Razorbacks Jalen Harris (10 points, 9 assists) and Daniel Gafford (17 points) talked about Harris’ driving shot with five seconds left that broke the Hogs’ losing streak.
Davis on Ole Miss’ lack of energy, production in loss to Razorbacks
Rebels coach Kermit Davis talked with the media after the Rebels’ 74-73 loss to Arkansas and said his team didn’t played like they had earlier and on the final turnover.
Richardson recalling 1994 National Championship, name on floor
Former Arkansas coach Nolan Richardson met with the media Saturday morning before the game with Ole Miss and covered a wide variety of topics from the title to his name on the floor at Bud Walton.
National championship Razorback team of 1994 had far-reaching effects
I know the 1994 University of Arkansas men’s basketball team touched you. You had season tickets and took your young sons to Charlotte for the Final Four.
You and your UA buddies piled in a car and road tripped to Charlotte coasting in on fumes. You watched the national championship game with others on the big screen at Bud Walton Arena. You were in grade school watching on a small television in your living room with a large group of family. You partied on Dickson Street after.
Arkansas fans will never forget the 1994 team that won the school’s first national championship.
But that team and coach Nolan Richardson was more far-reaching than just the state borders. I was a college freshman at Northwest Missouri State University and a basketball junkie. If I wasn’t in class or at the student newspaper I was playing pickup basketball or watching it on TV (My college dorm room had cable which my family never had – bonus!).
I became familiar with Richardson and the Hogs when the 1989-90 team made a national splash with a Final Four appearance. I was intrigued by the back court of Todd Day and Lee Mayberry and the colorful trailblazing Richardson being one of the few African-American coaches across the college basketball landscape.
I really began paying attention to the 1993-94 team when they hosted the University of Missouri Dec. 2, 1993 on ESPN. All of my buddies were Mizzou fans, and I hated the Tigers being raised a die-hard Iowa State fan less than an hour from Ames.
So, I took delight in the Hogs’ 120-68 dismantling of the Tigers at Bud Walton Arena. I paid close attention to them after and read as many articles as I could. Of course, I was a fan of star Corliss Williamson and was sure he was going to be the next NBA star. But, I also loved the roll players on the team.
Corey Beck’s willingness to play tenacious defense, Al Dillard’s pig-snout range, exchange student Davor Rimac, and Dwight Stewart, with the stature of an offensive lineman, being able to step out and drill 3-pointers. There was a cast of talented, colorful characters and their games were must-see TV.
When it came time to pick the NCAA Tournament pool, I was all-in on the Hogs. I had them beating Duke in the National Championship game.
“There is no way, Arkansas is going to beat Duke,” one of my journalism compadres said one day before class. “I said, “How many games have you seen them play? Just watch.”
And on that night in April, I sat perched on my bed watching every second of that game with Duke. It was one of the more thrilling title games, and Scotty Thurman’s rainbow three-pointer to seal the win elicited a scream from me that brought my dorm RA scrambling and was etched in NCAA Tournament history forever.
I won $150 in the bracket pool and made sure to rub it in that dude’s face.
Four years later, I stood face-to-face with Richardson at The Bud. I was a cub reporter covering the old Holiday Hoops Tournament at the Bud. I was the only one in the media room when Richardson sauntered in. I told him about how I enjoyed watching his teams. He smiled and chuckled and welcomed me to Arkansas. I was in awe.
I got to cover the Hogs that year and enjoyed the little bit of magic that still remained in his era. Since them I have gotten to know Thurman and had dinner with Dillard and Reggie Merritt, a walk-on on that team. It was cool to hear in their words how much Richardson and that season meant to them, now far removed from 1994.
The team, especially now, realizes the social significance of a black coach with a team majority black team beating blue-blood program that featured some white players and a legendary white coach in Mike Kryzewski.
The 1994 Hogs will be honored at a ceremony tomorrow when Arkansas takes on Ole Miss at noon Bud Walton Arena. It may be the only game this season that will come close to a sellout, but this celebration should attract fans who haven’t felt like watching the current up-and-down Hogs play this season.
