The stakes in every March Madness game are through the roof. After all, one slip up and one defeat, and you're out of the competition entirely. Thus, it's no surprise that players vying for the most coveted trophy in all of collegiate basketball become overcome with emotion amid such a grueling ride. And on Saturday, that's exactly what happened to combo guard Nick Smith Jr. after his Arkansas Razorbacks managed to overcome the top-seeded Kansas Jayhawks, 72-71, to advance to the Sweet 16.

After the game, Smith cried his heart out after the Razorbacks managed to pull out the victory in a nail-biting affair to set up a date with the Connecticut Huskies in the next round even after the projected 2023 NBA first round pick went scoreless in 16 minutes of action against Kansas.

“People don't know we went through so much stuff bro. This is emotional for me, bro, because I came back trying to be part of something great. And the team came out and did what they were supposed to do. And I'm just glad to be a part of it,” Smith said as he continued to regain his bearings after tears streamed down his face.

“People don't know I've been through so much stuff this year, bro.”

From Nigel Dyson of SB Nation and KCCI News:

https://twitter.com/nigeldyson5/status/1637256778239836160

Still, being the good teammate that he is, Nick Smith Jr. was quick to credit his Arkansas teammates for contributing into what ended up being such a resounding victory for the Razorbacks program that has not progressed deeper than the Elite 8 since 1995.

“Man, it's super cool [to have a chance at making the Elite 8 for the third straight year]. Just being a part of this team. Words can't describe. Everybody on this team had a big part of what we did today. I'm just glad I'm here,” Smith added.

“We ain't trying to prove nobody wrong bro. We're trying to prove ourselves wrong. Bro we have a goal before we came into the season, just trying to make a run, and try to win this thing. We're still alive so we just got to lock in. We're going to Vegas, we got another one.”

Nick Smith Jr. will have a huge opportunity bounce back in a huge way when 9-seed Arkansas takes on 4-seed Connecticut on Thursday at 7:15 PM E.T.