There has been a lot to unpack over the past 24 hours in Razorback sports. Different types of chants echoed through a record crowd of 20,344 inside Bud Walton Arena on Wednesday. With a late evening start, Razorback fans were ready in their seats 15-20 minutes before tipoff. The arena was electric as color commentator Jay Bilas complemented the atmosphere.
"[Bud]Walton Arena is the loudest arena to start a game that I've ever been in,” Bilas said in the national broadcast on ESPN.
An unsuccessful trip to the Bahamas for the Battle For Atlantis left Arkansas hurting with key starter Tramon Mark out with a back injury. The matchup with Duke proved to be one of the hottest tickets in college basketball this season with third party sites selling a single ticket at $500 minimum. Losing three of their last four games the Razorbacks were reeling. They needed to get things back on track.
Whatever the secret spirit is inside the Basketball Palace of MidAmerica it was certainly prevalent Wednesday night. The crowd had their ultimate impact on the game when the Razorbacks pushed their lead to 14 with seven minutes to go. The Blue Devils were able to implement successful full court press attempts turning Arkansas over and eventually pulling within three with a minute to go.
Duke’s run to trim the Hogs’ lead nearly sent fans into a tizzy. Faces of disbelief from Razorback fans during the waning moments went away in the final few seconds. Intensity from the sold out crowd was felt, creating an electric environment that the younger Duke players struggled in.
"I don't care if you're experienced or not,” Duke coach John Scheyer said. “ I don't think you see many environments like this. It's a different kind of thing."
Razorback fans had the opportunity to rush the court following their team’s monumental victory. A win that will make them forget about the struggles of the past two weeks. Thrilling victories like these don’t come around very often. Game atmospheres like this don’t grow on trees either and they must be cherished.
“Incredible home crowd tonight,” said Musselman. “Just an insane environment. Kinda cool to experience that even as an old guy.”
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