Arkansas upset of Auburn breaks ESPN college basketball TV records
Arkansas, which delivered an 80-76 overtime upset of the No. 1-ranked Auburn Tigers on Tuesday, turned in not just a terrific win but a historic television performance.
The matchup between Eric Musselman’s Razorbacks and Bruce Pearl’s Tigers, which was broadcasted on ESPN2, recorded 1.96 million viewers at its peak. In the process, it became the most-viewed regular-season men’s college basketball game on ESPN2 since Dec. 2018 according to ESPN PR.
Despite a 16-point, 19-rebound, seven-block performance by Auburn center Walker Kessler, coupled with a 20-point outing from Jabari Smith and 19 points from Wendell Green Jr., Arkansas was able to emerge victorious by a hair in overtime. The Razorbacks leaned on senior guard J.D. Notae for the bulk of their scoring, as the Covington, Georgia native poured in 28 points on 7-of-20 from the field, along with five rebounds, three assists, three steals and four blocks. Jaylin Williams and Au’Diese Toney also finished with 13 and 14 points, respectively.
Eric Musselman and Arkansas Razorbacks celebrate upset win in style
The Arkansas Razorbacks just pulled off a historic upset Tuesday night. The Razorbacks took down the Auburn Tigers in overtime 80-76 in a thriller and celebrated in traditional fashion afterward. After speaking to reporters on his team’s win, head coach Eric Musselman hit the court to celebrate with the team and their ruckus fans.
Musselman was right in the middle of the part, at center court, with an obvious change to his attire.
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Arkansas beat their SEC West rival at home in Bud Walton Arena in front of a record-setting crowd. And that crowd had a court-storming for the ages as they celebrated the upset victory. The overtime win is the first home victory over a No. 1 team in the AP Poll in school history, and it extends their current win streak to nine.
Eric Musselman on Auburn’s pregame dancing
“It was awesome, what a game! You know, they danced on our logo before the game — we watched that,” said Musselman after the game. What a great win for this program, it’s so awesome! I thought we played with incredible toughness. Auburn did a great job on the backboards, they offensive rebound, they’re physical, they’re long, they’re strong — but our guys didn’t back down, we went toe-to-toe with them.”
Prior to tip-off, the Tigers did their pregame ritual of dancing in a team huddle to psych themselves up. This time however, it appeared that they were purposefully dancing a bit too close to the Razorbacks’ logo on center court. The fans in attendance caught the disrespect being shown, as well as the Arkansas players according to Musselman.