Bud Light Morning Rush Podcast: Monday
John Nabors, Tommy Craft & Nick Mason discuss the Mississippi State loss, baseball’s growing popularity, plus Tom Murphy joins the show!
Anderson well aware of questioning how hot his seat should be
Mike Anderson knows the situation.
He knows exactly the ones that have a voice who would like to see him gone as well as the ones making noise that doesn’t matter.
At this point, it’s not hard to do the math, inject a little logic and come to the conclusion no one in the Arkansas athletic program or the board of trustees has much taste for paying coaches in the two biggest sports to NOT be coaching anymore.
You can blame Jeff Long or Bret Bielema if you want, but that’s wasting time talking about folks who aren’t in Fayetteville anymore. Of course many Razorback fans love to talk about what didn’t happen instead of dealing with what DID.
That’s where Anderson and the basketball program find themselves right now.
You’ll hear callers to talk shows yammer on about not hiring this coach or failing to get that recruit. That’s not exclusive to basketball for some Hog fans, but that’s the immediate problem area right now.
Anderson simply hasn’t been able to get the players that are good enough to have the type success many fans — including some that DO have a vote in who the coach is — enjoyed having in a nice little 17-year run from 1978-96.
Arkansas never had that type of run before or since. Technically, they made the Sweet 16 in 1958, but that was a different tournament and the Hogs didn’t win a game in the tournament.
Some fans think making the Sweet 16 should be the expectation every single season … or at least every two or three years. In today’s college basketball world, there aren’t many teams able to do that.
No, some fans remember that run Eddie Sutton and Nolan Richardson had, but they tend to forget (or ignore) Anderson has won at a higher percentage in his first seven seasons than even Richardson did in his last seven.
To win at Arkansas — especially in the SEC — it requires players in numbers that haven’t been on the same team in about 24 years or so. Yes, I know they won the SEC Tournament in 2000 with a very average team, but then were dispatched by Miami in the NCAA a few days later.
Anderson said Saturday night after another stumble-and-fall against Mississippi State in a 77-67 loss that this team needs experience, which is just a different take on the youth and inexperience excuse we’ve heard over and over this year.
This group has some players with good character that either don’t have the skills, the desire or the basketball IQ to compete at a championship level.
And that is driving a growing number of fans crazy, mainly because Anderson continues to make excuses for them.
It’s also keeping them away from Bud Walton Arena, which is a bigger deal than wins and losses to a lot of people that matter in making personnel decisions. Yes, the two go hand-in-hand.
Right now this is not a personal decision for most of Anderson’s detractors. It’s hard to find anyone that has a knock on him personally. The same can be said from this corner, too.
Getting to the NCAA Tournament is not the goal for many fans. They want more than a couple of games in that tournament.
Anything less is considered failure. That likely won’t change this season. With six games left on the schedule, the Hogs probably aren’t expected to win more than maybe a couple of games.
Regardless how much anybody likes Mike, it’s going to make the seat more than a iittle warm. It’s going to downright red hot. Shoot, the speculation has already started about possible replacements.
The good news is he can recruit his way out of this in one year, but that’s going to require getting some players that can — or are willing to pay the price to — compete on a championship level.
It’s a problem he has to figure out fast.
Or at least before someone who’s not in Fayetteville gets a job that makes decisions here easier to make.
Kjerstad’s walkoff lifts Razorbacks to clinching sweep over Eastern Illinois
FAYETTEVILLE — Arkansas completed its opening weekend sweep of Eastern Illinois Sunday afternoon after Heston Kjerstad roped a walk-off single to right-center field to beat the Panthers, 3-2.
It was Kjerstad’s second walk-off of his career and was his only hit of the day. Arkansas hitters struggled to put any runners on base all day as its six hits were scattered throughout the game.
No player recorded more than one hit or one RBI, but the pitching was strong throughout to keep the need for runs low.
Junior Jacob Kostyshock, in his first career start, threw five scoreless innings, striking out three on 74 pitches, with only three hits allowed.
Junior closer Matt Cronin, who entered the game in a save situation in the eighth, corralled the win after 1.2 innings pitched and one hit allowed in his first appearance of 2019.
The three-game sweep was Arkansas’ sixth-straight to open a season dating back to 2014.
