Razorbacks Heston Kjerstad, Casey Martin after the 8-7 loss to Illinois State on Tuesday. Martin talking openly about agreeing with decision to sit, coming back with 4-for-5 day.
Van Horn on some positives after Hogs come up short against Redbirds
Arkansas coach Dave Van Horn as abl to find some positive things in the 8-7 loss to Illinois State on Tuesday afternoon, but is frustrated at yet another one-run defeat.
Neighbors, Tolefree previewing postseason, SEC Tournament later this week
Arkansas coach Mike Neighbors and senior Alexis Tolefree (who was named first team All-SEC earlier Tuesday) on hopefully making another run in the tournament and being in the NCAA.
Tolefree first team, Dungee placed on SEC team by league coaches
FAYETTEVILLE — Senior guard Alexis Tolefree and redshirt junior guard Chelsea Dungee both earned All-SEC Honors, the league office announced today.
Tolefree was named to the first team and Dungee named to the second team by the league’s coaches.
Starting freshman point guard Makayla Daniels was left off, a point that irked Mike Neighbors meeting with the media Tuesday morning.
Watch Neighbors, Tolefree on Tuesday
Tolefree’s breakout senior season has been nothing short of spectacular.
The Conway native averaged career-highs across the board, pouring in 16.3 points, 4.2 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.6 steals per game, all while shooting 43.5 percent from the field and 41.7 percent from three.
Tolefree was even better in conference play, averaging 18.6 points, 4.9 rebounds, 1.9 assists and 1.8 steals per game, shooting the ball at a 41.6 percent clip from the field and at a 38.9 percent clip from deep.
Tolefree led the team in scoring and in steals in SEC play, and her scoring average in conference only games was the third best mark in the league.
The senior guard seemed to always be at her best when it mattered most, as she had several huge second half performances in games the Hogs would end up winning.
Most notably, Tolefree dropped a career-high 35 at Missouri, 23 of which came in the second half in Arkansas’ epic 13-point comeback. She also scored 30 against then-No. 15 Kentucky, including 25 in the second half, in a game in which the Razorbacks would set a program record for most points scored against an SEC opponent.
Tolefree scored in double figures in 23 of Arkansas’ 29 games, scored 20+ 11 times, and dropped 30 or more three times, the most on the team.
All three came during conference play, and they were the first 30+ point games of her career.
Dungee, meanwhile, continued her historic Arkansas career during her second act on the Hill, earning All-SEC honors for the second straight season. The redshirt junior guard led the Hogs in scoring this season, pouring in 17.0 points per game over the Hogs’ 29 games.
She also averaged 4.8 rebounds, 1.7 assists and 1.5 steals per game. Dungee continued to dominate games at the charity stripe, as she made 136 free throws during the regular season, the 20th best mark in the NCAA, and the best mark in the conference.
Dungee’s 1,497 career points is the second highest total among active SEC players. She scored in double figures 24 times, scored 20 or more 10 times and had 30+ twice.
There were several historic games from Dungee this season, including her 38-point outburst against Missouri at Bud Walton Arena. With that point total, the redshirt junior guard became the only Razorback to ever score 38 or more two different times.
Dungee also became the fastest Hog to ever score 1,000 points in just a Red & White uniform this season. She needed just 49 games to do so, passing Bettye Fiscus’ previous best mark of 55 games.
Dungee averaged 20.4 points per game over that 49-game stretch, which would be the highest average in program history.
Bud Light Seltzer Morning Rush Podcast — Arkansas getting snubbed, Tom Murphy and more!
Tye & Tommy on Arkansas players getting snubbed over the years, Tom Murphy joins the program, plus looking at Mason Jones’ career!
Musselman on still not having answer to overcome rebounding disadvantage
Arkansas coach Eric Musselman talked Monday afternoon about still trying to come up with a way for his under-sized team to get more rebounds in advance of Wednesday game with LSU.
Whitt, Bailey on playing final home game of regular season against Tigers
Arkansas seniors Jimmy Whitt, Jr., and Adrio Bailey talked Monday afternoon about playing the last game of their regular-season careers at Bud Walton Arena on Wednesday night.
Bud Light Seltzer Morning Rush Podcast — Disappointing weekend, New media bracket and more!
Tye & Tommy on the losses in Houston and Athens this weekend, the 2020 edition of the most annoying Arkansas sports media plus Clay Henry joins!
Martin sits on bench as Razorbacks drop third straight game in Houston
Casey Martin probably shouldn’t have been that surprised when Dave Van Horn kept him on the bench Sunday night as Arkansas dropped its third straight game the Shriner’s Classic, falling to Baylor, 3-2.
“He needs to sit over here (in the dugout) and watch,” Van Horn told the media after Saturday’s 8-7 loss to Texas. “I want to win every game, but sometimes you got to do what you got to do.”
To say Martin struggled through the first nine games of the year may be an understatement.
The preseason All-American is hitting .182 and leads the team in strikeouts and errors, which he did for the entire SEC last season but made up for it by hitting the ball … when nobody throws a curve.
In the loss to the Longhorns, Martin went ohmygosh-for-5 at the plate and failed to cut off a throw that led to a run.
“He’s had a few of those performances and there’s really not much you can say anymore,” Van Horn said Saturday night.
How long Martin gets to sit in the dugout and watch may depend on how he responds. Van Horn has defended the errors, saying Martin’s speed lets him get to some balls other people would never reach, much less get charged with an error.
Quite simply, other teams have scouting reports, too. They’ve figured out how to pitch to Martin, who can still get to a fast ball enough to give teams fits if the pitcher’s location isn’t razor-sharp.
Against Baylor on Saturday night, the Hogs didn’t do much until late and then it wasn’t enough.
Don’t look for Van Horn to be hitting any panic buttons. He’s seen this before.
Robert Moore moved over to Martin’s shortstop spot from second. He played there in high school and, quite frankly, plays far beyond being a 17-year-old that should be getting ready for the senior prom instead of starting for an SEC team.
Most expected Martin to be headed to pro ball after this season. This is his draft-eligible year.
If he doesn’t get his issues at the plate and in the field straightened out, though, that might not be in his best interest.
The coaches weren’t born yesterday and are likely fully aware of Martin’s struggles. It obviously hasn’t worked.
Which is not going to boost Martin’s stock in the major league’s annual selection of players. Baseball players that either need a ton of coaching or have a problem listening start riding buses to games and making the same salary as a normal person.
Or maybe it is one of those infamous baseball slumps that players get into at times. This one, though, seems ot have carried over from last season.
And the guess here is that it’s up to Martin to get fixed.
There’s only so much Van Horn can do.
