How team has come together at end of regular season, how they are preparing to face South Carolina on Wednesday.
Saturday Down South’s Connor O’Gara looking at college basketball
Columnist primarily football, but with postseason tournaments starting it’s hard not talking about hoops, Calipari has Hogs in talks.
Eastside Liquor Halftime Podcast: 3-10-25
Guests:
Mike Irwin (PigTrail Nation)
Dr. Charles Liggett (River Valley Smile Center)
Connor O’Gara (Saturday Down South)
Bud Light Morning Rush Podcast: 3-10-25
Arkansas survives at home against Miss. State and are closer to officially punching their tournament ticket. Hog baseball makes a clean sweep and more!
Hog Reaction: Hogs hang on to beat Mississippi State 93-92
Presented by Buffington Homes, The Stadium Shoppe on Razorback and Sawyer’s Inc!
WATCH: The Morning Rush is LIVE on a Hot Take Monday
Call or text us on The Lewis Automotive Hotline at 877-377-6963!
Razorbacks keep winning, but don’t run-rule Portland in finale
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — No. 3 Arkansas completed its weekend series sweep against Portland (5-11) with a 5-3 win Sunday afternoon at Baum-Walker Stadium to extend its season-long winning streak to 11 games and improve to 15-1 overall on the season, its best 16-game start to a campaign since 2006 and third 15-1 or better start in the Dave Van Horn era.
Arkansas has now started 15-1 or better through its first 16 games of a season three times under Van Horn (2003-present). The Razorbacks also got off to 15-1 overall starts through their first 16 games of the season in 2005 and 2006.
Brent Iredale’s three-run homer in the bottom of the first inning helped the Hogs jump out to an early lead in Sunday’s series finale. Iredale, who finished 1-for-3 with a game-high three RBI, tore the cover off the ball all weekend long, slashing .500/.583/1.600 with two doubles, three home runs and 11 RBI to help power Arkansas to the series sweep.
Portland closed its deficit to two in the second, but Ryder Helfrick launched his third homer of the season in the bottom of the inning to give Arkansas breathing room. The Razorback catcher’s solo shot to right center put the Hogs up, 4-1.
Provided with the early run support, Razorback starter Landon Beidelschies tossed five innings of three-run ball with six strikeouts to earn his third win of the season. The southpaw owns a 2.37 ERA with 20 strikeouts in 19.0 innings this year.
Wehiwa Aloy (2-for-3, RBI) and Charles Davalan (2-for-4) tallied multi-hit games for the Razorbacks in the win. Aloy’s RBI single in the bottom of the fifth represented his ninth RBI of the series and raised his season slash line to .433/.534/.850.
In the three-game set against Portland, Aloy slashed a team-leading .700/.750/1.700 with seven base hits, including a double and three home runs, and nine RBI. The Razorback shortstop logged three multi-hit performances in the process.
Davalan, meanwhile, posted a .600/.667/.900 slash line with a home run and an RBI against the Pilots. For the season, the Razorback outfielder is slashing .333/.457/.536 with three home runs, 14 RBI and a team-high 22 runs scored.
In relief of Beidelschies, Parker Coil (1.0 IP), Aiden Jimenez (1.0 IP), Christian Foutch (1.0 IP, 1 SO) and Carson Wiggins (1.0 IP, 1 SO, 1 SV) combined for four shutout innings with two strikeouts. Wiggins, the flame-throwing true freshman right-hander, locked down his third save of the season and sealed Arkansas’ 5-3 series-sweeping win against Portland.
Up next, the Razorbacks conclude their 10-game homestand at Baum-Walker Stadium with a midweek matchup Tuesday night before SEC play begins. First pitch between in-state foes Arkansas and UCA is set for 6 p.m. on SEC Network+.
Another big offensive game, strong pitching gives Razorbacks another big win
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Wehiwa Aloy homered and drove in a team-leading four RBI for the second game in a row and Zach Root matched his career high with 10 strikeouts over six scoreless innings to lead No. 3 Arkansas (14-1) to a sure-handed 10-0 shutout win in seven innings against Portland (5-10) Saturday afternoon at Baum-Walker Stadium.
