Smith leads Hogs to tournament win over Colgate

Arkansas is moving on in the NCAA Tournament.

The Razorbacks overcame a 14-point deficit in the first half and defeated Colgate 85-68 Friday at Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.

Arkansas (23-6) will play Texas Tech (18-10) in the second round of the South Region on Sunday. The time and location for the game has not been determined.

Texas Tech defeated Utah State 65-53 Friday in Bloomington, Ind.

Colgate led Arkansas 33-19 with 5:28 remaining in the first half, but the Razorbacks closed the half on a 17-0 run to take a 36-33 halftime lead.

Guards Davonte Davis and Jalen Tate each scored six points during the run, and Davis had a steal that led to a layup to help spark the run. Davis hit a layup as time expired to give the Razorbacks a three-point halftime lead.

"I didn't know if it was going to be in the second half or if it was going to be in the first half, when it might be, but we were going to do that," Eric Musselman said of Arkansas' full-court defensive pressure. "We had talked about – my son was in my room last night, and we talked about potentially having to play Justin at some 5. I hadn't addressed that with the team much, but Michael and I had discussed it.

"I thought maybe that would help us speed the game up, and I thought Justin could protect the rim against their bigs."

Colgate used a 17-6 run to start the second half to take a 50-44 lead with 13:49 remaining, but the Razorbacks closed the game strong.

JD Notae’s three-pointer with 8:31 left gave Arkansas a 61-58 lead and the Razorbacks never trailed again. Arkansas made 15 of 31 field goal attempts and 16 of 21 shots from the free throw line in the second half.

Arkansas forward Justin Smith scored 18 of his game-high 29 points after halftime and led both teams with 13 rebounds. Smith, a 59% free throw shooter, was 11 of 13 at the line.

"Going into the game Coach Muss really hammered home the point that we want to go after them inside and use our size and athleticism," Smith said. "I was able to take advantage of that. And also I got fouled and I was able to make my free throws.

"I’ve been putting in a lot of work on those and I’m glad that it worked out."

Tate scored 15 points, Notae 14 and Davis and Moody each had 12 for the Razorbacks.

Nelly Cummings led Colgate (14-2) with 14 points. Jordan Burns, the Patriot League player of the year, scored all 13 of his points in the second half.

"Obviously disappointed in the result of today's game," Raiders coach Matt Langel said. "I thought Arkansas really, really – after we got a significant lead in the first half, they really made a conscious decision to turn up the defensive intensity. They played a smaller lineup.

"Clearly, Coach Muss put his toughest guys in the game, and we weren't ready."

Arkansas won an NCAA Tournament game for the first time since 2017.

EARLIER

FINAL — Arkansas wins 85-68. Justin Smith went for 29 points and 13 rebounds. The 29 points are a career high. Jalen Tate added 15 points and JD Notae 14, all in the second half.

Colgate was led by 14 points from Nelly Cummings. Jordan Burns had 13 points on 4 of 13 shooting.

The Razorbacks will play the winner of Texas Tech-Utah State on Sunday.

1:06, 2H — Justin Smith’s career day continues. He is fouled and makes both free throws. Smith has 28 points and 13 rebounds.

1:25, 2H — Jalen Tate is fouled in the backcourt and gets to the line, where he hits both. Arkansas’ lead is 15. Jordan Burns then cans a three. Colgate down 80-68.

1:40, 2H — Moses Moody with a steal and hits 1 of 2 free throws. Arkansas leads by 16. Nelly Cummings then hits a three. He has a team-high 14 points. Razorbacks call for time after Jalen Tate dribbled the ball to the sideline and picked up his dribble.

2:51, 2H — Justin Smith adds another layup after a JD Notae pass ricochets to him in the lane. Arkansas up 13. Smith has a career-high 26 points after two free throws. He also has 12 rebounds.

3:20, 2H — Colgate comes out of the timeout and adds a layup on a nice drive-and-dish. Arkansas leads by 11. We have hit the media timeout. Justin Smith has 22 points and 12 rebounds, JD Notae 14, Jalen Tate 13, Moses Moody 11 and Devo Davis 10.

3:40, 2H — JD Notae buries a three and it is all Arkansas now, up 73-60. Notae has 14 points off the bench, all in the second half. Colgate calls for time. The Razorbacks are plus-22 with him on the floor today.

