They’ll remember this March for the rest of their lives … the small Oral Roberts crowd, limited by the pandemic, rallying to their side, trying to will them to history as the first 15th seed to reach the Elite Eight in the NCAA Tournament.

They could only fantasize about what an entire arena cheering for the underdog might have sounded like, the way it always was for Cinderella before the pandemic, but a sparsely populated Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, and a shot at forever with the college basketball world watching, was more than enough.

And as the clock ticked towards 0:00, and everyone rose frozen, that one shot at forever was in the hands of sophomore guard Max Abmas, the nation’s leading scorer.

The Golden Eagles needed a basket to force overtime, a 3-pointer to win it after Davonte Davis had hit a short J with 3.1 seconds left for third-seeded Arkansas.

Abmas received the inbound pass and raced up the right side of the floor against the longer, taller Davis. Abmas had been 3-for-7 from downtown Tulsa to this moment of truth. He took that last shot at forever from the right wing.

It clanged off the rim.

Arkansas 72, Oral Roberts 70.

Abmas, who finished with 25 points, buried his face in his jersey and was quickly consoled by teammates.

“We got a good look. I just didn’t hit it,” Abmas said.

Often in these heartbreaking moments, the player is spared facing the music either because he is too heartbroken, or the school shields him.

Abmas faced the music.

“When it left my hands it felt good,” Abmas said. “It ended up coming up short, and we didn’t get the job done.”

Oral Roberts coach Paul Mills was asked if he thought the shot was going in.

“Yes,” he said.

And so, the immediacy and pain of the agony of defeat made it impossible for the Golden Eagles to think about one day tomorrow reflecting on the time of their basketball lives when there were tears to shed on Saturday night.

In the end, the Razorbacks did not let Oral Roberts be Butler of 2010 and 2011, they did not let Oral Roberts be Loyola Chicago of 2018.

The did not let them star in any Hoosiers remake.

The Razorbacks (25-6) advanced to the Elite Eight for the first time since losing to UCLA in the 1995 national championship game (a year after Scotty Thurman hit The Shot Heard ’Round Arkansas to beat Duke on the last Monday night of the season). Arkansas will face Baylor, a 62-51 winner over Villanova, in the South Region final Monday.

Justin Smith led an assault on the offensive glass in the second for Arkansas, and Jalen Tate and Marcus Moody awakened. And Abmas’ partner in crime. Kevin Obanor, was limited to 12 points.

Oral Roberts (18-11) took its largest lead at 46-34 and Arkansas was looking nothing like a 3 seed.

Then the Hogs remembered their pedigree as Comeback Kids … they have trailed by 10 or more points in six of their last seven wins.

How badly did the Golden Eagles’ Mills want it? He was T’d up exactly 3:50 into the game. He beat himself up over it afterwards. No need. His team had made the college basketball world take notice, and made the school proud.

“It’s my favorite team ever,” Mills said, his voice cracking, his eyes watering. “They mean a lot to me.”