With the win, the Hogs clinched their fourth straight run-rule victory as well as their 32nd consecutive non-conference home weekend series. Arkansas’ last non-conference home weekend series loss came against South Alabama in 2014.
Root, making his fourth start as a Razorback, set the tone on the mound, retiring the first eight Portland batters he faced before issuing a two-out walk in the third inning.
The left-hander, who flirted with a no-hitter before an infield single to lead off the fifth inning, logged his first quality start of the year, turning in a season-long six shutout innings of work and racking up 10 strikeouts, which matched both his season high and career high, with only three hits and a walk allowed.
Arkansas and Portland exchanged zeroes across the first two frames before Aloy’s two-run double to left center in the bottom half of the third opened the scoring.
The Hogs broke through for five runs in the fourth, powered by an RBI single from Nolan Souza (1-for-3, RBI) and a pair of homers from Justin Thomas Jr. (1-for-2, HR, 2 RBI) and Aloy.
Thomas Jr.’s two-run blast, his second home run of the season, put Arkansas ahead, 5-0, before Aloy, who finished 2-for-4 with four RBI, socked his third home run in two days a few batters later.
Aloy’s two-run blast extended the Razorbacks’ advantage to 7-0 and gave him four RBI for the second day in a row as he raised his season slash line to .421/.529/.860.
Through 15 contests, Aloy leads the Arkansas offense in base hits (24) and doubles (7) and is tied for the team lead in home runs (6) with younger brother Kuhio, who is slashing a team-leading .512/.596/1.170 with six homers and 29 RBI in 12 games.
Kuhio Aloy was held hitless for the first time this season, snapping his team-leading 11-game hit streak.
Charles Davalan had a team-high three hits, including a solo home run in the sixth, and improved his season slash line to .321/.455/.528 with three homers and 14 RBI in 15 games.
Kendall Diggs, meanwhile, walked it off in the bottom half of the seventh, cranking a two-run shot, his second home run of the season, to seal the Razorbacks’ 10-run rule win.
In relief of Root, lefty Colin Fisher spun a scoreless frame of work with a strikeout to secure the Hogs’ combined seven-inning shutout.
It was Arkansas’ first shutout since doing so in seven innings against Arkansas State on April 2, 2024.
The Razorbacks will aim for their third weekend series sweep of the season in tomorrow’s series finale at Baum-Walker Stadium. First pitch between Arkansas and Portland is scheduled for noon Sunday, March 9, on SEC+ Network.
With a sweep tomorrow, Arkansas can improve to 15-1 overall through its first 16 games of the year and match its best 16-game start to a season in the Dave Van Horn era (2003-present) since the 2005 and 2006 campaigns, when the Hogs also got off to 15-1 overall starts through their first 16 games of the season.
Razorbacks close out regular season downing Bulldogs
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Jonas Aidoo made a free throw with 11 seconds left and Billy Richmond blocked a shot with two seconds left to lead Arkansas to a 93-92 victory over No. 25 Mississippi State in the teams’ regular-season finale Saturday afternoon at Bud Walton Arena.
In addition to heroics from Aidoo and Richmond, D.J. Wagner led all players with 24 points, going 7-of-9 from the field and 7-of-7 from the free throw line.
He also made a key 3-pointer as the shot clock was expiring to give Arkansas a 92-89 lead with 44 seconds left.
Trevon Brazile had a double-double in the second half alone with 11 points, going 3-of-5 from 3-point, and grabbing 10 rebounds in the period. He only played 2:55 of the first half due to foul trouble and had no points with one rebound.
With the win, Arkansas finishes 19-12 record overall and 8-10 mark in the SEC. The Razorbacks will be the ninth seed and face No. 16 seed South Carolina on Wednesday at Noon in the first round of the SEC Tournament.
Aidoo finished with his fourth double-double of the season with a season-high 21 points with 10 rebounds while tying his career high of four assists and adding three blocked shots. He was 8-of-11 from the field with four dunks, 5-of-10 from the line and grabbed six offensive boards.
Richmond had an SEC career-high 10 points, a career-high six assists and tied his career high with two blocked shots. Johnell Davis gave Arkansas five players in double figures as tallied 15 points with four assists and two steals.
Mississippi State had six players score in double figures with Claudell Harris Jr., leading the way with 18 points off the bench.
