Razorbacks guard J.D. Notae (16 points, 6 rebounds) still had a big night not starting and said later he’ll do whatever his role will be with team.
Arkansas comes from behind to overtake Florida Gulf Coast for win
FORT MYERS, Fla. — No. 14 Arkansas (3-0, 0-0) remained undefeated, coming back from 11 down to beat Florida Gulf Coast (1-2, 0-0) 86-80 on Saturday afternoon inside Alico Arena.
The Hogs dominated the fourth quarter, 26-13.
A couple of clutch free throws from redshirt senior guard Amber Ramirez iced the game with just over nine seconds left.
Redshirt senior guard Chelsea Dungee led the Hogs in this one, going for 25 points, her first time this season going for 20+.
Dungee was huge down the stretch for the Hogs, scoring 10 of those points in the fourth quarter.
Senior forward Taylah Thomas put up her first double-double of the season against the Eagles, going for 11 points and 10 rebounds.
Turning point
The Razorbacks entered the fourth quarter down seven points, trailing 67-60.
FGCU’s Tishara Morehouse had 27 already, and the Eagles stretched the lead out to nine early in the frame. From that point on, though, the Hogs outscored the Eagles, 26-11.
Arkansas started to find its rhythm from beyond the arc in the nick of time, as Dungee and Ramirez hit back-to-back threes to give the Razorbacks a 72-71 lead with 5:36 to play.
After trading buckets, and being tied at 74, Dungee would break the tie, hitting another huge three from the top of the key to give the Hogs a three point lead.
Morehouse and the Eagles kept it close, but three points from sophomore Erynn Barnum and Ramirez’s clutch free throws were enough to keep Arkansas undefeated.
Hogs highlights
• Dungee scored 20+ for the 32nd time in her career.
• Thomas’ double-double was the fifth of her career.
• Sophomore guard Makayla Daniels got into double-figures for the third straight game, going for 15 points.
• She also had seven rebounds, a new career high.
• Redshirt senior guard Destiny Slocum scored 12 points and dished five assists, a season high.
Next time out
The Hogs finish the Gulf Coast Showcase with one of the marquee matchups early this women’s basketball season, as they play No. 12 Maryland.
That game tips off at 4:30 p.m., and will be streamed on FloHoops.
Razorbacks hosting North Texas for second straight year in second game
• Who: Arkansas (1-0) vs. North Texas (1-0)
• What: Second straight year UNT has been Arkansas’ second game of the year
• When: Saturday, Nov. 28, 5 p.m.
• Where: Fayetteville, Nolan Richardson Court at Bud Walton Arena
• TV: SEC Network Plus (Brett Dolan, Manny Watkins, Dusty Hannahs) WATCH
• Online: Listen HERE at HitThatLine.com
• Radio: ESPN Arkansas 95.3 in the River Valley, 96.3 in Hot Springs and 104.3 in Harrison-Mountain Home (Chuck Barrett and Matt Zimmerman)
• Sirius/XM: Streaming Online on channel 989
• Live Stats: www.Arkansas.StatBroadcast.com
For the second straight year, Arkansas hosts North Texas for the second game of the season.
Tip-off is set for 5 p.m.
You can listen to the game online HERE or on the radio at ESPN Arkansas 95.3 in the River Valley, 96.3 in Hot Springs and 104.3 in Harrison-Mountain Home with Chuck Barrett and Matt Zimmerman.
Game notes
• This will be the 16th meeting between Arkansas and North Texas. The Razorbacks own a 15-0 advantage in the series.
• Last season, Arkansas pulled away over the final 10 minutes to defeat North Texas 66-43.
• North Texas was C-USA regular-season champion last year. The Mean Green ranked 10th in the NCAA in field goal percentage and 14th in 3-point field goal percentage.
• Both teams opened the season with a win over Mississippi Valley State.
• North Texas made 21 3-pointers versus MVSU and Arkansas made 20 – the top two performances in the nation among the season openers.
• Arkansas scored 142 points and North Texas had 116, the best and fourth-best points production in the nation.
• Graduate senior Jalen Tate is just 38 points shy of 1,000 for his career and redshirt junior JD Notae is 58 points shy of the milestone.
• Connor Vanover scored 23 in his first game in an Arkansas uniform, the third-best point production by a Razorback in his debut.
Neighbors after Hogs trail nearly entire game before pulling out late victory
After trailing for most of the game against Florida Gulf Coast, Arkansas finally took the lead late getting an 86-80 win at Beach Bubble.
Hogs now set to play at Mizzou next Saturday, finish with Bama
Arkansas will play Missouri next week in a game that was supposed to be played this Saturday as the schedule merry-go-round continues to turn.
The story was reported earlier Friday first by Yahoo Sports, then confirmed by ESPN and other media outlets.
While it’s probably not preferred, we now know how flexible things can be in the Southeastern Conference when it has to be.
Especially with the television matchups.
The last chance to have Alabama and LSU meet and keep all teams on a reasonable path to 10 games was Dec. 5 and getting that game on television is important.
With the Razorbacks essentially now getting a bye week before the Missouri game, they will finish their games in order, closing against Alabama on Dec. 12.
It is likely the Hogs will be in a bowl game this year. The minimum number of wins required for a bowl game has been waived for this season and projections have them playing in the Texas Bowl (Houston), Music City (Nashville) or Outback Bowl (Tampa).