Ezell owns Eastern Illinois
Following his four-hit day in the doubleheader on Saturday, graduate transfer Trevor Ezell added another hit to his already growing total against the Panthers in his career.
Dating back to his four years at Southeast Missouri State, which played in the same conference (Ohio Valley Conference) as EIU, Ezell is 21-for-44 (.477) against the Panthers in 12 games. He singled to right in the first inning on Sunday.
Performing when your name is called
Freshman Curtis Washington, Jr. was making only his second appearance of the weekend Sunday when he was called to bat for designated hitter Jordan McFarland in the seventh inning. Still looking for his first career hit, Washington was called to try and bunt over Jack Kenley, who walked earlier in the inning. Washington did one better and drew a walk to put two runners on with no one out, which eventually led to Arkansas’ second run.
Washington, a West Memphis, Arkansas native finally got his first Razorback hit when he singled to lead off the ninth and scored the winning run on Kjerstad’s walk-off single.
Nearly immaculate inning
Freshman Patrick Wicklander nearly achieved a feat that some pitchers only dream of when he came out of the bullpen in the sixth inning to relieve Kostyshock.
Wicklander struck out the side of EIU hitters Jimmy Govern, Hunter Morris and Ryan Knernschield and did it on 10 pitches, just one shy of the near immaculate nine pitch, three strikeout inning.
Wicklander finished his first career outing with 2.1 innings, one run allowed and four strikeouts on 31 pitches.
Early season streaking
Trevor Ezell, Heston Kjerstad, Casey Martin and Jack Kenley are the only Razorbacks to record at least one hit in each game this season, earning them a three-game hitting streak going into the road series at USC.
Combined the top three of Arkansas’ lineup plus Kenley are hitting .391 with eight extra-base hits, three home runs and 12 RBIs.
They’re also slugging at a .717 clip as a group. Ezell leads all Hog hitters with an even .500 average (5-for-10) with four runs scored, two doubles, one home run and five RBIs.
Razorback quotables
“First thing you always tell the team no matter what, it’s just find a way to win. So that was good to see and kind of what I expected, to be honest with you. I felt it was good for us to play a game like that. If we had another 15-2 game I don’t know how it would have affected us going to USC this weekend. To play a tight game, kind of let the lead slip away and then to come back and win it and kind of feel what we felt in the dugout, a little bit of pressure. I thought that was good for our team.” — Coach Dave Van Horn on the sweep over Eastern Illinois
“We’ve watched him play a lot. He just competes and he’s not scared. He took a first-pitch fast ball and the guy spins a breaking ball and it ends up over the plate. He throws another breaking ball and Curtis singles to center and we were in business. I’m proud of him for handling the situation and competing.” — Van Horn on Curtis Washington, Jr.’s performance off the bench
“His velocity was as good as I’ve seen it. He threw a couple of nice breaking balls, a couple of good change-ups. I liked the way he spotted his fastball away. He’d get them leaning out over the plate and he could bust those right-handers in. He threw the ball extremely well.” — Van Horn on Patrick Wicklander
“I feel like I’m ready at all times. Coach (Van Horn) can call my name at any time, so I have to be ready at all times. I was ready when the moment came and got the job done. They put me in the game to sacrifice bunt and I ended up walking and that gave me confidence. Then, the big hit I had in the ninth inning, got me more confidence.” — Curtis Washington, Jr. on being called to pinch hit in the 7th and getting the base hit in the 9th.
“It’s just a good experience for the younger guys and us older guys to play in a game where every out matters. he little things add up and make the difference at the end of the game. A lot of our games this year are going to be one-run games and those are the ones that normally matter the most and come down to the wire.” — Heston Kjerstad on playing a close game
“I had everything working today in the bullpen and I felt good coming out. I can’t say I was surprised, but it wasn’t the debut that I was like, ‘Okay I want to come out and do this.’ I just want to get three outs as fast as possible and get us back in the dugout.” — Patrick Wicklander on his first career outing
Up Next
Arkansas heads west for week two as it will face Pac-12 foe USC in Los Angeles, California for a three-game set starting on Thursday, Feb. 21 at 9 p.m.
Games two and three will be on Friday and Saturday with game time set for 8 p.m. both days.
