It’s officially been two decades since Arkansas last beat Florida in Gainesville.
The Razorbacks took a one point lead with 11.5 seconds left after a putback by Anton Beard but Florida’s Michael Frazier drew a foul with 1.9 seconds remaining and then gave the Gators a 57-56 win after hitting both free throws.
Arkansas has not won at Florida since Feb. 28, 1995, a span of 10 games inside the O’Connell Center.
Frazier hauled in an offensive rebound and drew a foul on the Razorbacks’ Alandise Harris. A replay of the call appeared to have been a clean block by Harris.
“It was a hard fought game,” Arkansas coach Mike Anderson said. “I was disappointed with the outcome of it. Credit to Florida. They hung in there and found a way to win. What I was disappointed with more than anything was the officiating going down the stretch. A guy that I’ve seen before. John Hampton made one of the more critical calls in this game. The last play I was not satisfied with.”
Bobby Portis led Arkansas with 21 points and 10 rebounds on 9-of-15 shooting while Dorian Finney-Smith led Florida with 16 points and nine rebounds.
Both teams struggled from the field as Arkansas shot 40 percent (24-of-60) from the field while Florida was even worse at 34 percent (18-52). The difference for the Gators came at the foul line as they were 17-of-25 while Arkansas was just 5-of-7.
The Razorbacks’ struggles continued from 3-point range as well as they hit just 3-of-16 from long distance.
