Arkansas earns Sweet Sixteen trip by outlasting St. John's

In one of the most physical games the Razorbacks have played this season, Arkansas outlasted St. John's 75-66, earning their fourth Sweet Sixteen birth in five seasons.

Arkansas beats St. John's in the second round of the NCAA Tournament

You can hear the collective heat beats of Arkansas fans still as the teams sit in their respective locker room. Looking forward, Arkansas vs St. John's may be one of the best games in the entire tournament. The drama, the excitement, the controversy — John Calipari and Rick Pitiono's renewed rivalry couldn't have been more entertaining.

From the tip, the Razorbacks seemed to be in control. Periodically through the first half, St. John's would move ahead of Arkansas on the scoreboard, but never by more than four points.

It was an all-freshman half, with the not-so-green-anymore trio of guards, Billy Richmond III, Boogie Fland, and Karter Knox combining for 20 of Arkansas' 35 first-half points. They needed to step up too, because Trevon Brazile and Jonas Aidoo were in foul trouble early and couldn't play both or risk one fouling out early.

Knox was special, though. His tenacity and physicality ventured far beyond his years. In a game where boards were as valuable as gold, Knox led the team going into the locker room with six, one short of St. John's' leading rebounder, Aaron Scott.

However, after the half. It became a referee show; not necessarily in the amount of fouls, but where and when they were called. Except for a very questionable call in the first half, the refs let the team play, but especially in the paint, the calls became consistent for both teams.

Within seconds of the second half starting, Jonas Aidoo grabbed his third foul, and when Zvonimir Ivisic replaced him on the floor, he received two quick fouls in three minutes that put him over his five-foul limit. By the time the buzzer sounded, Arkansas had three players with four fouls.

Nevertheless, the Razorback prevailed with a group effort, ending St, John's magical ride and scoring 40 points without a single player recording double-digits in the final 20 minutes. On the defensive end, Arkansas' length forced misses at the rim, affected shots, and forced poor shot selection from the Red Storm. But more importantly, Arkansas kept up with St. John's on the board, cleaning up 45 to the Redmen'a 51.

Arkansas will take on the winner of 3-seed Texas Tech and 11-seed Drake next week in the Sweet Sixteen.