Razorbacks suffer first loss of season against Terps, wrap up Florida trip

FORT MYERS, Fla. — No. 14 Arkansas fell in the fourth game in five nights, losing to No. 12 Maryland, 115-96, on Sunday night inside Alico Arena.

Arkansas was doubled-up at the three-point line (16 to 8) and outrebounded (51 to 31) by the Terrapins.

Sophomore Makayla Daniels, a Maryland native, led the Razorbacks on the scoresheet, going for 21 points against the Terps.

She also chipped in with four rebounds, three assists and a steal. Redshirt senior guard Chelsea Dungee had 18, Destiny Slocum had 16 against her former team, and Marquesha Davis had a career-high 15 points in the loss.

Turning point

Maryland came out of the gates hot early, opening up a 27-17 lead in the first quarter.

The second quarter was even better for the Terps, as they scored 30 in the frame on 55 percent shooting from the field, while making four of their five threes attempted in the frame.

However, the third frame turned out to be the knockout punch, as the Terps dropped 41 in the period, shooting 57 percent on their 23 shots attempted, while making five triples in the frame.

Katie Benzan had 11 in that quarter alone, while Diamond Miller had eight.

Hogs highlights

• Daniels’ 21-point game was her first 20+ point game of the season, and the third such game of her career.

• Davis had another solid game against the Terps, notching a team-high three steals to go along with her career-best 15 points.

• Slocum once again led the Hogs in assists, dishing four of them.

Next game

The Hogs return home after three straight games away from Bud, as they face Louisiana Monroe on Thursday night at 5:30 p.m.

The game will air on SEC Network.

Vanover’s career-high rebounds, balanced offense keys Hogs’ win

Four Razorbacks scored in double figures and Connor Vanover pulled down a career-high 16 rebounds with six blocked shots to lead Arkansas to a 69-54 victory over defending C-USA champion North Texas on Saturday night at Bud Walton Arena.

With the game tied at 19-19 midway through the second half, pulled away over the final eight minutes to lead by 11 (38-27) at halftime, thanks in part to a 10-0 run.

The Razorbacks then held the Mean Green scoreless for the first 4:55 of the second half to race out to a 20-point lead (47-27) and never looked back.

Justin Smith led all scorers with 18 points while JD Notae pumped in 16 points coming off the bench. Both players also had six rebounds. Desi Sills added 14 and Moses Moody 11.

Vanover scored six points — making three field goals with two dunks — and was a significant presence in the middle for the Razorback defense.

He is the only Razorback (since 1996) to have at least 16 rebounds and six blocked shots.

Terrence Lewis II led the Mean Green with 12 points and Zachary Simmons had 10. A perennial leader in 3-point shooting, North Texas was just 2-of-13 (15.4%) from beyond the arc.

Arkansas will return to Bud Walton Arena on Wednesday (Dec. 2) to host Texas-Arlington. Tipoff is set for 8 p.m. and will be telecast on the SEC Network.

First half: Arkansas 38 – UNT 27

• Arkansas started quickly but North Texas battled back to tie the game at 17-17 with 9:44 left and once again at 19-19 with 8:02.

• Arkansas missed 11 of its 12 shots over a stretch. Moses Moody ended the dry spell with an old fashion 3-point play.

• That spurred a 10-0 run by the Razorbacks with JD Notae scoring seven straight points for a 29-19 lead with 4:51 left.

• Notae led Arkansas with 11 first-half points. Moses Moody and Justin Smith each added eight.

• Arkansas shot 41.1% from the field but was just 3-of-13 from 3-point range.

• North Texas was just 1-of-6 from 3-point range.

Second half: Arkansas 31 – UNT 27

• Arkansas held North Texas scoreless the first 4:55 seconds of the second half. (In game one, Arkansas kept Mississippi Valley scoreless the first 2:57).

• After going down 20, North Texas made 7-of-8 shots to temporarily grab the momentum, cutting the deficit to 10 (55-45).

• However, Arkansas answered with a 7-0 run and led by at least 15 the rest of the way.

• Smith scored 10 of his 18 in the second half.

• Vanover had nine of his 16 boards in the second half.

Game notes

• Arkansas’ starting lineup was Jalen Tate (G) – Desi Sills (G) – Moses Moody (G) – Justin Smith (F) – Connor Vanover (F).

• Arkansas won the tip and is 2-0 this year when winning the tip.

• For the second straight game, Justin Smith scored the first points of the game, a jumper from the right lock at 19:48.

• K.K. Robinson was the first sub for Arkansas.

• Jalen Tate is 36 points shy of 1,000 for his career.

• J.D. Notae is 42 points shy of 1,000 for his career.

• Connor Vanover is the only Razorback (since 1996) to have at least 16 rebounds and six blocked shots (HogStats.com). Vanover’s 16 rebounds doubled his previous career-high (getting eight in game one and once getting eight as a freshman at Cal). Vanover tied his career-high with six blocked shots.

• Moses Moody was 6-of-6 at the free throw line to score 11 points. He has scored in double figures both games and has tallied three steals in each of his first three games.

• Moody, who missed his first collegiate free throw attempt in game one, has made 15 straight from the charity stripe since.

• Arkansas has only committed 16 fouls in two games (12 in game one and 14 Saturday).

Musselman wanted contrasts in schedule as Hogs win in different style

North Texas played deliberate as opposed to Mississippi Valley’s fast pace, but Eric Musselman was glad to see team adjust in 69-54 win.

Smith with media after big night for Razorbacks in win over Mean Green

Arkansas’ Justin Smith (18 points, 6 rebounds, 3 steals) including 2-of-3 on three-point shots in 69-54 win against North Texas.

Notae playing his role coming off bench against North Texas in 69-54 win

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.