Van Horn glad to get close game walkoff win to sweep series
Arkansas coach Dave Van Horn felt it was another third game after two fairly comfortable wins that got close Sunday afternoon, but thought the Hogs did what they had to for a series sweep.
Kjerstad, Washington, Wicklander recapping walkoff win in third game
Razorbacks Heston Kjerstad, who got a walkoff single for the 3-2 win over Eastern Illinois on Sunday, along with Curtis Washington and pitcher Patrick Wicklander.
Behind Williams’ career night, Hogs get close before falling to Kentucky
LEXINGTON, Ky. — A career day for Kiara Williams and solid efforts from Chelsea Dungee and Malica Monk were not enough to complete the upset at No. 17 Kentucky as Arkansas fell, 61-59.
The hotly-contested second half saw Kentucky (21-5, 8-4 SEC) grab a 59-55 lead with 1:05 to play. The Wildcats fouled Dungee who made one bonus shot pulling Arkansas (16-10, 5-7 SEC) within three, 59-56.
The teams exchanged contested misses as the clock wound down. Arkansas found senior Raven Northcross-Baker alone in the corner for a 3-point field goal to tie the game at 59-all with just 22 seconds on the clock.
Kentucky got the ball back and got the home rim bounce on a shot that rattled around the cylinder before falling in with three seconds left in the game. The Wildcats stole the inbounds pass and hung on for the win.
Williams had a career-best 17 rebounds and seven blocked shots adding in a 14-point offensive effort for Arkansas. Dungee scored 20 points for the Razorbacks. It was her 23rd game of the season in double figures and her 13th game with 20 or more points.
Monk added a 10-point performance handling the ball 37 minutes with only one turnover. It was Monk’s 21st game of the season in double figures.
Arkansas got out to a slow start and trailed by eight points after the first quarter, but the Razorbacks stormed back outscoring Kentucky 19-8 in the second quarter to lead by three, 33-30, at the break.
The second half saw four ties and one lead change with Monk, Dungee and Jailyn Mason playing 20 minutes each for the Razorbacks.
The Wildcats were able to go to their bench with 10 different players seeing the court in the second half. Taylor Murray stepped up with 12 points putting the Wildcats in a position to win the game late.
Notes
• Arkansas Starters: Alexis Tolefree, Malica Monk, Kiara Williams, Jailyn Mason, Chelsea Dungee.
• Chelsea Dungee has scored in double figures in 23 games including six in a row. She had 15 points at the half and finished with 20 for the game.
• Malica Monk has scored in double figures in 20 games this year.
• Kiara Williams finished with a career-best 17 rebounds. Williams had 11 boards at the break. It is her fifth game of the year with double-digit boards and ninth for the team this season.
• Kiara Williams had her third double-double with 14 points and 17 rebounds. It is the fourth double-double of the year for Arkansas. It is Williams’ eighth double-double for her career.
• Kiara Williams had a career-best seven blocks in the game.
Up Next
The Razorbacks travel to Georgia, Thursday, Feb. 21 for a 6 p.m. tip. It is the second meeting with the Lady Bulldogs. Arkansas dropped the first contest in Bud Walton Arena, 80-72, in the last game of January.
The Razorbacks return home hosting the first of two home games welcoming Ole Miss for Senior Day on Feb. 24.
Arkansas hosts Missouri Feb. 28 and travels to Texas A&M on March 3, as the regular season concludes.
Anderson on Razorbacks’ issues in double-digit home loss
Arkansas coach Mike Anderson met with the media following the 77-67 loss at Bud Walton on Saturday night as the team went cold from the floor in the second half.
Arkansas’ Jones says team can stay together through four-game skid
Mason Jones (30 points) said the team will stay together in the locker room, despite the four-game losing streak after the Hogs lost to Mississipnpi Saturday night, 77-67.
Howland on Bulldogs’ big second-half run to sink Arkansas
Mississippi State coach Ben Howland said his team’s 23-1 run in the second half was usually something the Razorbacks did to visitors at Bud Walton Arena.
State’s Perry, Woodard talking about strong win over Hogs
Mississippi State players Reggie Perry (12 points, 10 rebounds) and Robert Woodard (10 points) talked with the media after the 77-67 win over the Razorbacks.