Twenty-five years later, the 1994 Hogs are still memorable, especially those who grew up here but even to those who didn’t.
Razorbacks fall to No. 3 Florida at Barnhill Arena in final SEC match
FAYETTEVILLE — Arkansas fell to third-ranked Florida inside 197.225-196.350 inside Barnhill Arena to end its Southeastern Conference campaign for the 2019 season.
The Razorbacks will return to action next Friday for Elevate the Stage in Birmingham, Ala.
First Rotation: Florida Bars: 49.425, Arkansas Vault: 49.050
Sophomore Jessica Yamzon and junior Michaela Burton led the rotation off with a pair of 9.775’s. The scores were followed by a 9.850 from sophomore Sarah Shaffer in the third spot.
The Razorbacks would be able to post another vault rotation score of 49 with a 9.850 from senior Sydney McGlone and a 9.800 from freshman Amanda Elswick off of her Yurchenko 1.5 in the anchor position. The Razorbacks have now posted a 49 or higher in seven-of-nine meets this season on vault.
Second Rotation: Arkansas Bars: 49.125, Florida Vault: 48.950
The Razorbacks would make up some ground in the second rotation, coming within two-tenths of the Gators after a high Bars scores. The Gymbacks posted a season high bars score off of four scores of 9.800 or higher.
Yamzon led the rotation off with a 9.875 that was followed up with a 9.825 in the three spot from freshman Kennedy Hambrick. Junior Hailey Garner posted a 9.800 in the in the four position as junior Michaela Burton anchored the rotation with a 9.850.
Third Rotation: Florida Floor: 49.475, Arkansas Beam: 48.800
The Gators created some separation in the third rotation after a strong floor series while the Razorbacks were forced to count a low score in rotation three. Yamzon again led off with a strong 9.850.
Hambrick followed that up with one of two 9.775’s on the beam, the other coming from anchor Burton. The highlight of the rotation was a career high 9.850 from freshman Katarina Derrick to tie for the rotation lead.
Fourth Rotation: Arkansas Floor: 49.375, Florida Beam: 49.375
For the third-consecutive rotation, Yamzon led off with a score of 9.800 or higher with a 9.825. Hambrick followed that up with a 9.825 of her own.
The rotation ended strong with a 9.925 career high score from senior McGlone, a 9.875 from Shaffer and a 9.925 from sophomore Sophia Carter. The 9.925 from Carter was her seventh 9.900 or higher on the event this season and led to a season high floor score for the Razorbacks for the second-consecutive week.
Hicks on first day talking what he’s found after transferring to Hogs
Graduate transfer quarterback Ben Hicks is missing the warmer temperatures in Dallas, but likes being reunited with Chad Morris and Joe Craddock in Fayetteville.
Razorbacks sweep pair of games on second day of Wooo Pig Classic
FAYETTEVILLE — Arkansas is finding its groove again, after sweeping the competition on day two of the Wooo Pig Classic.
The Razorbacks started the afternoon with a 9-0 run-rule victory over Omaha, followed by a hard fought 9-6 battle win over Nevada.
Omaha (1-12) managed only one hit against starting pitcher Mary Haff in game one. Haff faced 16 batters, recorded four strikeouts and giving up no free bases on balls.
Arkansas (16-3) took a 2-0 lead after one frame, as sophomore Hannah McEwen led off with a single up the middle and was brought in with an absolute rocket into the parking lot by Katie Warrick.
The home run was Warrick’s third of the season and 17th of her career.
The third inning rolls around and this time, sophomore Danielle Gibson and Ashley Diaz take their swing at the Maverick pitcher each sending a solo home run over the wall, giving the Hogs a 4-0 lead.
Diaz home run is her first of the season and now makes eight of nine starting Razorbacks to hit dingers this season.
Arkansas would bat around in the fourth inning and score its final five runs with RBI from senior Haydi Bugarin, Gibson, Diaz and sophomore Kayla Green.
