Arkansas played South Carolina in the first round of the SEC Tournament on Wednesday. 

Arkansas was up 47-30 at halftime, but let South Carolina crawl back into the game in the second half. It made for a great final few minutes, but Arkansas prevailed in the end, 72-68.

Trevon Brazile led all Razorbacks players with 16 points, but Johnell Davis and Jonas Aidoo weren't far behind with 14 points each.

The Razorbacks will play the Ole Miss Rebels in the next round on Thursday and will try to advance to the quarterfinals and keep their NCAA Tournament hopes alive.

After the win, Razorbacks head coach John Calipari told the media that the Gamecocks' 2024-25 season might have been better if they didn't play in the SEC. 

Gamecocks head coach Lamont Paris didn't care for that comment when he had the chance to respond to it.

"It’s funny you hear him say that, right? They don’t want to be in another league. You guys would have been good in another. What does that even mean? We’re in this league," Paris said, via Lou Bezjak of The Herald in Rock Hill. 

The SEC is the best conference in college basketball this year and will likely have more than a handful of teams in the 2025 NCAA Tournament. It also wouldn't shock anyone if this year's National Championship winner comes from the SEC. 

The Gamecocks finished the season with a 12-20 overall record and a 2-16 record in SEC play. It was a big drop-off from last season when they went 26-8 and got to the NCAA Tournament. 

We'll see if the Razorbacks can keep their NCAA Tournament hopes alive when Thursday's second-round game tips off at 1 p.m. ET.