Phil & Tye on Muss understanding Razorback fans, Clay with a funny ticket story, plus Bobby P is back in CFB…
Razorbacks hosting Vanderbilt at Bud Walton before Kentucky comes to town
Who: Arkansas Razorback (13-2, 2-1 SEC) vs. Vanderbilt Commodores (8-7, 0-2 SEC)
What: Razorbacks have won four straight versus Vandy and eight of the last nine.
When: Wednesday – Jan. 15 – 7:30 pm
Where: Fayetteville, Ark. – Nolan Richardson Court at Bud Walton Arena
• TV: SEC Network (Roy Philpott and Mark Wise)
• CLICK HERE to Watch ESPN/SEC Network Online
• Radio: ESPN Arkansas 95.3 in the River Valley, 96.3 in Hot Springs, 104.3 in Harrison-Mountain Home with Chuck Barrett and Matt Zimmerman
• Online: HitThatLine.com Listen Here
• Sirius/XM: XM Channel 374, Streaming Online on channel 374
FAYETTEVILLE — Arkansas returns to Bud Walton Arena, playing five of its last seven on the road, to host Vanderbilt on Wednesday.
Tip-off is set for 7:30 pm and the game will be telecast on the SEC Network.
Pregame coverage starts at 7 p.m. at ESPN Arkansas 95.3 in the River Valley, 96.3 in Hot Springs and 104.3 in Harrison-Mountain Home.
You can hear the game online HERE.
Including Vanderbilt, Arkansas will play five of its next seven contests at home, including a pair of back-to-back homestands — Vanderbilt and Kentucky this week followed by TCU (Jan. 25) and South Carolina (Jan. 29).
The game features two of the longest streaks for making 3-pointers in the NCAA. Vanderbilt has made a triple in 1,078 consecutive games — the second-longest active streak in the NCAA — and is one of three schools to make at least one 3-pointer in every game since the NCAA added the line uniformly in 1986-87.
Arkansas has made a trey in 1,026 consecutive games, which ties Western Kentucky for the fourth-longest active streak in the NCAA.
The series
• This will be the 39th meeting between Arkansas and Vanderbilt — all but two have come since Arkansas joined the SEC. The Razorbacks own a 26-12 advantage in the series and are 15-3 versus the Commodores in Fayetteville.
• Arkansas has won four straight and eight of the last nine. In a scheduling quirk, five of seven games in the span were played in Bud Walton Arena from 2015-2019.
No help for opponents; Hogs winning turnover battle
• In SEC play, Arkansas opponents have been held to single-digit assists in each game. • Texas A&M 8 – LSU 8 – Ole Miss 6.
• In SEC play, Arkansas has forced 46 turnovers (15.3) while committing just 26 (8.7) for a league-best +6.47 turnover margin.
No. 24 in NCAA NET, No. 9 in RPI
• Arkansas’ NCAA NET jumped four spots to 24th after a 76-72 win at Ole Miss.
• Arkansas’ NET is 2nd-best among SEC schools behind Auburn (6). Others of note: Kentucky (26), LSU (28), Florida (53), Georgia (54) and Missouri (57).
• Arkansas’ NET of 24 is better than five teams ranked in the in the AP top 25.
• Arkansas has an RPI of 9. better than 17 teams ranked in the in the AP top 25.
Mason Jones is THE TEAM LEADER
• Mason Jones leads the Razorbacks in: Scoring (19.4) • Rebounding (6.1) • Assists (46) • Steals (28)
• Jones is THE ONLY PLAYER IN THE SEC to rank among the top 20 in scoring (2nd) and Rebounding (16th) and also rank among the top 11 in steals (4th), 3-pointers made (6th), defensive rebounds (7th) and FG% (11th).
• Six times this season, Jones has led the team in 3 of the 4 categories in the same game.
Putting Arkansas’ 3-point defense … or Joe’s success … in perspective
• Arkansas leads the NCAA in 3-point field goal defense as opponents have shot below 29% from long range 13 times. Overall, opponents are a combined 59-of-261 from long range.
• Arkansas opponents have made 59 3-pointers in 261 attempts.
