Billy Richmond ejection, explained: Why Arkansas forward was thrown out of Sweet 16 game vs. Arizona

Billy Richmond ejection, explained: Why Arkansas forward was thrown out of Sweet 16 game vs. Arizona originally appeared on The Sporting News . Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here .

The Arkansas Razorbacks took on the Arizona Wildcats in the Sweet 16 of the 2026 NCAA Tournament. The Razorbacks entered the game as a No. 4 seed, but you wouldn't have guessed it by what happened in the game.

The Razorbacks were outplayed in nearly every facet of the game, and the result was one of the worst losses for head coach John Calipari in his NCAA Tournament history. As it was becoming more and more clear that a blowout loss was in the works, tension in the game rose. Players for both teams ended up getting chippy.

At one point in the second half, Arkansas guard Billy Richmond III was whistled for a foul that was upgraded to a flagrant foul, resulting in his ejection. The call appeared to have been made from the referees wanting to calm the game down, but it had many wondering if Richmond really deserved to be ejected. Here is more on why Richmond was ejected from Arkansas' Sweet 16 game against Arizona.