Plenty of conference tourney talk, SNL, Bum of the week and more. (You are safe from baseball talk here. This is a baseball free zone.)
Aaron Torres looking at Razorbacks’ tournament hopes after loss to Ole Miss
With injuries leaving Hogs down to essentially six players in SEC Tournament who he’s seen starting to emerge.
Razorbacks’ Raylen Sharpe, Stephen Dix on Spring Practice
What they’ve seen in first week of drills with ton of new faces from Sharpe on the offense and linebacker Dix coming back for another year with the Hogs.
Late three-pointer by Ole Miss ends Hogs’ run at SEC Tournament
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The second round of the 2025 SEC Men’s Basketball Tournament began with a thrilling matchup that came down to the buzzer between 9-seed Arkansas and 8-seed Ole Miss on Thursday at Bridgestone Arena.
Sean Pedulla, who ended with 10 points on the day, was the hero for the Rebels’ after draining a 3-point basket with 1.3 second sleft on the clock to claim the 83-80 win over the Razorbacks.
Arkansas was coming off a opening-round thriller of its own over 16-seed South Carolina, 72-68, that advanced them to face Chris Beard and the mighty Rebels, who received a first-round bye.
Ole Miss, coming off a epic win vs. 4-seed Tennessee that ended the regular season, brought that mometum to Bridgestone Arena Thursday. It was on full display right away as leading scorer Malik Dia (19 points, eight rebounds) sparked the Rebels to a 9-0 run, their longest game-opening run this season, at the outset.
Leading Arkansas scorer Jonas Aidoo, who dropped 17 points and grabbed eight rebounds before fouling out late in the game, finally got Arkansas on the board three minutes into the game with a turnaround jumper.
The Razorbacks trailed until a 8-0 run, sparked by Aidoo, gave Arkansas their only lead of the half. After that, it was all about the Rebels who never let off the gas pedal, creating a lead that topped out at 15 points.
Ole Mss led Arkansas, 42-34, going into halftime.
The Rebels, who lead the SEC with a +5.5 turnover ratio, forced seven Razorback turnovers that translated into nine points, while only giving up four of their own in the first half. They also utilized the paint, outscoring Arkansas, 20-12.
But the seasoned John Calipari, who came in this game with 25 SEC Tournament wins, knew exactly what to say at halftime to hype up his Hogs.
Arkansas slowly began to chip away at Ole Miss’ lead with two different 5-0 runs led by Aidoo and Trevon Brazile, cutting down the lead to one. Brazile gave the Razorbacks their first lead of the second half with a 3-point basket.
That lead continued to rise to seven points until Beard called a 30-second timeout to bring together his Rebels, which was exactly what they needed.
With 7:35 left in the game, Matthew Murrell led a 8-0 run to put the Rebels back into contention.
The final minute of the game had everyone on the edge of their seats.
Up by one, DJ Wagner swooshed in a jumper to extend Arkansas’ lead by three, 80-77, but Dre Davis came down the court to hit a layup and-one to tie it up for the Rebels.
A foul by Dia sent Arkansas’ Trevon Brazile to the free-throw line with seven seconds left, but Brazile missed both to keep the game tied, 80-80.
Pedulla then hit the 3-point game winner 1.3 seconds remaining on the clock to clinch a Rebels’ victory. Remarkably, Pedulla had missed all six of his 3-point attempts in the game prior to draining the long game-winner.
Up Next
Ole Miss advances to the SEC Tournament quarterfinals for the first time since 2021 and will face 1-seed Auburn on Friday at 1 p.m. ET on ESPN.
Arkansas is eliminated from the 2025 SEC Men’s Basketball Tournament and will await to hear of its postseason fate.
Information from SEC Sports is included in this story.
Finding Value 3.15.25
Topics: Value Plays; The Whitmore Stakes; and the Buy/Sell features The Virginia Derby
Razorbacks legend Big O passes away at age 54
Oliver Miller, the big man called Big O by Arkansas fans and played for six teams in an NBA career that spanned nine seasons, has died, the National Basketball Retired Players Association confirmed Wednesday. He was 54 years old.
Phoenix Suns broadcaster Eddie Johnson first reported Miller’s death.