• Sophomore Isaiah Joe has made 59 3-pointers in 165 attempts.
Best scoring duos in NCAA; best trio in SEC
• Arkansas and UT Martin are the only teams in the NCAA feature two players in the nation’s top 90 for scoring
• ARKANSAS: #39 Mason Jones (19.2 ppg) • #67 Isaiah Joe (18.2 ppg)
• UT MARTIN: #30 Parker Stewart (19.7) • #63 Quintin Dove (18.3)
• Overall, the combined 37.6 points per game average for Jones and Joe is sixth-highest in the NCAA.
• Arkansas is the only team in the SEC to feature two players in the league’s top five for scoring — Mason Jones (2nd / 19.4) • Isaiah Joe (4th / 18.2)
• Three players in the league’s top 20 for scoring — Jimmy Whitt Jr. (15th / 13.8)
Isaiah Joe on Jerry West Shooting Guard of the Year watch list
• Arkansas sophomore Isaiah Joe was named to the 2020 Jerry West Shooting Guard of the Year Award watch list, the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame announced today.
• Fans can vote for their favorite player HERE
Hogs looking at transfers, but could one here be developed?
With all this talk about Arkansas looking at potential transfer quarterbacks, you have to wonder how the guys already on the team feel about that.
It’s getting to the point where signing day is more of a starting point than a destination.
Especially with quarterbacks.
Joe Burrow just won a national title at Ohio State after transferring to LSU from Ohio State. Three of the quarterbacks in this year’s playoff games began their college careers somewhere else.
Which makes it reasonable that new Razorbacks coach Sam Pittman and offensive coordinator Kendal Briles are at least expressing interest.
Former Houston quarterback D’Eriq King and Florida’s starting quarterback at the beginning of this past season are the latest names drawing interest. Feleipe Franks is reportedly visiting Fayetteville this weekend, which is a big one in the recruiting world.
King was recruited by Briles to the Cougars and is one of the more highly-regarded signal-callers in this year’s talent relocation. Hog fans are hoping that’s enough to maybe convince him to come to Arkansas.
As for Franks, he is considered to be leaning towards Kansas and Les Miles, who recruited him hard when he was at LSU. He’s also visiting Mississippi State where Mike Leach is now the coach.
We may get a clue how good Pittman and Briles are as recruiters early with the Hogs. Let’s face it, they’re selling blue sky and opportunity at this point.
After back-to-back 10-loss seasons there’s no foundation. With eight different players starting at quarterback over the last two seasons and five of those guys gone, well, there’s not exactly a returning superstar to replace.
The three on the roster now — Jack Lindsey, John Stephen Jones and K.J. Jefferson — haven’t had a lot of development at the collegiate level. That’s code for lack of coaching, by the way.
All three have positives and negatives.There are some that feel looking at possible graduate transfer quarterbacks is a knock on the ones already here.
No, it’s not. The view here is if they’re not winning to compete for a job, you wonder how they’ll compete for wins.
With classes started for the spring semester getting a grad transfer in for spring practice has got to happen sooner rather than later … and they are recruiting some high school quarterbacks.
But unless Pittman and Briles can land a solid transfer, the most interesting thing in spring practice may be how well the ones already here can be developed.
After all, Hog fans have no idea how that could work out based on recent history.
???? Halftime Pod — Big **** Joe, Nikki on Feleipe Franks, Sam Khan Jr. on D’Eriq King and more!
Phil & Tye on LSU’s season, Nikki updates on Feleipe Franks’ official visit, Sam Khan Jr. on D’Eriq King potentially choosing Arkansas.
Joe’s unselfishness part of slow starts, but Musselman says team better in second half
Arkansas coach Eric Musselman talked Monday about Isaiah Joe’s slow starts lately, but how this team seems to play much better in the second half of games.
Musselman: ‘Depth in college over-rated’ because not as much time required
Arkansas coach Eric Musselman talked Monday about how depth isn’t that important at the college level because they only play 30 games compared to 82 in the NBA with much older players.
