Arkansas Razorbacks 71, Ole Miss Rebels 70: Fare Thee Well, Tad Pad

We'll have more in a bit (UPDATE: Story's there now! Below the video) because I just got home and listened to the last few minutes on the radio - I'll always remember Chuck's call, "Moody threw Madden to the ground and they called a jump ball!", but here's this.

WE DON'T HAVE TO PLAY IN THE TAD PAD ANYMORE, YOU GUYS!

Ole Miss is opening a new arena next season, so this was Arkansas' swan song in the infamously awful gym, and they made it count.

The Razorbacks led most of the game, but lost the lead midway through the second half, but took it back with six seconds left on Manny Watkins layup from Ky Madden and the Hogs come out of Oxford with their 20th victory of the season, and a huge top 50 road win for their NCAA Tournament resume.

Bobby Portis *only* scored 12 points and had 5 rebounds, but most of the rest of the team played well. Watkins and Anton Beard were a combined 9-9 from the field for 22 points. Michael Qualls had a big time game with 15 points and 8 rebounds, including some big boards going down the stretch.

Special shoutout to Ky Madden for surpassing the 1,000 point milestone for his career. And he did it in Oxford, the place he nearly signed with out of high school. He finished with 10 points, 6 assists, 5 rebounds and a block. Depending on how many points he scores the rest of the season, he could finish in a pretty elite club of Razorbacks in terms of career points and assists.

The Rebels shot a crazy-high percentage when the two teams played in Bud Walton, something around 60%. But they struggled on their home court, going for just 38% and that's why Arkansas won. Ole Miss won the turnover battle, crushed Arkansas on the glass, shot more than twice as many free throws as the Hogs, and even had more bench points, but the Razorbacks shot 47.5% and it was enough to pull out the one-point victory.

The win puts Arkansas in sole possession of 2nd place in the SEC, although to be fair, the difference between 2nd and 3rd place doesn't really mean a whole lot. The 2- and 3- seed will be favored to face off on Saturday at the SEC Tournament.

It is much more significant for the Hogs' NCAA Tournament resume. This was Arkansas' fourth top-50 win and third on the road. It's possible the win could push Arkansas up another line on the NCAA bracket seeding. The Hogs now get a home game on Wednesday against Missouri and a road game next Saturday at Mississippi State, two games they'll be favored to win before hosting Texas A&M, a borderline top 50 opponent next week.

WE WON AND WE DON'T HAVE TO PLAY IN THE TAD PAD ANYMORE AND WOO PIG EVERYBODY!