NEW YORK – Arkansas rallied from a 15-point deficit in the first half and took an 18-point lead in the second half before posting an 89-87 win over No. 1 at Madison Square Garden on Tuesday night as part of the Jimmy V. 14 Michigan won classics.

The Razorbacks battled back in the first half and trailed 49-45 at halftime, powered by 13 points from freshman Boogie Fland and 11 points from Adou Thiero.

Arkansas scored the first 12 points of the second half to take a lead that it would not relinquish. While the Hogs extended their lead to 18 points with 9:45 left, Michigan responded with 14-2 runs (including a 12-0 run) for a thrilling finish.

Red-hot DJ Wagner scored 14 points on 6 of 9 shooting and added four assists in the second half to pace the Razorbacks heading into halftime.

A key block from Trevon Brazile, followed by a free throw that extended Arkansas’ lead to two points, gave the Razorbacks a lead in the final seconds. Johnell Davis broke up a pass on the baseline before Roddy Gayle Jr.’s 15-footer bounced off the front rim as time expired.

Fland, a Bronx native playing at Madison Square Garden for the first time, led all scorers and five Razorbacks in double figures with 20 in his hometown return. The freshman added seven assists with just two turnovers. Wagner finished 16th, with Brazile posting 15 points and six rebounds.

Jonas Aidoo, celebrating his birthday, narrowly missed a double-double with 11 points and seven boards with two steals and two blocked shots. Thiero, who was due to illness, managed to play 21:49 minutes and score 13 points.

Vladislav Goldin led the Wolverines with 17 points and nine rebounds. Danny Wolf had 14 points, nine rebounds and nine assists

Next up, Arkansas makes its annual trip to Simmons Bank Arena in North Little Rock on Saturday (Dec. 14). The Razorbacks face UCA. Tip-off is scheduled for 3:00 p.m. CT. The game will be broadcast on SEC Network Plus.

FIRST HALF: Arkansas 45 – Michigan 49

• Michigan made 11 of 11 field goals in a row and led by 15 (36-21) with 6:27 left.
• From that point on, Boogie Fland scored eight straight points for the Hogs.
• Later, 3-pointers from Zvonimir Ivisic and Karter Knox reduced the deficit to four (42-38).
• A 7-0 run by Arkansas made it a one-point game (46-45) before Michigan hit a 3-pointer to end the first half.
• Will Tschetter led Michigan with 13 points, going 3 of 4 from 3-point range.
• Fland led Arkansas with 13 points and Adou Thiero added 11 points.
• Michigan shot 61% from the field and was 7 of 12 from 3-point range. Arkansas had a 52% shooting percentage but was just 4 of 11 from 3-point range.

SECOND HALF: Arkansas 44 – Michigan 36

• Arkansas opened the second half with a 12-0 run. Overall, the Hogs outscored the Wolverines 20-6 on a Wagner 3-pointer and then 31-11 on a Brazile 3-pointer. Brazile would give Arkansas its largest lead of 18 points (80-62) with a layup at 9:45.
• Arkansas forced 11 turnovers in the first 10 minutes of the second half.
• Michigan’s 14-2 run (with a 12-0 spurt) coincided with a 4:57 point drought by Arkansas as the Wolverines cut their deficit to six, 80-74. Fland ended the losing streak with two free throws with 4:48 to play.
• After a free throw from Thiero gave Arkansas a five-point lead (88-83) with 1:58 left, Michigan got a free throw, an offensive rebound, another free throw, another offensive rebound and a layup from Wolf, to bring Michigan to the next one (88-87) with 1:28 remaining.
• Neither team scored in the next 1:14 minutes – including the Brazile block with 15 ticks remaining. Brazile was immediately fouled after collecting the rebound from the blocked shot. He made 1 of 2.
• Wolf got the rebound on the second missed shot with 11 seconds left. Michigan called a timeout with three seconds left to set up the final play and Davis’ heroics.
• Michigan shot 53.8% in the second half, while Arkansas shot 48.5%. However, the Hogs were 5 of 12 from 3-point range and Michigan, which was 7 of 12 from long range in the first half, was just 1 of 6 from beyond the arc.

PLAYING NOTES:

• For the second straight game, Arkansas’ starting lineup consisted of Boogie Fland, DJ Wagner, Johnell Davis, Adou Thiero and Jonas Aidoo.
• Arkansas won the opening tip. The Razorbacks have won the tip in 9 of 10 games.
• Adou Thiero scored the first points of the game, a layup at 18:03.
• Trevon Brazile was Arkansas’ first sub.
• Arkansas has trailed at the half in three straight games (Miami, UTSA and Michigan) and six times this season. Arkansas trails 4-2 at halftime this season.
• Arkansas is tied with Michigan in the all-time series at 4-4. Both teams have won twice on their home court and now both teams have won twice on a neutral court. Arkansas is also 1-1 against Michigan at the Garden.
• Arkansas is 4-7 all-time at Madison Square Garden, but improves to 2-3 in the current version of the historic building
• Coach Calipari is 3-1 all-time at the Jimmy V Classic. He was 1-0 at UMass and 1-1 at Memphis. Overall, he is 16-12 years old when he plays at the Garden.
• For the fifth time, Boogie Fland handed out seven assists,
• Arkansas is now 6-8 when playing the AP #14 team. The last time Arkansas beat a 14th-ranked team was in 2018 against Auburn.
• John Calipari is now 114-97 when playing against ranked opponents, including a 4-6 mark against the No. 14 team.
• With 20 points, Boogie Fland is New York’s highest-scoring Razorback in a game at the Garden. Kareem Reid had 19 against Michigan in the 1997 NIT semifinals. (HogStats)
• Tonight marked just the third time a Razorback rookie scored at least 20 points, had at least seven assists and had at least two steals. Fland vs. Michigan 20-7-2 tonight – December 10th. Fland vs. Little Rock 21-7-3 on November 22nd. Courtney Fortson v. NC Central (ironically, December 10, 2008). (HogStats)
• Arkansas is now unranked at 4-30 and trails at halftime against a ranked opponent on a neutral court. (HogStats)
• Arkansas is 16-0 when a player scores at least 10 points on his birthday, thanks to Jonas Aidoo, who scored 11 points on his birthday. (HogStats)

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