The shutout victory by the Hogs is their sixth of the season and their fifth run-rule win.
Nevada wouldn’t go down so easily for the Razorbacks, and despite jumping out to a 6-0 lead in the third inning, Arkansas would find themselves tied at six runs a piece headed into the fifth inning.
The Hogs used the batting power of Gibson and McEwen to take a 2-0 lead through two innings, then took advantage of back-to-back walks, a double by Aly Manzo, and two more runs off the bat of Parr to build their six-run lead.
After the Wolf Pack tied the game with a four-run fifth inning that including consecutive lead-off singles, Haff would return to the circle to relieve storms starting in the sixth inning.
Back at the plate, the Razorbacks rose to the occasion, batting in the go-ahead lead in the bottom of the fifth inning with the help of Warrick, then continued to rally with two more runs in the sixth.
Those two runs, courtesy of a double from Bugarin and a single from Parr, would be the lead that Arkansas needed to secure the win.
The Hogs return to Bogle for another day of play in the Wooo Pig Classic, with a double-header against Boston University scheduled for 4 p.m. and 6 p.m.
Harris on defense after first day of spring practice Friday afternoon
Arkansas linebacker De’Jon Harris talked with the media after a cold start to spring football practice on Friday and said the defense was getting back to basics with young guys.
Strong pitching in both games lifts Razorbacks to sweep of Stony Brook
FAYETTEVILLE — Isaiah Campbell and the Razorback pitching staff had, arguably, its best outings of the season Friday night as 12th-ranked Arkansas swept a doubleheader with Stony Brook, 3-1 and 4-3, at Baum-Walker Stadium.
Campbell, making his third start of the year, tallied a career-high 13 strikeouts in the game one win, five more than his previous high of eight that he totaled against No. 4 Kentucky last year.
He also worked through seven scoreless innings and only allowed four baserunners, three by hits, in what ended up being his longest outing of the year.
Redshirt junior Kevin Kopps and junior closer Matt Cronin finished off the final two innings for the Hogs in game one, striking out a combined five batters to help tie the Arkansas single-game record for strikeouts in a game (18, Missouri State, March 25, 2009; Grand Canyon, April 5, 2017).
It was a strong day throughout both games for the pitching staff as Cody Scroggins, Kole Ramage and Jacob Kostyshock, struck out 11 more batters in game two to give the Razorbacks a total of 29 strikeouts on the day.
Scroggins, who was making his second-consecutive start, struggled early, but settled in to work 3.1 innings, while Ramage earned the win out of the bullpen, his third of the year.
Kostyshock picked up the save, throwing a nearly perfect eighth and ninth innings. He did put the tying run on third after a throwing error on a comebacker to the pitcher sailed into the stands behind first base.
However, he settled back in and struck out the final batter to finish off his first save of the season.
Game 1 | Arkansas 3, Stony Brook 1 (Box Score)
Arkansas’ offense wasn’t as powerful as had been seen in recent weeks. The Hogs scattered six hits in the game, all coming from six different players. Fortunately, the Razorbacks got the hits when they needed them, scoring a run in the fifth and two in the sixth to take a 3-0 lead.
Fletcher led off the fifth with a double off the right-centerfield wall, missing his second home run of the year by inches. He was followed by a perfect bunt down the third-base line by Matt Goodheart that got beaten out for an infield single.
Casey Opitz finished the scoring opportunity with a ground ball to the right side, scoring Fletcher from third, and notching his fifth RBI of the year.
In the sixth, Arkansas led off the frame with another double, this one coming from Casey Martin, which extended his hitting streak to eight games. He was driven in by a triple to deep right-centerfield by Trevor Ezell, Arkansas’ second triple of the year.
Ezell scored in the next at-bat on a wild pitch after Stony Brook made a pitching change.
Cronin picked up his third save of the year even after he ran into some trouble in the ninth inning. Two singles put the tying run on base and then a walk loaded the bases with two outs before he struck out the final batter to lock up his third save in as many appearances.
