Arkansas men’s basketball coach Eric Musselman flexed his muscles as he celebrated the team’s upset win over the defending national champion Kansas Jayhawks.
The No. 8 Razorbacks outscored the Jayhawks 72-71 as Ricky Council IV made five free throws in the final seconds of the game. The 58-year-old coach jumped to the press table, took off his red polo shirt and waved it over his head.
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The crowd in Des Moines, Iowa went wild.
«That’s such an incredible win for our program,» Musselman said. «I keep telling people we’re getting better. Not many teams can get better this time of year. I’ve never been more proud of a team than tonight.»
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Arkansas knocked out No. 1 Gonzaga last year en route to an Elite Eight appearance. This time the team didn’t even lead for 2 minutes as they struggled on offense at the beginning and foul trouble at the end. According to OptaSTATS, Arkansas became the first team to beat a No. 1 seed with three players fouled out.
«I’d love to lie and say I felt sober, but we only led by 1:43,» Council said after the game. «This has been such a challenging and up-and-down season that I’ve been a part of.
«For these guys to be rewarded for standing their ground and being able to go to Vegas and participate with only 16 teams standing… It’s very hard to get to this tournament. It’s very hard to win a game in this tournament. It’s really hard to beat the defending champions, the No. 1 seed. We did it.»
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Arkansas, which beat Illinois in the round of 16, awaits the winner of Saint Mary’s and UConn in the Sweet 16.
Associated Press contributed to this report.