Arkansas vs Mississippi State: Box score, stats, game summary and more ft. DJ Wagner

No. 25 Mississippi State traveled to NCAA Tournament hopeful Arkansas in a significant final conference game of the regular season. The Razorbacks held on and probably cinched their NCAA hopes with a 93-92 upset win. Arkansas (19-12, 8-10 in the SEC) has resurrected its season, while Mississippi State (20-11, 8-10 in the SEC) has finished the year in a bit of a slide.

Mississippi State vs. Arkansas Box Score

Mississippi State

Player	PTS	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PF	MIN
R. Kugel	12	3	1	0	0	0	2	23
C. Matthews	13	6	4	3	0	0	4	30
J. Hubbard	17	1	4	0	0	2	2	34
RJ Melendez	10	3	0	0	1	0	4	26
M. Nwoko	9	2	2	0	1	0	1	19
C. Harris Jr.	18	2	0	0	0	0	3	24
K. Murphy	13	6	0	0	1	0	3	19
S. Jones Jr.	0	2	2	2	1	0	1	20
D. Warren	0	1	2	0	0	0	1	6

Arkansas

Player	PTS	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PF	MIN
J. Davis	15	4	4	2	0	0	4	34
T. Brazile	11	11	0	0	0	2	2	23
K. Knox	6	3	1	0	0	1	3	23
DJ Wagner	24	2	5	0	0	4	0	38
Z. Ivisic	6	4	1	0	2	0	0	22
J. Karuletwa	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
J. Aidoo	21	10	4	0	3	0	4	32
B. Richmond III	10	2	6	0	2	3	2	28

Mississippi State vs. Arkansas Game Summary

The teams battled through a back-and-forth first half. Mississippi State took the biggest lead of the opening half at 18-12 on a Josh Hubbard free throw. Arkansas led by as many as four and held a 45-44 halftime advantage.

Arkansas opened the second half on a 10-0 roll which was pivotal to the outcome. Reserve forward Trevon Brazile had two 3-pointers in that run. Mississippi State never pulled closer than an eight-point deficit until its final rule.

Arkansas led 83-72 on a pair of Johnell Davis free throws with 5:33 to play. But Mississippi State pulled to within 83-81 on a Cameron Matthews layup with 3:33 to go. A Riley Kugel 3-pointer gave State the lead.

The teams traded the lead until DJ Wagner broke an 89-all tie with a 3-pointer with 44 seconds remaining. Josh Hubbard answered with another 3-pointer for State with 33 seconds to play. Jonas Aidoo provided the difference with a free throw and Billy Richmond then blocked a Mississippi State shot to save the win.

Arkansas was led by five double-digit scorers, paced by Kentucky transfer D.J. Wagner, who had 24 points. Tennessee transfer Jonas Aidoo added points and 10 rebounds. Among the other scorers cracking double figures were Johnell Davis with 15 points, Trevon Brazile with 11 points and Billy Richmond III with 10 more points.

Mississippi State was paced by reserve Claudell Harris Jr. with 18 points. Josh Hubbard had 17 points, but shot just 4-for-16. Reserve Keshawn Murphy added 13 more as did Cam Matthews. Riley Kugel added 12 points and RJ Melendez had 10.

With the result, both Mississippi State and Arkansas are likely to play in Wednesday's first round games in Nashville. Both teams figure to be seeded in the No. 9- No. 12 range, making each a likely favorite in their respective first-round matchups.