A Fort Worth, Texas, native, Miller was selected 22nd overall in the 1992 NBA Draft after four years at Arkansas.
Miller had been a guest last July on The Morning Rush with Tye Richardson and Tommy Craft.
Playing under Naismith Hall of Fame coach Nolan Richardson and alongside fellow first-rounders Todd Day and Lee Mayberry, he helped begin a golden age of Razorbacks basketball, leading the program to three straight SEC regular season and tournament titles and the 1990 Final Four.
As an NBA player, Miller played for the Suns, Detroit Pistons, Toronto Raptors, Dallas Mavericks, Sacramento Kings and Minnesota Timberwolves, averaging 7.4 points, 5.9 rebounds and 1.5 blocks per game. He was a rookie on the 1992-93 Suns team that reached the NBA Finals and ran into Michael Jordan.
The 6-foot-9 Miller was listed at 280 pounds and weighed more later in his career, but he also displayed a feel for the game that made him more than a typical ’90s center.
Miller left the NBA in 2000 and played in leagues in Poland, Puerto Rico and China as well as smaller U.S.-based leagues for four years, but returned in 2003-04 for one last stint with the Timberwolves, averaging 10.5 minutes per game as a 33-year-old.
In retirement, Miller encountered legal troubles. He was sentenced to a year in jail in 2012 for first-degree assault and possession of a handgun after pistol-whipping his girlfriend’s brother at a barbecue in Maryland.
Miller was later reported to be living in Phoenix in 2020, living comfortably on his NBA pension and spending time with his grandchildren.
Ruscin & Zach react to Arkansas’ win in SEC Tournament opener
We recap Arkansas’ win in the SEC Tournament over South Carolina.
Razorbacks blow lead, but manage to hang to down Gamecocks
NASHVILLE — South Carolina won only one SEC regular-season game all year. Arkansas started slow, but entered its opening-day SEC Mens Basketball Tournament matchup with the Gamecocks on Wednesday seemingly with all the momentum.
Welcome to March Madness, SEC-style.
Arkansas continued to ride its wave of late-season momentum at least through the first half, but then it fizzled under a barrage of South Carolina defensive stops and shotmaking in the second.
The 9-seed Hogs built a 47-30 halftime lead with a dominating run at the end of the first half, but then had to hold off a furious comeback by the 16-seed Gamecocks down the stretch to earn a 72-68 decision in front of a boisterous crowd at Bridgestone Arena.
South Carolina’s comeback was fueled by the relentless play of Collin Murray-Boyles. At one point he scored six consecutive points to pull the Gamecocks to within one, 61-60.
From there, it remained tight.
Arkansas’ DJ Wagner, who had 10 points in an electric first half, made a three for his first points of the second half and a 64-60 lead. Jacobi Wright made two free throws for South Carolina to make it 64-62, then Trevon Brazile and Wright traded baskets and it was 66-64.
That was when the Hogs finally shut the door. Or at least they appeared to, before the Gameococks, determined to end the plague of close losses that had dogged them all season, made one more desperate run.
Johnell Davis drove for a layup that made it 68-64 Hogs with 32 seconds left. Jamarii Thomas missed a 3-pointer at the other end, and Davis was fouled after grabbing the rebound. He made a pair of free throws with 17 seconds left to make it 70-64 and appeared put it out of reach for good.
But then Davis subsequently missed the front end of a one-and-one after getting fouled again, Wright drove for a quick uncontested layup, and then Murray-Boyles made an incredible steal of a long pass on Arkansas’ ensuing in-bounds pass, leading to another quick Cam Scott dunk a the other end.
Suddenly, it was 70-68 with three seconds left.
The Razorbacks inbounded the ball to Davis successfully on their next in-bounds attempt. After getting fouled, this time he made both free throws — the second he banked in while apparently trying to intentionally miss — and it was 72-68 with just 2.5 seconds remaining.
Arkansas had four players score in double figures, led by Brazile with 16. Aidoo and Davis added 14 each, while Wagner had 13.
In his final game as a Gamecock, Murray-Boyles was spectacular in the second half to finish with 20 points and 12 rebounds. Thomas added 16 and Wright 13.
Information from SEC Sports is included in this story.