MSU’s hiring Leach makes Pittman even more forgettable in critics’ eyes
If Arkansas’ hiring of Sam Pittman was vanilla, it became a little more so last week.
Mississippi State made one of the splashiest hires of the offseason by replacing Joe Moorhead with Washington State’s Mike Leach.
As you know (unless you live under a rock), Leach is popular among casual fans for his witty and unusual press conferences that often go viral. He wins enough to be considered successful and has done it in such outposts as Lubbock, Texas and Pullman, Wash.
Now, he brings his shtick to Starkville, Miss, and the Bulldogs faithful couldn’t be more tickled.
It took about a second for fans and media alike to begin to drool over Leach and Lane Kiffin as interstate rivals. The buzz has also already begun for SEC Media Days in August.
There will be media turned away at Birmingham trying to get sound bites from Kiffin, Leach, LSU’s Ed Orgeron and Alabama’s Nick Saban. LSU could be defending national champions.
There will be questions about a Bama comeback, and Leach and Kiffin will be in rare form for sure, as they can rest easy with an 0-0 record.
Then, there’s Pittman.
The career offensive line coach will attract some attention being a new kid on the block and rising through the ranks, but even rookie Missouri coach Eli Drinkwitz, a relative unknown, will get more publicity.
That is fine with Pittman.
He doesn’t seem to be a guy who cares much about the spotlight. He’s a better speaker than you might think, and I know he commands attention in a living room, but he doesn’t crave the attention like Leach or Kiffin. He would be fine to stand in the corner, and let them flap their gums.
Leach’s bravado seems to give him more credibility. However, he was 6-6 at Wazzu this fall.
He’s 139-90, but he’s only won two division titles (one in the Big 12 and one in the Pac 12) and is 7-8 in bowl games. But there are some who would place him in the upper echelon of the SEC West elite that includes Alabama’s Nick Saban, Auburn’s Gus Malzahn and Texas A&M’s Jimbo Fisher, who all have won national titles.
And don’t forget about Orgeron who could win his first Monday night.
Leach is a good coach, but as I told some Hogs fans when the Arkansas job was open, Leach is too offensive-minded for me.
His style isn’t set up to win big games, and I’d question how he would line up in the SEC West as this would be the toughest competition his faced as a head coach.
Those questions still abound for me, yet MSU is paying him $5 million. There’s no question most think he’s light years ahead of the ol’ offensive line coach from Oklahoma.
Heck, by most pundits Pittman is ranked last among SEC West coaches and near the bottom of the entire league, maybe only ahead of Vanderbilt’s Derek Mason.
The thing about Pittman is, no one knows what he will do.
There are many that think he is in over his head and his fall will come hard and swift. On the other hand, I think this exactly the kind of situation that Pittman can thrive in.
He seems to be a guy who likes his back against the wall. He’s risen through the ranks to become one of the great offensive line coaches in the country. His success has been a mix of hard work, faith and effective interpersonal communication.
No doubt, he will get this point across to his players that not many expect anything out of him or them. Talk is cheap.
Leach and Kiffin do a lot of talking. To assume they will take the SEC West by storm is a big stretch. They have a mountain to climb just like Pittman. Trying to dethrone LSU, Alabama and Auburn is unlikely for everyone else.
The way to relevancy is with hard work on the recruiting trail and in the meeting room. Pittman made some noise by hiring a great staff with innovative Kendal Briles leading the offense and former Mizzou head coach Barry Odom heading up the defense.
You couldn’t hear that splash over the hype of Kiffin and now Leach.
That’s fine with Pittman. He’s ready to shock the critics who’s expectations dropped a bit more after Leach’s hiring.
Musselman on wearing sponsors’ logos on shirts; depth no big deal
Arkansas coach Eric Musselman met with the media Monday afternoon and answered social media questions on wearing t-shirts with sponsors’ logos and dismissed depth questions.
???? Halftime Pod — A big Ole Miss win, Z on the Hogs, plus Connor O’Gara on CFP Playoff
Phil & Tye on the win in Oxford, Matt Zimmerman on the basketball team, plus Connor O’Gara on the CFB Championship!
