Tye & Tommy on the home loss to Mizzou, Hog FB coaching news, Tom Murphy joins and more!
Razorbacks bounce back from Kentucky loss to down Missouri, 91-88
No. 10 Arkansas bounced back Sunday evening inside Bud Walton Arena, beating Missouri, 91-88, to get back into the win column.
The win is the third straight victory for Mike Neighbors’ Hogs over the Tigers, the longest streak of wins against Missouri since they beat them three straight times over the 2014-15 seasons.
Despite holding the lead for 35 of the game’s 40 minutes, Arkansas was constantly fighting off a resilient Missouri team.
The Tigers kept the deficit to single digits for the majority of the second half, forcing the Razorbacks to come up with clutch shots throughout the fourth quarter.
Redshirt senior Chelsea Dungee was crucial in that department, scoring 10 points in the final frame and keeping the Hogs ahead.
Dungee, who went off for 38 in last year’s meeting between the teams in Bud Walton Arena, led the Hogs once again, scoring 25 points. Amber Ramirez added 17 while Makayla Daniels chipped in 16.
Turning point
Missouri started the game hot, jumping out to a quick 8-0 lead.
Minutes later, the Hogs gained the lead and held it for the rest of the first half. Arkansas shot over 50% from the field in the second quarter and held Missouri without a basket for the last 2:28 heading into the locker room.
Daniels led the way in the first half, scoring 11 points and recording four rebounds.
Mizzou came out of the half with some life, chipping a 14-point deficit down to a six-point deficit, and Arkansas struggled to score the basketball early in the second half.
Missouri redshirt junior Haley Troup scored 11 points in the third quarter, and Arkansas’s lead was diminished to seven heading into the final frame.
Arkansas answered by shooting lights-out down the stretch, shooting 50% from 3-point range in the fourth quarter and going 10-12 from the free throw line to close out the Tigers.
Hogs highlights
• Dungee ended one-point shy of her season-high point total, scoring 25 Sunday night.
• It was her 36th career game going for 20+.
• Arkansas dominated the turnover battle, forcing 19 Tiger turnovers while only committing seven.
• Ramirez helped in the turnover department, collecting four steals, a season high.
• Daniels scored in double-figures for the tenth time this season against the Tigers, matching her total double-figure games output from all of last season.
• Missouri allowed only 60 points per game coming into Sunday and had not allowed more than 78 points in a game this season. Arkansas scored 91.
Next game
The Razorbacks will look to build on the win when they visit Tennessee on Thursday in Knoxville.
Tip-off is set for 5:30 p.m. and that game can be viewed on the SEC Network.
Mason on Hogs bouncing back from loss at Kentucky to down Missouri on Sunday
Arkansas’ Jailyn Mason talked with the media after the 91-88 win over the Tigers and how they rebounded from loss to Wildcats in SEC opening game.
Pingeton on Tigers just need to play more games, get more practice
Missouri coach Robin Pingeton talked after the 91-88 loss to Arkansas on Sunday about needing to get more practice time, plus some games.
Report has Stepp leaving Hogs to return home to South Carolina
Arkansas wide receivers coach Justin Stepp, the last of the Chad Morris assistants, is leaving to join Shane Beamer’s staff at South Carolina.
FootballScoop.com first reported the story Sunday.
In 2018 he was selected to take part in the AFCA 35 Under 35 Coaches Leadership Institute – a program aimed at identifying and developing premier, future leaders in the football coaching profession.
Early in his coaching career, Stepp worked as a graduate assistant at Clemson, and has coached the wide receivers at Appalachian State and SMU prior to leaving for Fayeteville with Morris.
Musselman not positive after Missouri rolls over Hogs in 81-68 loss
Arkansas coach Eric Musselman didn’t see much of anything he liked in the blowout loss at home to the Tigers on Saturday afternoon.
Moody doesn’t think Hogs will put big loss to Missouri behind them quickly
Razorbacks Moses Moody (18 points, 10 rebounds) said later they “have to go back and see what we did wrong” in 81-68 home loss to the Tigers.
Smith out 3-6 weeks with ankle as Hogs host Missouri today
Arkansas coach Eric Musselman announced before today’s game with Missouri that graduate senior forward Justin Smith will be out three-to-six weeks after having successful right ankle arthroscopic debridement surgery Friday.
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.
Smith injured his ankle during the first half of Arkansas’ SEC opener at Auburn on Wednesday. While he returned to the floor in the first half, he sat out the second half in the 97-85 win.
Smith started each of the first nine games and he was averaging 11.6 points and 7.1 rebounds.
Prior to his injury, Smith had double-digit rebounds in back-to-back games, including his fifth career double-double versus Oral Roberts (22 pts and 17 rebs). Smith ranks third in the SEC in offensive rebounds (3.44).
Franks has earned the right to always be called a Hog, unlike others who quit
It wasn’t really surprising when Feleipe Franks made the announcement via Instagram on Thursday he was officially leaving Arkansas for a shot at the NFL.