Revised schedule of SEC football games for Dec. 5:
• Alabama at LSU (rescheduled from Nov. 14)
• Arkansas at Missouri (rescheduled from Nov. 28)
• Florida at Tennessee
• South Carolina at Kentucky
• Texas A&M at Auburn
• Vanderbilt at Georgia
Because CBS had rights to the originally scheduled Alabama at LSU game on Nov. 14, the rescheduled game on Dec. 5 will be televised by CBS at 7 p.m. as part of a CBS doubleheader.
The following games were originally scheduled for Dec. 5 and will now be rescheduled:
• Alabama at Arkansas
• Ole Miss at LSU
• Missouri at Mississippi State
Fantasy Football Sunday — Thanksgiving Edition
Tye Richardson & Evan Gentry talk Thanksgiving food, games, this weekend and more!
Strong third quarter, Ramirez, lift Hogs past Wake Forest at Beach Bubble
FORT MYERS, Fla. — No. 14 Arkansas beat Wake Forest), 98-82, Friday morning in Alico Arena, using a 56-point second half to pull away from the Demon Deacons.
That surge included a 37-point third quarter, the most points ever scored in a single frame by a Razorback team and coach Mike Neighbors later said it was one of the best quarters he’d ever seen a team have.
Redshirt senior guard Amber Ramirez bounced back in a big way for the Hogs, going for 22 points on nine of 11 shooting, including four of six from beyond the arc.
It was a bounce-back game for Ramires after hitting only one of 10 shots in her first game of the 2020-21 season. Sophomore guard Makayla Daniels once again scored in double figures, going for 18 points. She also led the team with five assists.
Turning point
Arkansas and Wake Forest were in a tight game all the way through halftime, as the Hogs took a narrow two point advantage into the intermission.
The Demon Deacons were playing well, shooting more 3’s (6) and free throws (6) than the Razorbacks did in the first half. The Hogs were also dealing with foul trouble, as Taylah Thomas, Destiny Slocum, and Ramirez all had two fouls, while Daniels had picked up three before the break.
However, the Hogs exploded in the third quarter, using a lightning-quick 9-0 run early in the frame to create some separation.
When all was said and done in the record-setting third quarter, the Hogs would turn a two-point halftime advantage into a 79-58 third quarter lead.
Hog highlights
• Redshirt senior guard Chelsea Dungee shot it well at the line against Wake Forest, making 10 of her 11 free throws attempted. It was the 10th time in her Arkansas’ career shooting 10 or more freebies.
• Thomas nearly double-doubled, going for 11 points and nine rebounds.
• Redshirt sophomore Erynn Barnum once again made an impact off the bench, going for 12 points, five rebounds and two blocks. It was the second time in her career scoring in double figures in back-to-back games.
• It was the fourth game of Daniels’ career going for five or more assists.
Next time out
The Razorbacks’ second game in Fort Myers comes against the host, Florida Gulf Coast. That game will tip at 1:30 and will be streamabale on FloHoops.
Information from Arkansas Communications is included in this story.
Neighbors on big third quarter from Hogs one of best he’s ever seen
Arkansas out-scored Wake Forest 37-18 in the third quarter Friday to key a 98-82 win in the Beach Bubble behind Amber Ramirez’ 22 points.
With no minimum wins required, Hogs’ bowl will help boost solid recruiting
The odds are very good Arkansas will be playing in a bowl game this year, regardless of the number of wins in the remainder of whatever the schedule becomes.
When the minimum number of wins required to go bowling in the covid season, the entire scenario for bowl games changed dramatically.
As much as boosting the morale of everyone from fans on up, it likely would help what Sam Pittman has rolling in the recruiting game as that season is in high gear.
The Hogs picked up a commitment from Georgia in safety Jayden Johnson, who de-committed from South Carolina after they kicked Will Muschamp to the curb last week.
In what has all the potential in the world to be complete chaos in the world of recruiting as there could be a record number of de-commits all over the country. Remember, most of these high school players have never even seen the campus in person they said they want to spend their college careers.
Johnson’s pickup moved the Hogs to No. 19 in the 247Sports.com composite of all the recruiting rankings, but things will probably settle with Arkansas somewhere in the mid-20’s at best.
Bowl projections in the national media have the Razorbacks playing in the Texas Bowl against Texas, which is a dream marketing matchup for ESPN to get the most possible eyeballs to tune in on New Year’s Eve.
A couple of the projections place them in the Outback Bowl against Indiana and the Music City Bowl game in Nashville has been mentioned.
The fact is bowl games became about the attractiveness of the television matchup when ESPN basically took charge of the bowl games a few years ago. They have the television rights to nearly all of them along with the national radio rights.
It is not completely out of the possibilities in this crazy year the entire SEC could be playing in a bowl game.
In a year with nobody putting a lot of people in the stands for safety reasons, television viewership has become critical and football is drawing eyeballs.
Apparently people would rather watch cable news channels than the World Series and everything on TV drew considerably more viewers than the NBA (even the playoffs and finals).
The Hogs getting to a bowl game this year is an interesting storyline with a team that will likely be able to hold its own against just about anybody not playing in the top playoff games.
Hogs tight ends no longer question mark after making plays during season
Hawgs Illustrated’s Clay Henry thinks one of the answers to question marks this season was tight ends, but they have made big plays.
Olson looks ahead to playoffs; Central Arkansas all that’s left in Class 7A
Nate Olson of the RARN Friday Night Scoreboard show not shocked at Cabot’s upset of Bentonville in Class 7A playoffs last week.