FIRST HALF: Arkansas 45, Mississippi State: 44
• Arkansas scored first but Mississippi State led most of the half, 12:10 to 6:21.
• After scoring first, Arkansas took a 25-24 lead on after a Karter Knox dunk followed by a Knox offensive rebound and putback.
• Later, Arkansas used a 7-0 run to lead 34-31 thanks to two free throws and a 3-pointer from D.J. Wagner and a Billy Richmond III fast break layup.
• Josh Hubbard tied the game at 39-39 with 3-free throws and a 3-pointer.
• Jonas Aidoo put the Hogs back up four with two free throws and a dunk.
• Claudell Harris answered for Mississippi State with two free throws and a 3-pointer.
• Wagner provided the 45-44 halftime score with two free throws with five seconds left.
• Wagner led Arkansas with 10 points, going 5-of-5 at the line, while Aidoo had eight rebounds, four on each end of the court.
• Hubbard led the Bulldogs with 12 first half points.
SECOND HALF: Arkansas 48, Mississippi State 48
• Arkansas opened the second half with a 7-0 run to force a Bulldogs timeout. Overall, the Razorbacks opened the second half on a 20-8 run, forcing a second MSU timeout.
• Arkansas grabbed its largest lead of the game, 16 points (70-54), with 11:41 left. The Razorbacks held a double-digit lead the next five minutes. The Bulldogs used a 7-0 run to trim their deficit to nine (81-72) with 6:15 left.
• Two free throws by Johnell Davis pushed the Razorback lead back to 11 with 5:33 remaining. However, MSU went on a 12-0 run to lead 84-83 with 3:14 left.
• The lead bounced back-and-fourth five times with three ties over the next two-and-a-half minutes. With the game tied, Wagner’s 3-pointer as the shot clock was expiring with 44 ticks remaining gave Arkansas a 92-89 lead. However, Hubbard answered with a 3-pointer to tie the game at 92 with 34 seconds left.
• Arkansas missed a layup on the ensuing possession but Aidoo grabbed the offensive rebound. Then, with 1.8 seconds left on the shot clock and 11 ticks on the game clock, Aidoo was fouled. He made the first of two free throws for a one-point lead.
• Riley Kugel had the first of two Bulldog attempts to win the game, but Richmond blocked his shot with two seconds left. RJ Melendez corralled the loose ball and his shot at the buzzer missed, caroming off the backboard then the rim, to give the Hogs the win.
• Arkansas shot 61.5% from the field in the second half and Mississippi State shot 51.4%. The Hogs also shot 60% from 3-point (6-of-10) and MSU made 7-of-16 (43.8%).
• Arkansas out-rebounded the Bulldogs, 18-14, in the second half.
• Trevon Brazile played all 20 minutes of the second half. He had 11 points and 10 rebounds, going 4-of-6 from the field (3-of-4 from 3-point).
• Wagner was 5-of-5 from the field in the half, scoring 14 of his 24 points in the period.
• Richmond had four assists in the period.
GAME NOTES:
• For the fourth straight game, Arkansas’ starting lineup was D.J. Wagner, Johnell Davis, Karter Knox, Trevon Brazile and Zvonimir Ivisic.
• Arkansas won the opening tip. Arkansas has won the tip 22 times in 31 games.
• Zvonimir Ivisic scored the game’s first points with two free throws at 18:59.
• Jonas Aidoo was Arkansas’ first sub.
• Arkansas and Mississippi State have met on 70 previous occasions. Arkansas holds a slight 36-34 advantage all-time. Arkansas snapped a two-game losing streak to the Bulldogs but has lost 9 of the last 12 in the series.
• The series is tied at 31-30 since Arkansas joined the SEC.
• Arkansas leads 24-9 in games played in Fayetteville, including a 23-8 advantage since the Razorbacks joined the SEC.
• Coach Calipari is 21-1 all-time versus Mississippi State. The lone loss was a 74-73 setback in the 2021 SEC Tournament.
• Mississippi State only committed two turnovers for the game, the fewest by an opponent since Texas A&M had two in 1993. Ironically, Arkansas won both games by one point with both games being decided in the final seconds. (HogStats.)
