Shorthanded Arkansas does it again. The Razorbacks stunned the No. 2 seed in the West Region, St. John’s, taking down the Red Storm 75-66 - advancing to the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2023. The Hogs jumped out to an early lead and held on down the stretch, fighting off a couple of St. John’s runs to get the win. While it wasn’t an efficient offensive performance - the Razorbacks shot 42.9 percent from the floor and 10.5 percent from three - Arkansas managed 75 points on one of the best defenses in college basketball. Freshman Billy Richmond III put up 16 points off the bench to lead Arkansas in scoring. Fellow freshman Karter Knox added 15 points in the win.
Next up for the Hogs is the winner of Drake and Texas Tech, but in the meantime here are three takeaways from Arkansas’s huge upset win over St. John’s.
Karter Knox showed up in a big way
I don’t think its possible to give freshman forward Karter Knox too much praise following his stellar performance in the win over St. John’s. Knox had one of his best games of the season, scoring 15 points, grabbing six rebounds, and blocking four shots in the upset victory. He also hit a couple of clutch free throws in the waining seconds to put the game out of reach. In the first round game against Kansas, Knox didn’t really show up in the box score, but he provided a spark for Arkansas when the Hogs needed it the most. Early in the first half, Knox had back-to-back blocks, setting the tone early for the Razorbacks defense. He’s had a couple of higher scoring games this season, but nothing that comes close to the overall performance we saw against the Red Storm.
Arkansas didn’t get flustered by St. John’s defense
All season, Arkansas has been a turnover-prone team. The Razorbacks finished with 10 or more turnovers in 26 games this season. And against a St. John’s team that forces more than 15 turnovers per game, the Hogs took care of the ball. Arkansas finished the second-round matchup with St. John’s with only nine turnovers - one of the Razorback's lowest numbers all season. Arkansas also withstood St. John’s close to the basket. The Red Storm only blocked three shots after averaging more than five per game. St. John’s was also one of the best interior defensive teams this season, holding teams to 45.6 percent inside the arc. Arkansas blew that out of the water to the tune of 56.8 percent from two on its way to scoring 46 points in the paint. Even though Arkansas didn’t shoot the ball particularly well, 42.9 percent overall, the Hogs were able to handle the pressure of one of the top defenses in the country, something teams with far more experience have struggled with this season.
The defense did more than enough
For most of the season, Arkansas has been solid defensively but not great. The Razorbacks have defended the rim well, but overall, the defense had some holes. You wouldn’t have known it against St. John’s. The Hogs defended well nearly everywhere on the court. I know St. John’s is far from an elite offense, but Arkansas made the Red Storm look bad. St. John’s ended the game making 28 percent from the field and 9.1 percent from three. The Hogs held one of the top scorers in the Big East, RJ Luis, to only nine points and limited his impact on the game to the point where Rick Pitino had him on the bench for the final five minutes of a close game. Arkansas did allow 28 offensive rebounds, but in the end, that didn’t matter since the Hogs had Karter Knox protecting the rim, and St. John’s never got off a clean shot at any point of the game.
It’s not a surprise that a coach as experienced as John Calipari would get the most out of this season, but not many people could have expected that Arkansas would be able to dig itself out of the early season hole to be one of the hottest teams in the tournament. At this point, whether or not Arkansas makes it past the Sweet 16 is irrelevant. The Hogs have already won two more games in the NCAA Tournament than expected, anything more is just icing on the cake. Arkansas is playing with zero pressure, and that has paid off for the Razorbacks.