The Arkansas Razorbacks are preparing for another big battle in the 2023 NCAA tournament after pulling off a shocker in the second round, dethroning the Kansas Jayhawks in a 72-71 victory. Arkansas basketball is having success so far in the Big Dance and that's despite the struggles of one of their key players in Nick Smith Jr. That said, Razorbacks head coach Eric Musselman is still counting on the freshman to come through with a breakout performance in the Big Dance.

“Nick's one of the most talented players in the country. And he's had some big games for us,” said head coach Eric Musselman of Nick Smith Jr., per Curtis Wilkerson of Hawg Sports. “He's been in a tough situation, in and out of the lineup with injuries. It's not easy for any player to do, let alone when a team's on a tournament run. But, yeah, we'd certainly love Nick to have a big game. But like I said, he's been in and out of the lineup. It's hard to do for any player, let alone someone that's in their freshman year.”

Smith is struggling to find his shooting touch so far in the tournament. In the first round against the Illinois Fighting Illinois, the first-year Arkansas guard went just 2-for-10 from the field for six points, while also coming up with a steal in 28 minutes on the floor. In the Kansas game, Smith laid an egg, as he went 0-for-4 from the field. Fortunately for Arkansas, the likes of Davonte Davis and Jordan Walsh stepped up to help Ricky Council IV carry the load, especially on offense for the Razorbacks. Davis led Arkansas in that contest with 25 points while Walsh came off the bench and fired a total of 10 points. Council had 21 points, albeit on an inefficient 5-for-18 shooting from the field.

On the season, Smith is second among Arkansas players with an average of 12.6 points per game along with 1.8 assists and 0.9 steals per contest.

How Arkansas booked its spot in the Sweet 16 round of the 2023 NCAA tournament?

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Arkansas finished with just a sub-.500 record in the regular season against SEC competition, going only 8-10 in conference play. However, the Razorbacks were able to come up with 19 overall wins against 12 losses prior to the postseason. In the SEC tournament, Arkansas beat Auburn in the second round before falling prey to the Texas A&M Aggies in the quarterfinals. Nevertheless, the Razorbacks got an invite to the Big Dance on the strength of six Quadrant 1 wins and four Quadrant 2 victories.