5:06, 2H — Justin Smith has 22 points and 12 rebounds after grabbing his own miss and drawing a foul on Jordan Burns, his fourth. Smith hit both free throws. Razorbacks up 70-60. Arkansas is on a 7-0 run over the last 2:19.

5:45, 2H — JD Notae grabs his third steal of the game. He knocked the ball loose and Arkansas takes possession on the arrow. Nelly Cummings then picks up his third foul grabbing Justin Smith under the rim. Smith makes 1 of 2, and the Razorbacks are up 68-60.

7:07, 2H — Jalen Tate with his fourth assist of the day, finding Justin Smith for a dunk. Razorbacks lead by five. Smith had 19 points and 11 rebounds today. Devo Davis then adds a jumper to push him to 10 points and Arkansas’ lead to seven.

7:21, 2H — Devo Davis fouls Jordan Burns and he hits two free throws. Razorbacks lead 63-60.

7:47, 2H — After a Desi Sills steal, JD Notae is fouled shooting a three from the top of the key. He knocks down 2 of 3. Razorbacks up five, 63-58. Jordan Burns then commits his fifth turnover of the game to send us to the under-8 timeout.

8:41, 2H — Jalen Tate fouled Tucker Richardson on a drive to the rim and he hits both free throws to tie the game. JD Notae then buries a three-pointer. Razorbacks up 61-58. Notae has scored nine points off the bench today.

9:03, 2H — Moses Moody catches on the right wing, dribbles into the pocket and draws a shooting foul. He knocks down both free throws. Razorbacks up 58-56. Moody has 11 points.

9:32, 2H — Colgate benefits from a bad whistle. Raiders kicked the ball out of bounds along the baseline but they were awarded possession. Tucker Richardson adds a layup to tie the game 56-56.

10:24, 2H — Justin Smith grabs his third steal of the day and it leads to a JD Notae runout, plus the foul. Notae has six points on 2 of 8 shooting. Arkansas leads 56-54. Razorbacks are plus-10 with Notae on the floor.

10:44, 2H — Justin Smith’s work on the offensive glass leads to a JD Notae three-ball. Devo Davis gets the assist after passing the ball to Notae between his legs like a center in football. He's a human highlight reel. Arkansas trails 54-53 at the under-12 timeout. Razorbacks need to start stringing together some stops.

12:18, 2H — Jeff Woodward with another score in the interior, but Justin Smith responds again. Jordan Burns then knocks down a jumper. Raiders up 54-50.

13:28, 2H — Justin Smith answers with a layup off an offensive rebound. He has 17 points and 11 rebounds. Arkansas down 50-48 after a Jalen Tate layup off a steal by JD Notae.

13:49, 2H — Jeff Woodward gets a layup to drop plus the foul on Moses Moody. He has three fouls. Woodward makes the free throw and the free throw. Colgate leads by six.

14:47, 2H — Devo Davis grabs an offensive rebound and hits a runner in the lane. Officials then wiped the score away. Arkansas ball underneath. Davis missed a layup on the ensuing possession.

15:08, 2H — Nelly Cummings drives the lane and is fouled by Desi Sills. Cummings hit both free throws, and Colgate leads 47-43. The Raiders will be shooting free throws the rest of the way. Lots of team fouls from Arkansas early in this half.

15:34, 2H — Keegan Records missed both free throws and Colgate is 3 of 10 at the line. Justin Smith rebounds, giving him nine on the day.

15:35, 2H — Jordan Burns hits his second three-ball of the half. He’s got six points in a hurry. Justin Smith then adds a jumper. Smith is up to 15 points and eight rebounds. Colgate will be at the line when play resumes. Jalen Tate fouled Keegan Records, I guess. Didn’t look like there was much there on a contest at the rim. Colgate leads 45-44 at the under-16 timeout.

16:47, 2H — Moses Moody answers the mini run by Colgate, and he’s fouled. He misses the free throw, but Jalen Tate cleans up the miss and adds a layup. Tate has 11 points. We’re tied 42-42.

17:33, 2H — Jordan Burns’ first bucket is a three-pointer to give Colgate a 39-38 lead. He is 1 of 8 from the floor now. Nelly Cummings then buries a three of his own. Raiders back up by four.

18:44, 2H — Justin Smith adds a layup to push Arkansas’ lead to five, then Tucker Richardson finds the range from deep. Razorbacks up 38-36.

