BUFFALO, N.Y. — John Fagant walked down the KeyBank Center steps between sections 117 and 118 on Wednesday afternoon not knowing what the next few hours would hold.
Fourth-seeded Arkansas was on the floor going through shootaround when Fagant, who lives about 10 miles from the arena, spotted a man wearing a red Columbia jacket, standing on the bottom row of the stands.
“I saw Arkansas on his back, so I approached him just to talk,” said Fagant, who retired in 2021 from a job in aviation.
The stranger Fagant spoke with until well after the Razorbacks’ practice time ran out was happy and more than willing to fill him in on his favorite team. Jackson Treece, who lives and works in Tulsa, pointed out to Fagant the players critical to any success Arkansas will experience in Buffalo.
Brought together by Razorbacks basketball, they each gained a new friend, and Arkansas’ support system in western New York is now one fan greater.
“I’m a basketball fan,” Fagant said. “I would follow Syracuse, Buffalo, local teams, but nobody is in it this year. I love the tournament, so I came here to see what teams are in it this year.
“I didn’t know what team I was coming to see, to tell you the truth, but now that I’ve been talking to (Treece) I’m intrigued by Arkansas.”
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In order to arrive at the arena in time for the Razorbacks’ practice, Treece departed St. Louis with his mother at 6 a.m. Worn out from the trip, she did not accompany him to watch teams work out, but he said he wouldn’t have missed it.
Treece will be stationed in section 103 on Thursday for Arkansas’ opening game against No. 13 seed Vermont, which tips off at 8:20 p.m. Central on TNT.
Buffalo will be the third city in which he has attended a Razorbacks game in the NCAA Tournament. He also attended games in Greenville, S.C., in 2017 and Detroit in 2018.
Treece is hopeful for better results this time around.
“That was the last game I saw for four years because of covid and living out in California for three years," he said. "I missed it. I moved back to Tulsa for work and for the fact it’s two hours away from Fayetteville, so it’s easy to go there on a Saturday and go see a game. It’s something you can’t describe.
“When you don’t have it and can’t see it, you really start to miss it. I love Arkansas basketball. It’s my absolute favorite.”
Treece is taking full advantage of this tournament experience. Not only has he passed along his passion for the Razorbacks with others, he got to chat with former Arkansas guard and current Razorbacks recruiting coordinator Ronnie Brewer.
He did not give a prediction for the game, but Treece expects Arkansas to play well Thursday, especially on the defensive end.
“I think Jaylin Williams and JD (Notae) have to look for each other and not be the hero,” he said. “Vermont shoots from the outside and they shoot well at that. We’ve got to be prepared for (Catamounts forward) Ryan Davis. He’s an inside-outside player.
“We’ve got to take care of the ball and play as a team. We’ve got to score some points, too. These guys are a good defensive team.”