FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (AP) — JD Notae scored 30 points and Jaylin Williams had 4 of his 16 points in the final 1:22 as No. 18 Arkansas took down No. 6 Kentucky 75-73 on Saturday in a matchup of teams peaking late in the season.
Notae finished with eight assists, finding Williams for a jump shot to give the Razorbacks a 73-70 advantage with 1:22 to go that the Wildcats could not overcome. Williams finished with his sixth consecutive double-double, grabbing 12 rebounds.
Arkansas (23-6, 12-4 SEC) has won 13 of its last 14 games, including over then-No. 1 Auburn, to move into a two-way tie with Kentucky (23-6, 12-4 SEC) for second place in the Southeastern Conference standings with just two more games to play.
Both teams remain in contention for the regular-season league title.
Oscar Tshiebwe had 30 points and 18 rebounds for the Wildcats, who lost for the only the second time in their last 10 games.
Arkansas and Kentucky could be joined by No. 17 Tennessee in a three-team logjam for second place in the SEC standings if the Vols defeat No. 3 Auburn later Saturday.
In either second-place scenario, the Hogs hold the tiebreakers over both the Wildcats and Vols for conference tournament seeding by virtue of their 1-0 record head-to-head against each.
RANKED AND RECENT BWA HISTORY
Arkansas improved to 3-0 against Kentucky at Bud Walton Arena when both teams are ranked (2021-22, ’94-‘95, and ‘92-93). Before Saturday, the last time the Razorbacks had beat Kentucky at BWA was eight years ago during the ‘13-14 season when they swept the ‘Cats with overtime wins in both Fayetteville and Lexington. Coupled with its 81-80 road victory over Kentucky at Rupp Arena in Lexington last season, Arkansas has notched consecutive victories over the Wildcats for the first time since that ’13-14 campaign.
THE TAKEAWAY
Should Arkansas hold onto second place in the SEC by this time next week, it will have finished runner-up in the league’s final standings for the second consecutive season. The Razorbacks — 16-1 in home games at BWA this season — own the SEC’s best overall record (48-13) and best mark in regular-season league games (24-8) going back to the start of the ’20-21 campaign. The Wildcats slipped to 3-5 against AP Top 25 teams this season, which includes a 1-5 away-from-home mark. The biggest win of Kentucky’s season remains an 80-62 road victory over then-No. 5 Kansas in the Big 12/SEC Challenge on Jan. 29.
UP NEXT
Kentucky: Wildcats wrap up the regular season with a home game against Mississippi on Tuesday followed by a road game at Florida on Saturday.
Arkansas: In their final two SEC games to close out the regular season, the Hogs host unranked LSU on Wednesday before finishing on the road against No. 17 Tennessee on Saturday.
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