22.
Colin Castleton, the Gators’ 6-11 forward, gave Arkansas fits on the interior, scoring 29 points on 10 of 16 shooting and 9 of 10 at the free throw line. He drew a game-high 11 fouls.
Guard Tyree Appleby added 19 points and four assists. Florida, though, was minus-11 in Castleton’s 34:38 on the floor and minus-4 in Appleby’s run of 33:12.
No other Gator scored in double figures.
Arkansas’ offensive balance, defensive ruggedness late (Florida missed 8 of its final 10 shots) and belief was more than enough to earn win No. 12 in the last 13 games. It didn't hurt, either, that the Razorbacks committed only six turnovers.
In the locker room after the game, Musselman had a brief, bold message for his players.
“Nobody in college basketball is playing better than you are,” Musselman said in a video posted to the program’s Twitter account. “Not one. Nobody. It ain’t even close.”
These Razorbacks have the nation’s attention. And the eyes of college basketball will be on Fayetteville this weekend when Kentucky comes to town.