BUFFALO, N.Y. — Jaylin Williams drew his 50th charge of the season to help the University of Arkansas close the first half strong in the Razorbacks’ 75-71 victory over Vermont on Thursday night in a first-round NCAA Tournament game at KeyBank Center.
Catamounts senior guard Ben Shungu drove the lane trying to cut into Arkansas’ 32-27 lead.
But instead of hitting a basket or drawing a foul, Shungu banged into the 6-10 Williams and was called for a charging foul.
It’s a play Williams, a sophomore from Fort Smith, has made all season.
More from WholeHogSports: Full coverage from our team in Buffalo
The Razorbacks took possession with five seconds left in the half and senior guard Chris Lykes drove to the basket and was fouled by Robin Duncan.
Lykes, Arkansas’ top free-throw shooter this season at 86.1% (99 of 115) coming into the game, hit both free throws to give the Razorbacks a 34-27 lead with two seconds left before halftime.
Aaron DeLoney then missed a half-court heave at the buzzer for Vermont.
Valuing the ball
Arkansas had five turnovers, its fewest ever in an NCAA Tournament game.
The previous low had been seven in an 80-74 victory over St. John’s in 1993 and in a 79-62 loss to Butler in 2018.
The five turnovers tied a season-low for Arkansas, which also had five against Northern Iowa.
Vermont also took good care of the ball, finishing with six turnovers. According to HogStats.com, the six turnovers were the fewest ever forced by the Razorbacks in an NCAA Tournament game.
Heated moment
Vermont guard Finn Sullivan went to the floor hard in the second half when he leaped high for a rebound and Davonte Davis accidentally undercut him going for the ball as well.
Sullivan jumped up and rushed toward Davis, who was called for a foul and didn’t back down.
The referees intervened, the players were separated and Davis was called for a personal foul.
When play resumed, Davis was guarding Sullivan, who gave him a friendly tap on the shoulder.
Latest for Notae
Arkansas senior guard JD Notae was an honorable mention All-American as voted on by members of the U.S. Basketball Writers Association and announced Thursday.
The USBWA voted on three teams and Notae was among five honorable mention All-Americans, meaning the voters considered him among the top 20 players in the nation.
Notae was announced as a third-team All-American by The Associated Press on Tuesday and on Wednesday was the USBWA’s pick for the top player in District VII, which includes Arkansas, Texas and Louisiana.
Previously, Notae was named a third-team All-American by The Sporting News and was voted a first-team All-SEC player by the conference coaches and members of the media.
SEC players to make the top three All-American teams voted on the USBWA were Kentucky forward Oscar Tshiebwe (first); Auburn forward Jabari Smith (second); and Auburn center Walker Kessler (third).
Umude’s defense
Stanley Umude understandably was known for his offense when he transferred to Arkansas after scoring 1,520 points in four seasons at South Dakota.
Umude showed his offensive skills again Thursday night, leading the Razorbacks with 21 points.
But he also showed defensive prowess in the first half against Vermont when he had two blocked shots on driving attempts by the Catamounts.
VIDEO: Eric Musselman, players recap postseason win over Vermont
“Stanley was not much of a defensive guy early on,” Arkansas Coach Eric Musselman said in his Wednesday news conference. “Now he’s one of our best defenders because of his length, his athleticism, his anticipation, his ability to defensive rebound.
“He’s been assigned to some really difficult matchups, especially in SEC play where he’s going against guys that can really score, guys that are going to be playing beyond college.
“He has gone from guarding fours and fives to now guarding twos and threes, and he has done a great, great job. Stayed out of foul trouble and altered a lot of shots for opposing teams’ perimeter players.”
Late night
The Arkansas-Vermont game tipped off at 8:42 p.m. Central, making it the latest start for the Razorbacks this season. Their previous late start had been 8 p.m.
Buffalo Muss
Vermont, a No. 13 seed whose Burlington campus is within a seven-hour drive of Buffalo, should have been the obvious crowd favorite in the KeyBank Center during Thursday night’s matchup with No. 4 seed Arkansas.
But Razorbacks Coach Eric Musselman, who has a strong presence on social media, did his best to endear himself to sports fans in Buffalo with a series of tweets involving the city’s professional teams.
Before the Razorbacks flew to Buffalo on Tuesday, Musselman posted photos of himself wearing Buffalo Bills, Buffalo Sabres and Buffalo Braves T-shirts.
The Bills play in the NFL and the Sabres in the NHL. The Braves were Buffalo’s NBA team from 1970-78 before moving to San Diego and becoming the Clippers.
Musselman became a ball boy for the Clippers, so he had a connection to the Braves as a youngster. He said this week his favorite Braves’ player was point guard Ernie DiGregorio, a ball-handling wizard who starred at Providence.
PHOTO GALLERY: Our top shots from the NCAA Tournament
Since the Razorbacks arrived in Buffalo, Musselman has gotten T-shirts from two more of the city’s pro teams.
The Buffalo Bisons, a Class AAA minor-league baseball affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays, and the Buffalo Bandits, a lacrosse team, also sent Musselman gear that he has worn in photos posted on Twitter.
“Certainly we think it’s really, really important for us to embrace wherever we are,” Musselman said. “A lot of guys did not know who the Buffalo Braves were, and I was able to give the significance of them moving to San Diego.”
Seniority
There was plenty of experience on the court when the Arkansas-Vermont game tipped off.
In an era where many teams are led by freshmen or sophomores, the Razorbacks and Catamounts started a combined nine seniors.
Arkansas forward Jaylin Williams, a 6-10 sophomore, was the game’s only non-senior starter.
The Catamounts’ starting lineup included guard Ben Shungu, a sixth-year senior. Arkansas had fifth-year seniors in guard Stanley Umude and forward Trey Wade.
Players received an extra year of eligibility from the NCAA after the coronavirus pandemic shut down sports in March 2020, including postseason basketball tournaments.
“I think college basketball in general is older, and it’s probably why the product has been so good this year,” Vermont Coach John Becker said. “Everyone is older because of the covid year, and so it’s going to be good for basketball.”
Second time
Thursday night marked the first time Arkansas played Vermont, but the second time Razorbacks Coach Eric Musselman faced Catamounts Coach John Becker.
In Musselman’s first season as Nevada’s coach, the Wolf Pack beat Becker’s Vermont team 86-72 at Reno, Nev., in the semifinals of the College Basketball Invitational.
“They beat the heck out of us,” Becker said.
Nevada went on to beat Morehead (Ky.) State in 2 of 3 games to win the CBI championship.