The NCAA men’s basketball tournament continues to provide upsets, and this time it was the No. 8 seed Arkansas Razorbacks defeating the No. 1 seed Kansas Jayhawks.
Kansas is the second 1-seed to be ousted from the tournament, joining the Purdue Boilermakers, who lost to No. 16 seed Fairleigh Dickinson Knights on Friday night. The Jayhawks are the third reigning national champion to lose in the round of 32 after earning a No. 1 seed (the 2022 Baylor Bears and the 2017 Villanova Wildcats are the others).
Kansas had the edge heading into halftime with a 35-27 lead, but Arkansas outscored the Jayhawks 45-36 the rest of the way. Arkansas guard Davonte Davis scored 25 points along with eight rebounds and an assist to lead his team to a 72-71 victory.
Saturday’s win is the Razorbacks’ third consecutive triumph in the round of 32, the first time they have achieved the feat since they won four straight from 1993 to 1996. They will await the winner of the Saint Mary’s Gaels–UConn Huskies matchup for their Sweet 16 opponent.
Arkansas’ upset caused plenty of reactions from stars across social media.
Arkansas celebrates huge upset
Former president Bill Clinton, who was born in Hope, Arkansas, couldn’t contain his excitement after watching his squad secure the win.
🐗 Woo Pig Sooie! #MarchMadness
— Bill Clinton (@BillClinton) March 18, 2023
Arkansas’ Twitter account also joined the celebration with a fitting photo and a timely troll.
WOOO FREAKING PIG!!! pic.twitter.com/VywjLZtYNj
— Arkansas Razorbacks 🐗 (@ArkRazorbacks) March 18, 2023
IT’S PRONOUNCED KANSAW pic.twitter.com/iTga280Dy2
— Arkansas Razorbacks Men’s Basketball 🐗 (@RazorbackMBB) March 18, 2023
Milwaukee Bucks forward Bobby Portis, who played for the Razorbacks from 2013-15, made sure to shout out his alma mater after the victory.
Let’s Goooooooo!!! #WPS
— Bobby BP Portis (@BPortistime) March 18, 2023
Man that was a good comeback win!! Happy to be a hog!! The Muss Bus is rollin!! #WPS
— Bobby BP Portis (@BPortistime) March 18, 2023
Wrong winner, busted brackets
Many people selected Kansas as the championship pick in the ESPN men’s Tournament Challenge — 2,015,300 to be exact. Now that Kansas is out of the tourney, even more brackets have been busted. Atlanta Dream co-owner Renee Montgomery asked if any more perfect brackets remained after the Razorbacks took down the Jayhawks.
Oh boy, any brackets still have a chance? #MarchMadness
— Renee Montgomery (@ReneeMontgomery) March 18, 2023
Sports world reacts to Arkansas’ upset victory
New York Knicks guard Jalen Brunson was among those who chimed in on the Arkansas-Kansas thriller.
This tournament is wild 😬
— Jalen Brunson (@jalenbrunson1) March 18, 2023
kansas 😱😱
— Queen (@QueenEgbo_) March 18, 2023
ARKANSAS IS MOVING ON TO THE SWEET 16‼️ pic.twitter.com/Il9RlZ62kP
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) March 18, 2023
Say the line! @RazorbackMBB 🐗#MarchMadness pic.twitter.com/fTV6heHfhB
— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) March 19, 2023