WATCH: John Calipari, Johnell Davis Recap Arkansas Men’s Basketball’s Loss to Illinois

Arkansas Men’s Basketball fell to Illinois in the final game of the State Farm Champions Classic on Tuesday night, 71-68. The Razorbacks led by 1 with under a minute to go when Illini’s Terrence Shannon Jr. buried a three. Illinois, led by RJ Melendez’s 16 points, fought back from a 13-point deficit in the second half. Arkansas was led by Nick Smith’s 22 points.

Calipari, Davis Lament Missed Opportunities

Arkansas head coach Eric Musselman and guard Davonte Davis spoke to the media after the game, expressing their disappointment in the loss. Musselman said, “We had our chances to win the game, but we didn’t make the plays down the stretch.” Davis added, “We’ve got to be better at finishing games. We can’t let teams come back from big deficits like that.”

Arkansas Struggles From Three

The Razorbacks struggled from three-point range, shooting just 22.2% (6-of-27). Musselman said, “We’ve got to make more threes. We’re not going to win many games shooting 22% from three.”

Bright Spots for the Razorbacks

Despite the loss, there were some bright spots for the Razorbacks. Freshman Nick Smith had a breakout game, scoring 22 points on 8-of-15 shooting. Forward Jalen Graham also had a solid performance, finishing with 11 points and 10 rebounds.

Looking Ahead

The Razorbacks will return to action on Friday when they host Troy at Bud Walton Arena. Musselman said, “We’ve got to learn from our mistakes and move on. We’ve got a lot of basketball left to play.”