Williams Knows Hogs Facing Pair of 'Bigs' That Are 'Heart of Team'

Jaylin Williams defines over-achieving Razorbacks as they face No. 1 Gonzaga on Thursday

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Maybe nobody on this Arkansas team defines a team that has reached the Sweet 16 more than Jaylin Williams.

Probably against the odds. Certainly against what anybody was predicting to start the new year.

If you're being honest with yourself, after a loss to Hofstra and an 0-3 start to the SEC schedule, nobody was making postseason plans.

Williams just kept smiling and playing through it. The same way he's doing now with the Razorbacks the last team standing in the NCAA Tournament.

Mark Konezny / USA TODAY Sports

Gregory Fisher / USA TODAY Sports

"It just shows how hard it is to win a game in the NCAA Tournament," he said about the other league teams that are out. "The SEC teams that lost, they are all really great teams."

The Hogs haven't been a cocky team all year. Some early losses and too-close-for-comfort wins have kept that to a minimum.

"There’s a lot of great teams in this tournament and you’ve got to be ready every single game," Williams said earlier this week. "For us to be the last team just shows the fight we’ve had all year. We continue to show it throughout the year. We’ve just got to keep going."

Now they face a Gonzaga team that is the No. 1 seed of the entire tournament. Nobody is giving them a chance there, either.

"I’ve got two good eyes and my Internet works really good, I have great connection, and I haven’t found anybody that’s even giving us a chance to even be in the same arena with Gonzaga," Hogs coach Eric Musselman said Monday.

This is a team of total over-achievers.

Musselman has said all season he needs an entire team like Williams, who has been chasing and diving after loose balls, drawing charges and doing whatever needs to be done ... to win.

It appears to have been infectious.

Gregory Fisher / USA TODAY Sports

SEC

All of that is Williams, who knows he has to do it against maybe the best team in the country. They also have a pair of "bigs" in Drew Timme and Chet Holmgren that are arguably the best tandem in the nation.

"Their two bigs are really good," Williams said. "This year we've played against a lot of really good bigs. They are the heart of their team and we've just got to be ready."

The tipoff for Thursday's game is set for shortly after 6 p.m. and will be televised on CBSand FuboTV.

"We've just got to keep going," Williams said.

Which is what the fans want.

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