• Arkansas has won 4 of its last 5. After a 1-6 start to SEC play (including 0-5), Arkansas finished the year 7-4.
• Johnell Davis scored in double figures in 10 of his last 12 games and has 30 steals over his last 13.
• Trevon Brazile recorded his second consecutive double-double and the eight of his career. It is the second time in his career he posted double-doubles in consecutive games, getting 14 and 17 vs Stanford and 13 and 10 versus Memphis last year in the Bahamas. He had 39 rebounds over the last four games (9.75 average).
• Jonas Aidoo (21 pts, 10 reb, four assists, three blocks) is the second Razorback since 1996-97 to tally 21-plus points, 10-plus rebounds, 4-pus assists and 3-plus blocked shots. The other was Moses Kingsley vs LSU (2/23/16) with 21-12-4-3.
• Jonas Aidoo’s 21 points is a season high.
• D.J. Wagner had a season and SEC career-high 24 points. (His previous SEC career best was 19 points vs Arkansas last season).
• Billy Richmond III had an SEC-high 10 points, tied his overall career-high with two blocked shots and dished out a career-high six assists.
Information from Arkansas Communications is included in this story.
BetSaracen’s Neal Atkinson on where NCAA bubble, Razorbacks are in action
Lines available on which teams” status for March Madness still up in air and where the Hogs are in that.
Iredale’s huge day at plate paces Razorbacks to 20-3 win
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Brent Iredale’s two-homer, eight-RBI performance at the plate powered No. 3 Arkansas (13-1) to a lopsided 20-3 series-opening win in seven innings against Portland (5-9) Friday afternoon at Baum-Walker Stadium.
Friday’s win marked the Razorbacks’ third consecutive run-rule victory and extended their winning streak to a season-long nine games. Arkansas, off to a perfect 11-0 start at home and a 13-1 overall start on the season, can clinch its 32nd non-conference weekend series at Baum-Walker Stadium with a win tomorrow or Saturday against Portland.
The Hogs scored early and often in Friday’s series opener, tagging Pilots’ All-America starter Carter Gaston for 13 runs (12 earned) on nine hits and two walks in four innings.
Arkansas brought home four in the bottom of the first inning and added seven in the second inning before scoring two in the third, tacking on five in the fifth and posting two more in the sixth, scoring 20 total runs in a game for the first time since its 20-12 win at Oklahoma State on June 4, 2022.
Iredale, who became the first Razorback with eight RBI in a game since Rodney Nye accomplished the feat against Oral Roberts on April 14, 1999, finished Friday’s series opener 3-for-3 with a double, a pair of home runs and eight RBI.
The performance raised his season slash line to .419/.565/.884 with five home runs and 29 runs batted in over 14 games.
Wehiwa and Kuhio Aloy stayed scorching hot, combining for five hits, including two extra-base hits, and seven RBI in the win.
Wehiwa Aloy went 3-for-3 with two homers, his first career multi-homer game, and four RBI, becoming the first Razorback to score five runs in a game since Robert Moore accomplished the feat against NC State on June 11, 2021, and raising his season slash line to .415/.530/.811 with five home runs and 13 RBI in 14 games this season.
Kuhio Aloy, meanwhile, extended his team-leading hitting streak to 11 games and tallied his team-leading eighth multi-hit game and eighth multi-RBI game Friday, going 2-for-4 with a double and three RBI.
The Razorback designated hitter is slashing a team-best .550/.625/1.150 with a team-high six home runs and 29 RBI over 11 games on the year.
On the mound, Arkansas starter Gabe Gaeckle carded his first win of the young season with 5.1 innings of two-run ball and seven strikeouts. The right-hander allowed a pair of runs in the first inning before settling down to silence the Pilots.
In relief, true freshman Steele Eaves worked the final 1.2 innings to close out the Razorbacks’ 20-3 win in seven innings. The right-hander, making the second appearance of his career, struck out one and allowed a run on four hits.
Arkansas and Portland continue the series at 2 p.m. Saturday on SEC Network+. Left-hander Zach Root, who is 1-0 with a 2.93 ERA and 26 strikeouts over 15.1 innings in three starts this season, gets the ball in tomorrow’s ballgame.
Information from Arkansas Communications is included in this story.
