NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Arkansas basketball took a step toward earning an NCAA tournament bid in coach John Calipari’s debut season.

Barely.

The ninth-seeded Razorbacks held on to beat 16th-seeded South Carolina 72-68 Wednesday in the SEC tournament after nearly losing a 20-point lead.

“We have a bunch of guys that compete and did what they had to to win the game, so I’m happy,” Calipari said. “Would you like to have it a big score? Yeah.

“But at this time of the year, everybody’s fighting for their lives.”

Arkansas (20-12) advanced to play eighth-seeded Ole Miss in the second round Thursday.

After the Razorbacks led 59-41 with 14:18 remaining, they missed 12 straight shots over 11-plus minutes and their cushion was cut to a one-point advantage.

D.J. Wagner, who played for Calipari at Kentucky, snapped the field goal drought with 2:37 left on a 3-pointer to put Arkansas ahead 64-60 and it maintained that advantage.

Calipari has led the Razorbacks to a 20-win season with a slew of transfers, including former Wildcats, in his first season with the program.

He led Kentucky for 15 seasons, winning a national championship in 2012, before leaving to succeed coach Eric Musselman.

Arkansas did not earn an NCAA bid last season after advancing to the second weekend in three straight tournaments.

Wednesday marked Calipari’s 25th SEC tournament win, tying Wimp Sanderson for third-most of any head coach (Adolph Rupp 57, Billy Donovan 27).

Does Calipari think the the Razorbacks have done enough to show the selection committee they belong in college basketball’s annual showcase?

“I don’t know,” he said. “I’m not in the room.”

Information from ESPN Research and The Associated Press was used in this report.