19:20, 2H — Keegan Records misses both free throws for Colgate after grabbing an offensive rebound to open the half. Justin Smith then misses a jumper for Arkansas.

19:59, 2H — JD Notae, Devo Davis, Jalen Tate and Moses Moody around Justin Smith for Arkansas to begin the second half.

HALF — Devo Davis capped Arkansas’ 17-0 run to end the half with a score in transition in which he went end-to-end in 4 seconds. The Razorbacks lead 36-33 after falling behind by 14 early.

Arkansas’ run began when Moses Moody went to the bench with two fouls. Davis was big, adding six points in the open floor. Justin Smith added 11 points and six rebounds, Jalen Tate has nine points, Moody seven, and Desi Sills three.

The half flipped when the Razorbacks’ defensive intensity picked up late. Jordan Burns, who is averaging 17 points per game, went scoreless, missed all seven of his shots and turned it over three times on top of picking up three fouls.

Arkansas scored 21 points off turnovers in the half.

Jack Ferguson led Colgate with 11 points, and Keegan Records and Nelly Cummings added six. The Raiders turned the ball over seven times in the last 5:28 of the half.

:34.4, 1H — Jalen Tate finds Justin Smith for a dunk, and Arkansas leads. Razorbacks on a 15-0 run with Moses Moody on the bench.

:46.2, 1H — Jalen Tate is fouled away from the ball and is at the line. He makes both free throws. Razorbacks down 33-32 and are on a 13-0 run.

1:19, 1H — Make it an 11-0 run. JD Notae added a layup to cut Colgate’s edge to 33-30. Notae then took a charge on the other end.

1:59, 1H — Jalen Tate with another layup and Arkansas is down five. Razorbacks have picked up the defensive intensity and it’s paying dividends. Arkansas is on a 9-0 run. Jordan Burns has not scored yet. He is 0 of 7 with 2 turnovers.

2:29, 1H — Colgate turns the ball over as Jordan Burns is whistled for stepping inbounds while throwing he ball in on the baseline. Jalen Tate then hits a jumper. Razorbacks down 33-26, and the Raiders call for time.

3:02, 1H — Arkansas gets another stop defensively and Desi Sills is fouled on a layup attempt. He split a pair of free throws. Great find by Justin Smith off the post-up. Razorbacks down 33-24.

3:31, 1H — Devo Davis with a steal and score in transition. Another steal by Davis leads to a Desi Sills layup. Razorbacks down 33-23 now.

4:17, 1H — Arkansas is in the bonus and will shoot free throws the rest of the half. JD Notae missed the front end of a 1-and-1. Hogs trail 33-19.

4:43, 1H — Nothing is going offensively for Arkansas. Moses Moody picks up his second foul trying to get to the rim in the open floor. He has to sit. Arkansas is 1 of its last 9 shooting and hasn’t scored in 2:16.

5:28, 1H — Oliver Lynch-Daniels hits a three-ball and Colgate leads by 11. He had attempted only 8 threes all season. Jack Ferguson buries his fourth three of the game, and the Raiders are up 14. They are on a 16-2 run over the last 4:30.

6:30, 1H — Jack Ferguson with another bucket. Colgate leads 27-17. Justin Smith then got a left-handed runner to go to pull Arkansas within 27-19 at the under-8 media timeout. Smith has 9 points and 5 rebounds. Ferguson with 8 points on 3 of 4 shooting.

7:55, 1H — Jack Ferguson with another three-pointer in transition. Colgate leads 23-17 and has hit 7 of its last 9 shots. Keegan Records adds another jumper, and the Raiders’ lead is 25-17. Eric Musselman calls for time.

9:46, 1H — Keegan Records hits a jumper over Connor Vanover, then Jalen Tate buries a three to tie the game 17-17. But Colgate answers with a triple from Jack Ferguson. Raiders lead 20-17.

10:45, 1H — Justin Smith is blowing up Colgate’s offense. He has two steals with the Raiders just trying to initiate offense. He is fouled in transition and hits two free throws. Arkansas down 15-14. Smith has 7 points, 5 rebounds, 2 steals.

11:11, 1H — Jaylin Williams hit with a questionable foul call and now has two. Razorbacks have turned it over 5 times.

