BUFFALO, N.Y. — Arkansas guard Davonte Davis simply has a way of making the remarkable look effortless in the NCAA Tournament.
The Razorbacks needed to land one more punch in the second half Saturday night, and Davis — as he has done for them many times the last two seasons — came through in a big way during Arkansas’ 53-48 victory over No. 12 seed New Mexico State at KeyBank Center.
The latest highlight on a growing postseason reel helped the Razorbacks punch their ticket to next week’s Sweet 16 in San Francisco against No. 1 overall seed Gonzaga.
In countless instances during Davis’ two-year career, Arkansas coach Eric Musselman has commended the Jacksonville native for his knack for corralling loose balls. That gift came in especially handy against the Aggies.
And it led to the sequence of the night for the Razorbacks, who are moving on to the second weekend of the NCAA Tournament for the second consecutive season.
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After Arkansas forward Jaylin Williams deflected a post-entry pass by New Mexico State guard Teddy Allen, Davis, with a lightning quick right hand, tapped the basketball to himself from between two Aggies and took off running. Roughly 10 feet from the halfcourt line, Davis made more magic happen.
The 6-4 guard threaded the needle with a brilliant bounce pass to a streaking Au’Diese Toney, who took possession of the ball around the left elbow in front of the Razorbacks’ bench. Toney proceeded to put down a left-handed dunk to cap a decisive 9-0 run that provided Arkansas a 41-33 lead with 6:06 to play.
“It was a perfect pass,” said Toney, who finished with 7 points on 3-of-5 shooting and helped limit Allen to 12 points on 16 field goal attempts. “We were just talking about it in the huddle. (Davis said), ‘Just run, I’ll get it to you.’ It was on the money. I just capitalized on it.
“Congratulations on him for making that pass. It was tough.”
Sensing momentum avalanching in Arkansas’ favor, Aggies coach Chris Jans called a timeout. As the Razorbacks’ crowd roared behind their bench, Davis celebrated by screaming and dropping into a defensive-style stance with his arms out to the side near midcourt.
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Toney soon ventured in Davis’ direction and the two chest bumped.
From an offensive perspective, Saturday did not turn out the way of Davis' previous NCAA Tournament performances. He entered the matchup against New Mexico State averaging 14.2 points in those games, but none of his numbers jumped off box score in Arkansas’ second game in three days.
He totaled 2 points on 0-of-6 shooting, 3 rebounds, 1 steal and 1 assist. But in the grand scheme, his steal and assist were critical.
Following the game, Musselman gave Davis props for his court vision.
“The bounce pass was incredible,” Musselman said. “He thrives on making home-run plays. Sometimes you want guys to just look for a single, but we see it all the time. He has this dramatic…something about having flare to his game, but he does have great vision.
“He is unique with his ability to take chances both off the dribble and then also from a passing standpoint.”
Musselman said that Toney’s dunk following Davis’ feed was “the perfect exclamation point” to the team’s run and something of a reward for Toney's efforts defending Allen.
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During Davis’ 35 minutes on the floor, Arkansas outscored New Mexico State by seven points. Outside of JD Notae, who fouled out with 18 points and 8 steals after 31 minutes, he had the Razorbacks’ best plus/minus rating.
Davis’ teammates, as well as Musselman, were quick to pass credit to the guard for making key free throws late and playing his role in one of Arkansas’ best defensive performances of the season. The Razorbacks limited the Aggies to 34% from the field and Allen to 3 of 10 on two-point attempts. Allen, who scored 37 points against Connecticut in the first round, also committed three turnovers.
Davis' free throws gave Arkansas a 48-43 lead with 41 seconds remaining.
“Devo continues to have fun,” Williams said. “He finds ways to have fun, and that’s his way, just being that dog. We’re just having fun out there. He was talking trash (to Allen).
“Devo might not have had a good offensive game, but I feel like he did a good job on defense. He is contributing even if it’s not on the offensive side. He was getting other teammates open. He was creating even though it wasn’t for himself.
“Other than his shots – or not making shots – I feel like he had a great game.”