Game 2 | Arkansas 4, Stony Brook 3 (Box Score)
Game two was nearly a similar performance for the Hog offense as in game one, but a couple of Razorbacks were able to record multi-hit games, including sophomore Heston Kjerstad, who broke out for a 3-for-4 game, his first three-hit game of the season.
Kjerstad was struggling at the plate in recent weeks, recording only one hit in six of the previous eight games, but totaled his ninth three-hit game of his career as his single in the third drove in Arkansas’ third run of the game to give it its first lead.
He followed that with a hustling double in the fifth where he legged out what should have been a normal single up the middle, but was able to beat the throw back in from the outfield for a two-bagger. He ended up scoring two batters later on sacrifice fly that ended up being the winning run.
Kjerstad entered the day with a .219 batting average, but raised it to .275 after his four-hit day in the doubleheader.
On the mound, Ramage earned his third win of the year after throwing 3.2 scoreless innings, his longest outing of the year, and four strikeouts. Arkansas pitching not only racked up the strikeouts, but it minimized the walks as only four batters reached via walk combined in Friday’s games.
Up Next
Arkansas and Stony Brook will finish off their series on Saturday with first pitch set at 2 p.m. at Baum-Walker Stadium.
The original game time of 3 p.m. was changed due to the impending weather conditions that are expected to develop over the afternoon.
The game will still be broadcast on SEC Network+ and on the radio via the Razorback Sports Network on ESPN Arkansas 95.3 in the River Valley, 96.3 in Hot Springs and 104.3 in Harrison-Mountain Home with Scott Inman and Bubba Carpenter calling the game.
Campbell after 13 K’s in Hogs’ 3-1 opening win over Stony Brook
Arkansas pitcher Isaiah Campbell went seven innings in the cold weather against Stony Brook on Friday in the first game of a doubleheader and talked about the pitchers in the game.
Razorbacks on familiar ground at Querencia Cabo Collegiate to start week
FAYETTEVILLE — Arkansas will travel south of the border, but be on familiar ground as the Razorbacks play in the ninth annual Querencia Cabo Collegiate, March 3-5.
The 14-team, 54-hole tournament will be played over three days at the Querencia Golf Club (par 71/6,928 yards) in San Jose del Cabo, Mexico.
Top-ranked Oklahoma State headlines the 14-team field that features 12 programs ranked among the nation’s top 50.
This marks the fourth time Arkansas has faced the Cowboys this season and the third straight tournament this spring Arkansas has played with at least nine teams ranked among the nation’s top 50.
Arkansas regularly serves as a co-host at the event and won the first two Querencia Cabo Collegiate championships — shooting a 1o-under par 854 in the fall of 2010 and 21-under 831 in the fall of 2011.
In addition to team wins, Jamie Marshall was an individual medalist in 2010 and Sebastian Cappelan won the 2011 tournament. The Razorbacks have played in eight of the nine previous events.
William Buhl shot a career-low 66 in the final round of the 2017 Cabo Collegiate and tied for 19th. Luis Garza likes the second day of the event as he carded a 69 in the second round as a freshman and shot a 68 last season. Mason Overstreet has posted a 68 at Cabo.
The 9th Annual Querencia Cabo Collegiate
Schedule: March 3-5| 54 holes (18 holes each day)
Course: Querencia Golf Club – San Jose del Cabo, Mexico
Yardage: 6,928 – Par 71
Razorback Lineup
(1) William Buhl (Jr.)
(2) Mason Overstreet (Jr.)
(3) Luis Garza (Jr.)
(4) Julian Perico (Fr.)
(5) Tyson Reeder (Jr.)
The Field
14 Alabama
32 Arkansas
50 Arizona
9 Arizona State
36 Baylor
27 Florida State
Houston
12 LSU
48 Mississippi
1 Oklahoma State
Rice
19 Texas A&M
3 Vanderbilt