11:47, 1H — Jeff Woodward missed both free throws then commits a foul on the other end. Justin Smith now with 5 rebounds to go with 5 points. Devo Davis has three turnovers now.

11:48, 1H — Colgate leads 14-12 at the under-12 media timeout. Justin Smith missed a floater on Arkansas’ last possession. The Razorbacks are 5 of 13 shooting so far. Jeff Woodward drew a foul and will be at the line when play resumes. Colgate has made its last four shots.

12:42, 1H — Moses Moody carrying the Razorbacks’ offense early. He hits a jumper to give him seven points and pull Arkansas within 14-12.

13:16, 1H — Jalen Tate is 0 of 3 from the floor to start. He just missed a three from the top of the key, then Nelly Cummings hit a three. Raiders up 14-10.

13:57, 1H — Colgate briefly grabbed a one-point lead on a layup by Jeff Woodward, but Justin Smith added a layup off a Jalen Tate miss. Ethan Henderson has checked in for Arkansas. Woodward then scores on Henderson. Colgate up 11-10.

14:54, 1H — Jalen Tate’s turnover leads to a runout for Colgate. Razorbacks lead 8-7 at the first media timeout. Moses Moody has five points, and Justin Smith has three to go with three rebounds. Jaylin Williams also has three boards. Jordan Burns is 0 of 4 from the floor and Nelly Cummings is 1 of 3. Colgate 2 of 11 shooting to start the game.

16:27, 1H — Moses Moody shooting it well to open the game. His three-ball ties the game at 5-5, then Justin Smith adds a layup after a steal plus the foul. Razorbacks up 8-5.

16:54, 1H — Devo Davis turns it over again. This time he’s hit with an offensive foul. That’s two miscues for him and three for Arkansas. Nelly Cummings hit a three to put the Raiders up three.

17:57, 1H — Moses Moody takes his man off the bounce and hits a floater in the lane. Jaylin Williams set a nice pick in the middle of the floor to free him. We’re tied 2-2.

18:35, 1H — Two turnovers already for Arkansas. Devo Davis threw the ball away on an advance pass after stripping Jordan Burns. Justin Smith then walked on a post-up. Moses Moody later fouled Keegan Records and he hit two at the line. Colgate up 2-0, and Connor Vanover subs out.

Pregame

Arkansas’ starting lineup: Jalen Tate, Moses Moody, Davonte Davis, Justin Smith and Connor Vanover.

Razorbacks freshman forward Jaylin Williams is available for today’s first-round game after missing the team’s last four games. He has not played since Feb. 27 against LSU, so we’ll see what kind of shape he’s in for this one.

Moody has scored 28 points in three of Arkansas’ last four games. Over his last 10 games, he is shooting 50% on catch-and-shoot threes on the right side of the floor and 8 of 18 on the left wing. He is also 4 of his last 6 on midrange jumpers after putting the ball on the floor.

Smith enters today’s game averaging 16.8 points and 7.6 rebounds over his last eight outings. He has been hyper-efficient of late, especially in the second halves of games. Smith must clean up some of his turnover troubles of late. He had five each in two games in the SEC Tournament.

Vanover is 8 of 21 on catch-and-shoot threes the last 10 games, and JD Notae is 11 of 24 over his last six games. Davis has made 17 of 46 midrange jumpers since February began. Be looking for him to be more efficient and also get the Razorbacks some easy points in the open floor.

Colgate’s starters: Jordan Burns (6-0), Nelly Cummings (6-0), Tucker Richardson (6-5), Ryan Moffatt (6-6) and Keegan Records (6-10).

The Raiders, the Patriot League Tournament champions, come into today on a 13-game winning streak. They did not begin their season until Jan. 2, but they have not lost since Jan. 3.

Burns is the head of the snake for Colgate, averaging 17 points per game. He is an elite shooter from three-point range off the bounce and in catch-and-shoot situations. Arkansas has to be sharp recognizing shooters.

The Raiders have shot the three-ball at a 40% rate this season against conference competition, and defended it well, too — 26.1%. Offensively, they haven’t turned the ball over at a high clip this season either (13.7% TO rate). However, on the other end, Colgate forced a turnover on only 16.6% of opponents’ possessions.

Richardson is a solid off-guard for Colgate, and Jack Ferguson is the player to watch off the bench. He has knocked down 50.7% of his 69 three-point attempts.