As my journey here at the U of A has come to a close, I want to thank by Razorback family for welcoming me with open arms. Thank you to Coach Pittman and Coach Briles for your unwavering belief in me in very uncertain times. Your love and support for me has helped mold me into the player that I am today. You have truly made my last year of college football better than I could have ever imagined.
To my teammates, thank you for bringing me into your family. The friendships that I have made in just a short period of time will last a lifetime. To the Razorback fans, thank you for the constant support of me and our team. The Hog fanbase is unmatched and a force to be reckoned with. Arkansas will always hold a very special place in my heart and I am blessed to always be able to call Fayetteville home.
I feel truly prepared to take this next step in my life and chase my dreams of playing in the NFL. I can’t wait to see what this next chapter holds.
— Feleipe Franks
The bigger question is who’s next?
K.J. Jefferson had one good game the last two years (against Missouri a few weeks ago). We haven’t seen enough of Malik Hornsby to know one way or the other.
None of them will be able to do what Franks did. He ended up being the perfect quarterback at the perfect time for the Razorbacks.
For the past two seasons, eight different people had started at quarterback. Yes, that number is correct and I’m not going to run down the list.
None of them really had a chance to learn enough to be able to fail. The only one that came close left, then returned a year later with an non-Power 5 team and beat the brakes off the Hogs in Fayetteville.
With a new coaching staff, Franks was taking a chance coming from Florida. Let’s face it, Fayetteville is a little different from anything down there.
Then throw in a pandemic and you have about as many variables thrown into an equation as could exist. It’s never been like that before.
Through it all, Franks was clearly the leader of the offense by the time they re-assembled in Fayetteville over the summer. He led by example more than anything.
In a season where a lot of players used the NCAA-approved “opt-out” as a cop-out to simply quit, Franks made it clear that was not an option. He was going to play in the Texas Bowl … willingly and to win (which is more than most of TCU’s team).
Franks will likely be drafted in the NFL Draft at the end of April. He probably won’t be a high choice, but he will be drafted.
That’s more than a couple of players that quit on the team before the season ended “to prepare for the NFL Draft” where their name probably won’t be called. In case you’re wondering, I’m not talking about a single player that chose to not play for issues relating to covid-19.
In my opinion, the ones who quit to prepare for the draft during the season forfeited the right to be called ex-Razorbacks. They shouldn’t be allowed that right when they walked away from it.
Not Franks. He will always be a Hog.
Neighbors after Razorbacks drop league opener to ‘really good’ Kentucky
Arkansas coach Mike Neighbors said after the 75-64 loss to the Wildcats their length and 3-point shooting was too much to overcome.
Razorbacks can’t hit 3-pointers, fall to No. 13 Wildcats, 75-64
LEXINGTON, Ky. — In a battle of top-15 programs, Arkansas fell to No. 13 Kentucky, 75-64, at Memorial Coliseum on New Year’s Eve.
The Razorbacks entered the game riding a six-game winning streak while Kentucky was coming off a blowout win on Dec. 19, when they bludgeoned Wofford, 98-37.
The loss was characterized by the Razorbacks’ inability to make the three-ball. Arkansas was averaging over 10 made threes per game this season, shooting over 38 percent from behind the arc on the year.
But the Hogs managed just five 3-pointers, shooting 24 percent from deep, in Thursday’s losing effort.
Despite the season-low point total, four Razorbacks still managed to score in double figures, led by Chelsea Dungee, who scored 20 points.
Turning point
The Hogs stuck with the Wildcats early on, starting the game on a 10-2 run and trailing by just one at halftime.
But Kentucky started a 10-0 run at the end of the third quarter and continued it into the beginning of the fourth, and the Hogs were never able to regain the lead.
Arkansas entered Thursday’s game averaging the most points in the SEC and fifth-most in the country at over 91 per game, but the Hogs struggled to score at the rate they have all season.
Dungee was the lone bright spot down the stretch, scoring 12 in the second half and keeping the Razorbacks within striking distance, but a three minute scoring drought to close the game ultimately led to Kentucky’s double-digit win.
The Wildcats were led by Rhyne Howard, who scored a game-high 24 points and added 10 rebounds and four assists.
Hogs highlights
• Dungee recorded 20+ points for the fourth time this season.
• The Razorback defense forced 16 turnovers and held the Wildcats to their fourth-lowest point total of the season.
• Redshirt sophomore Erynn Barnum notched 11 points and five boards off the bench on 5-6 shooting in 21 minutes.
• Arkansas held the lead for over 14 minutes of game time and won the offensive rebound battle.
Next time out
The Hogs will look to bounce back as they continue SEC play against Missouri at Bud Walton Arena on Sunday, Jan. 3.
Tip-off is set for 4 p.m.
Information from Arkansas Communications is included in this story.
