GREENVILLE, S.C. -- Good thing Arkansas became accustomed to close games during parts of the season.

The Razorbacks knew how to react in the NCAA Tournament's first round.

Moses Kingsley scored 23 points and Arkansas regrouped down the stretch to overcome Seton Hall for a 77-71 victory Friday afternoon at Bon Secours Wellness Arena.

"We've been in a lot of them this year," Arkansas guard Dusty Hannahs said. "You learn in situation like that. You obviously don't want to be. Your (goal) is to win comfortably."

Jaylen Barford added 20 points, Hannahs poured in 14 points and Dustin Thomas had 13 for eighth-seeded Arkansas (26-9), which has won seven games by six or fewer points this season.

"What a game to open the tournament," Arkansas coach Mike Anderson said. "Our guys responded to kind of a grinding game."

Barford scored after a Seton Hall turnover to give the Razorbacks a 72-71 edge with 1:21 left.

The Pirates had multiple chances, missing a would-be go-ahead shot and then, after an official review determined they should keep the ball when it went out of bounds, committed another turnover.

An intentional foul against Seton Hall allowed Barford to sink two free throws with 18 seconds left, with Arkansas retaining possession and going on to win.

"We had our opportunities," Seton Hall coach Kevin Willard said. "We shouldn't have put ourselves in that situation. We had our chances."

Arkansas faces top-seeded North Carolina in Sunday's second round of the South Regional.

Khadeen Carrington's 22 points led the Pirates. Angel Delgado provided 12 points and 12 rebounds, Madison Jones added 11 points and Myles Powell and Desi Rodriguez both scored 10 points for ninth-seeded Seton Hall (21-12), which was in the NCAA Tournament in back-to-back seasons for the first time since a four-year run in the early 1990s.

Seton Hall went through a scoring drought of about 4 1/2 minutes while Arkansas surged ahead at 70-68.

"I thought our defense got dialed in," Anderson said. "Early in the game, they were attacking us."

Moments before Arkansas rallied, Seton Hall stormed to a 64-56 lead with less than nine minutes remaining, continuing an assault on the offensive boards.

The Razorbacks used a 12-4 run to pull even on Barford's basket at the 5:15 mark.

By then, there was no sense in allowing the pressure to build.

"During that stretch, you could (sense it was an NCAA game)," Hannahs said. "But I try not to think about it."

Seton Hall ended with a 45-33 rebounding advantage, but was hurt by 15 turnovers.

Kingsley made 10 of 13 shots from the field. That matched his most field goals this season and was one short of the 6-foot-10 senior's career-best total.

The Pirates shot 38.2 percent from the field, though they had twice as many 3-pointers (six to three) than Arkansas. It was a sour result.

"It's definitely difficult, especially being my last game," said Jones, a fifth-year guard who played one season for the Pirates after transferring from Wake Forest.

Carrington reached the 20-point mark for the first time in seven games.

The score was tied 37-37 at halftime, with neither team leading by more than five points.

Seton Hall used 11 offensive rebounds in the half to help make up for 37.8-percent shooting.

Kingsley had his way in the lane at the other end, connecting on seven of nine first-half attempts from the field.

NOTES: Arkansas won the only previous meeting in December 2010 as part of the SEC/Big East Invitational. ... With a 5-2 record in neutral-site games, Arkansas has its most such victories in nine years. ... Arkansas had been a No. 8 seed only once before, falling to Bucknell in 2006. ... Seton Hall entered the tournament coming off a two-point loss to Villanova, the tournament's overall No. 1 seed, in the Big East Tournament after a five-game winning streak. ... Seton Hall has won eight games when trailing or tied at halftime this season, but not in the game that ended its season. ... Arkansas has been outscored by its opponent in the second half in only four of 35 games.