NEW YORK – Arkansas rallied from a 15-point deficit in the first half to take an 18-point lead in the second half before holding on for an 89-87 win over No. 14 Michigan inside Madison Square Garden on Tuesday night as part of the Jimmy V Classic.
The Razorbacks battled back in the first half to trail 49-45 at the half fueled by 13 points from freshman Boogie Fland and 11 points from Adou Thiero.
Arkansas scored the first 12 points of the second half to take a lead it would not relinquish. While the Hogs extended their lead to 18 points with 9:45 left, Michigan answered with 14-2 runs (including a 12-0 run) to set up an exciting finish.
A red-hot D.J. Wagner scored 14 points on 6-of-9 shooting and added four assists in the second half to pace the Razorbacks in the half.
A key block from Trevon Brazile followed by a free throw to push the Arkansas lead to two points set up the Razorbacks with a lead in the final seconds. Johnell Davis broke up a baseline pass before Roddy Gayle Jr.’s 15-footer bounced off the front rim as time expired.
Fland, a Bronx native who was playing for the first time in Madison Square Garden, led all scorers and five Razorbacks in double figures with 20 in his return to his hometown. The freshman added seven assists with only two turnovers. Wagner finished 16 with Brazile chipping in 15 points and six rebounds.
Jonas Aidoo, who celebrated his birthday, just missed a double-double with 11 points and seven boards with two steals and two blocked shots. Thiero, who was battling illness, toughed it out to play 21:49 minutes and score 13 points.
Vladislav Goldin led the Wolverines with 17 points and nine rebounds. Danny Wolf had 14 points, nine rebounds and nine assists
Up next, Arkansas makes its annual trip to Simmons Bank Arena in North Little Rock on Saturday (Dec. 14). The Razorbacks will face UCA with tipoff set for 3 pm (CT) and the game will be broadcast on SEC Network Plus.
FIRST HALF: Arkansas 45 – Michigan 49
- Michigan made 11 of 11 field goals at one stretch to lead by 15 (36-21) with 6:27 left.
- From that point, Boogie Fland scored eight straight points for the Hogs.
- Later, 3-pointers from Zvonimir Ivisic and Karter Knox cut the deficit to four (42-38).
- A 7-0 run by Arkansas made it a one-point game (46-45) before Michigan hit a 3-pointer to close the first half.
- Will Tschetter led Michigan with 13 points, draining 3-of-4 from 3-point range.
- Fland led Arkansas with 13 points and Adou Thiero added 11 points.
- Michigan shot 61% from the field and was 7-of-12 from 3-point. Arkansas shot 52% but was just 4-of-11 from 3-point.
SECOND HALF: Arkansas 44 – Michigan 36
- Arkansas opened the second half on a 12-0 run. Overall, the Hogs out-scored the Wolverines 20-6 after a Wagner 3-pointer and then 31-11 after a Brazile 3-pointer. Brazile would give Arkansas its largest lead of 18 points (80-62) with a layup at the 9:45 mark.
- Arkansas forced 11 turnovers in the first 10 minutes of the second half.
- Michigan’s 14-2 run (with a 12-0 spurt) coincided with a 4:57 scoring drought by Arkansas as the Wolverines cut their deficit to six (80-74). Fland ended the drought with two free throws with 4:48 to play.
- After a Thiero free throw with 1:58 left gave Arkansas a five-point lead (88-83), Michigan got a free throw, an offensive rebound, another free throw, another offensive rebound and a layup by Wolf to get Michigan to within one (88-87) with 1:28 left.
- Neither team scored over the next 1:14 – including the Brazile block with 15 ticks left. Brazile was immediately fouled after gathering the rebound off the blocked shot. He made 1-of-2.
- Wolf got the rebound off the second miss with 11 seconds left. Michigan called timeout with three seconds left to set up the final play and Davis’ heroics.
- Michigan shot 53.8% in the second half, compared to Arkansas shooting 48.5%. However, the Hogs were 5-of-12 from 3-point range and Michigan, who was 7-of-12 from deep in the first half, was just 1-of-6 beyond the arc.
GAME NOTES:
- For the second straight game, Arkansas’ starting lineup was Boogie Fland, D.J. Wagner, Johnell Davis, Adou Thiero and Jonas Aidoo.
- Arkansas won the opening tip. The Razorbacks have won the tip in 9 of 10 games.
- Adou Thiero scored the game’s first points, a layup at 18:03.
- Trevon Brazile was Arkansas’ first sub.
- Arkansas has trailed at the half three straight games (Miami, UTSA and Michigan) and six times this season. Arkansas is 4-2 when trailing at halftime this season.
- Arkansas ties the all-time series with Michigan at 4-4. Both teams have won twice on their home court and now both teams has won twice at neutral sites. Arkansas is also 1-1 versus Michigan in the Garden.
- Arkansas is 4-7 all-time in Madison Square Garden, but improves to 2-3 in the current iteration of the historic building
- Coach Calipari is 3-1 all time when playing in the Jimmy V Classic. He was 1-0 while at UMass and 1-1 while at Memphis. Overall, he is 16-12 when playing in the Garden.
- For the fifth time, Boogie Fland has dished out seven assists,
- Arkansas is now 6-8 when playing the AP #14 team. The last time Arkansas beat a team ranked #14 was 2018 versus Auburn.
- John Calipari is now 114-97 when playing a ranked opponent including a 4-6 mark against the #14 team.
- Boogie Fland’s 20 points makes him the highest-scoring Razorback from New York when playing a game in the Garden. Kareem Reid had 19 versus Michigan in the 1997 NIT semifinal. (HogStats)
- Tonight was just the third time a Razorback freshman has scored at least 20 points, had at least seven assists and at least two steals. Fland vs Michigan 20-7-2 tonight – Dec. 10. Fland vs Little Rock 21-7-3 on Nov. 22. Courtney Fortson vs NC Central (ironically on Dec. 10, 2008). (HogStats)
- Arkansas is now 4-30 when unranked and trailing at halftime versus a ranked opponent on a neutral court. (HogStats)
- Arkansas is 16-0 when a player scores at least 10 points on their birthday thanks to Jonas Aidoo scoring 11 points on his birthday. (HogStats)
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