Sophomore guard Mason Jones scored 18 points to help Arkansas post an 84-72 victory over host Providence in the first round of the NIT on Tuesday night.

Freshman forward Reggie Chaney added 14 points and a season-best seven blocked shots for the fifth-seeded Razorbacks (18-15). Freshman guard Isaiah Joe scored 12 points, and sophomore forward Gabe Osabuohein had 11 as Arkansas won for the fourth time in the past five games.

The Razorbacks will visit top-seeded Indiana in the second round.

Junior guard Maliek White scored 19 points for the fourth-seeded Friars (18-16). Sophomore center Nate Watson recorded 15 points and eight rebounds while junior guard Alpha Diallo had 12 points, 11 rebounds and a career-best six steals.

Arkansas prevailed without the services of sophomore power forward Daniel Gafford, who is skipping the NIT after declaring for the NBA draft on Monday. The first-team All-Southeastern Conference selection averaged 16.9 points and 8.7 rebounds and blocked 65 shots.

Jones was 4 of 6 from 3-point range, and the Razorbacks were 10 of 21 overall. Arkansas shot 50.9 percent from the field.

Providence shot 38.7 percent from the field and was a woeful 3 of 23 from behind the arc.

The Friars missed their first 13 3-point attempts before junior guard Drew Edwards drained one to trim Arkansas' lead to 56-46 with 13:46 left.

Freshman guard Desi Sills and Jones each made 3-pointers over the ensuing 83 seconds to give the Razorbacks a 62-47 advantage with 12:23 remaining.

More than three minutes later, Sills delivered an alley-oop pass that freshman forward Ethan Henderson ferociously slammed home to increase the lead to 67-49.

The Friars didn't trail by fewer than 11 the rest of the way.

Arkansas possessed a 22-13 rebounding margin in the first half while building a 42-31 halftime lead.

The Razorbacks led 20-9 after a 3-pointer by Jones with 13:04 remaining. The Friars scored the next six points before Arkansas rattled off 10 in a row, with two free throws by sophomore guard Jalen Harris making it 30-15 with 7:44 left.

The lead reached as many as 16 later in the half before Providence trimmed its deficit to 11 at the break. The Friars missed all 11 of their 3-point attempts over the first 20 minutes.

The Razorbacks finished with a 36-35 rebounding edge.

--Field Level Media