Arkansas beats No. 25 Mississippi State by one in frantic finish
AP
Mar 08, 2025
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (AP) Jonas Aidoo made one of two free throws with 11 seconds left to break a tie game and No. 25 Mississippi State Bulldogs missed two potential game-winning shots at the rim at the other end to close out Arkansas Razorbacks’ 93-92 victory on Saturday.
Mississippi State (20-11, 8-10 Southeastern Conference) used a 12-0 run to go up by one point with 3:14 to play, its first lead since before halftime. Arkansas (19-12, 8-10), which led by one at the break, opened the second half on a 10-run.
DJ Wagner, who scored a game-high 24 points, gave the Razorbacks a three-point lead on a 3-pointer with 44 seconds left. But Jonathan Hubbard countered, hitting a 3-pointer for the Bulldogs just 10 seconds later to set up the frantic finish.
Aidoo, a preseason second-team All-SEC selection, largely struggled in his first season with the Razorbacks after transferring from Tennessee. But he scored a season-high 21 points and had 10 rebounds in the regular-season finale.
Claudell Harris Jr. led Mississippi State with 18 points and Hubbard finished with 17.
The Razorbacks entered the game likely on the right side of the NCAA Tournament bubble and should be breathing fine on Selection Sunday. Mississippi State should make the tournament, as well, but the Bulldogs have seen their seeding drop as they lost four of their last five games.
Riley Kugel, who made the 3 that gave Mississippi State its first second-half lead, was blocked at the rim by Billy Richmond in the waning seconds. RJ Melendez grabbed the offensive rebound, but missed the putback as time expired.
The Razorbacks shot well. They made 55% of their field goals, 43% of their 3-pointers and 81% of their free throws. The Bulldogs committed just two turnovers and scored 19 points off 10 Arkansas giveaways.
Arkansas will be either the No. 9 or No. 10 seed in next week’s SEC Tournament.
Mississippi State will be either the No. 10 seed or the No. 11 seed in the SEC Tournament.
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1st Half
MSST
Bulldogs
44
ARK
Razorbacks
45
Time
Team
Play
Score
20:00
Michael Nwoko vs. Zvonimir Ivišić (D.J. Wagner gains possession)
19:46
Trevon Brazile misses three point jump shot
19:44
Riley Kugel defensive rebound
19:35
Riley Kugel misses three point jump shot
19:33
Razorbacks defensive rebound
19:17
Cameron Matthews personal foul (D.J. Wagner draws the foul)
18:59
Riley Kugel shooting foul (Zvonimir Ivišić draws the foul)
18:59
+1
Zvonimir Ivišić makes regular free throw 1 of 2
0-1
18:59
+1
Zvonimir Ivišić makes regular free throw 2 of 2
0-2
18:42
Josh Hubbard misses three point jump shot
18:40
Michael Nwoko offensive rebound
18:32
Michael Nwoko misses two point hook shot
18:30
Johnell Davis defensive rebound
18:21
Trevon Brazile turnover (out of bounds)
18:02
Josh Hubbard misses two point layup
18:00
Trevon Brazile defensive rebound
17:47
Karter Knox turnover (out of bounds)
17:33
+2
Cameron Matthews makes two point layup (Michael Nwoko assists)
2-2
17:33
Trevon Brazile shooting foul (Cameron Matthews draws the foul)
17:33
+1
Cameron Matthews makes regular free throw 1 of 1
3-2
17:16
+2
Zvonimir Ivišić makes two point turnaround hook shot (D.J. Wagner assists)
3-4
17:05
Trevon Brazile shooting foul (Michael Nwoko draws the foul)
17:05
+1
Michael Nwoko makes regular free throw 1 of 2
4-4
17:05
+1
Michael Nwoko makes regular free throw 2 of 2
5-4
16:42
Riley Kugel personal foul (Johnell Davis draws the foul)
16:32
Karter Knox misses two point jump shot
16:30
Jonas Aidoo offensive rebound
16:24
Zvonimir Ivišić misses three point jump shot
16:23
Jonas Aidoo offensive rebound
16:23
Claudell Harris Jr. personal foul (Jonas Aidoo draws the foul)
16:22
D.J. Wagner turnover (bad pass) (Shawn Jones Jr. steals)
16:12
+2
Michael Nwoko makes two point cutting layup (Josh Hubbard assists)
7-4
16:12
Johnell Davis shooting foul (Michael Nwoko draws the foul)
16:12
+1
Michael Nwoko makes regular free throw 1 of 1
8-4
15:55
+3
Johnell Davis makes three point jump shot (Jonas Aidoo assists)
8-7
15:32
Claudell Harris Jr. misses three point jump shot
15:30
Cameron Matthews offensive rebound
15:28
Karter Knox shooting foul (Cameron Matthews draws the foul)
15:28
TV timeout
15:28
+1
Cameron Matthews makes regular free throw 1 of 2
9-7
15:28
Cameron Matthews misses regular free throw 2 of 2
15:28
Karter Knox defensive rebound
15:11
Billy Richmond III turnover (bad pass) (Shawn Jones Jr. steals)
15:05
+3
Claudell Harris Jr. makes three point jump shot (Cameron Matthews assists)
12-7
14:54
+2
Billy Richmond III makes two point driving layup (Karter Knox assists)
12-9
14:25
+3
Cameron Matthews makes three point jump shot
15-9
14:07
KeShawn Murphy blocks Billy Richmond III's two point jump shot
14:05
Cameron Matthews defensive rebound
13:58
Josh Hubbard misses three point jump shot
13:56
Jonas Aidoo defensive rebound
13:45
+2
D.J. Wagner makes two point driving layup
15-11
13:45
Claudell Harris Jr. shooting foul (D.J. Wagner draws the foul)
13:45
+1
D.J. Wagner makes regular free throw 1 of 1
15-12
13:20
Karter Knox shooting foul (Josh Hubbard draws the foul)
13:20
+1
Josh Hubbard makes regular free throw 1 of 3
16-12
13:20
+1
Josh Hubbard makes regular free throw 2 of 3
17-12
13:20
+1
Josh Hubbard makes regular free throw 3 of 3
18-12
12:55
Shawn Jones Jr. blocks Johnell Davis's two point jump shot
12:53
Razorbacks offensive rebound
12:52
+3
Johnell Davis makes three point jump shot (Billy Richmond III assists)
18-15
12:29
RJ Melendez misses two point jump shot
12:27
Zvonimir Ivišić defensive rebound
12:19
+2
Jonas Aidoo makes two point jump shot (Johnell Davis assists)
18-17
12:01
+2
KeShawn Murphy makes two point driving floating jump shot (Dellquan Warren assists)
20-17
11:46
Johnell Davis misses two point layup
11:44
Riley Kugel defensive rebound
11:38
+2
RJ Melendez makes two point driving layup
22-17
11:15
Zvonimir Ivišić misses two point jump shot
11:11
Razorbacks offensive rebound
11:11
TV timeout
11:06
Jonas Aidoo misses two point hook shot
11:04
Jonas Aidoo offensive rebound
11:00
+2
Jonas Aidoo makes two point putback layup
22-19
10:54
Billy Richmond III blocks Josh Hubbard's two point layup