Arkansas drops high-scoring heartbreaker to No. 16 Kentucky

Both teams' offensive capabilities were on full display inside Rupp Arena, but the Wildcats firepower was too much for Arkansas (14-15, 5-11 SEC) to overcome. 

The Razorbacks fought to take back the lead after trailing by as many as 10 points in the second half and would lead by as many as seven with seven minutes to play, but Kentucky, led by Zvonimir Ivisic and Rob Dillingham, closed out the Razorbacks in the final minutes for their fifth win in their last six games. 

A three-pointer by Justin Edwards and subsequent missed layup by Makhi Mitchell was the dagger sequence before Kentucky tacked on a few free throws in the last minute to put the final nail in the coffin.

Dillingham, who didn't play when the teams met on Jan. 27 inside Bud Walton Arena, scored 15 points and dished out five assists in UK's victory. Tramon Mark, who scored 23 points for Arkansas in the loss, commented on the performance of the lauded freshman. 

"He's a fast guard. He can shoot, make layups, shoot free throws, pass, just a really good player," Mark said. 

While disappointed, Arkansas head coach Eric Musselman still took away some positives from Saturday's loss. 

"I thought our team played extremely hard. We had a couple costly turnovers which I thought changed the complexion of the game, because they were live ball turnovers," Musselman said. "Our effort was outstanding today. Our team played as hard as we could play. The couple turnovers and baseline out of bounds defense were two areas that I thought really changed the complexion of the game."

Arkansas has now fallen below .500 for the second time this season, sitting at 14-15 overall and a dismal 5-11 in conference play. The Razorbacks will attempt to get back to an even .500 mark at home on Wednesday, when they take on LSU at Bud Walton Arena in their penultimate game of the regular season. 

Arkansas currently sits at 12th in the SEC, just behind Georgia, who will take on Texas A&M at 6 p.m. ET Saturday night. 

Kentucky, meanwhile, moved to fourth in the SEC with the win, though Auburn remains hot on their tail. A top four regular-season finish in the SEC guarantees a double-bye in the SEC Tournament in Nashville, a coveted advantage that makes it much easier for teams to hoist the hardware inside Bridgestone Arena. 

It looks like Arkansas will have to win five games in five days if it wants to make the NCAA Tournament, as the Hogs' only chance at a postseason bid is the automatic bid ensured by a conference tournament victory.

Following their aforementioned home date with LSU, the Razorbacks will wrap their regular season on the road against Alabama on March 9. Kentucky will close the regular season out at home against Vanderbilt on March 6, and on the road in a huge game against No. 4 Tennessee on March 9. 

The SEC Tournament tips off on March 13, culminating with the conference title game on March 17.