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Morris wanting players who want to be Razorbacks on signing day

Arkansas coach Chad Morris said in his press conference after the latest signings how he’s not going to beg players to come to Fayetteville.

???? Wednesday Halftime Pod — featuring 247 Sports’ Danny West

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Phil Elson & Tye Richardson discuss the Vandy dub, the 2019 signing class, plus Danny West of 247 Sports joins the pod!

No real surprises on Morris’ second recruiting class with Razorbacks … yet

Arkansas lost one player, but the rest of what Chad Morris was expecting to sign on National Signing Day came on board without drama.

First to sign was running back A’montae Spivey of Phenix City, Alabama, was the first to sign followed by safety Jalen Catalon, wide receiver Treylon Burks and tight end Hudson Henry.

Previous defensive back commitment Adonis Otey flipped and signed with USC, being the only commitment they lost.

They are waiting on announcements from linebacker Lakia Henry and linebacker Chris Russell.

We will be updating after a press conference with Morris this afternoon.

Neighbors previews Thursday night matchup with LSU

Arkansas coach Mike Neighbors talked with the media Wednesday about his team needing to find scoring help for Malica Monk and Chelsea Dungee going down the stretch.

Bud Light Morning Rush Podcast: Wednesday

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An injured John Nabors talk with Tommy Craft & Nick Mason about the Vandy win, National Signing Day, and What’s Your Beef Wed!

Embery-Simpson’s late shot lifts Hogs past Vanderbilt … in spite of themselves

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Credit Arkansas’ 69-66 win over Vanderbilt on Tuesday night to Keyshawn Embery-Simpson.

Oh, the usual names at the top of scoring summary for the Razorbacks were there, but it was the Oklahoma freshman that stepped up and hit the key shot when it was needed most.

And it saved the day for a team that had come back from another stumbling start to take a 10-point lead in the second half … only to see it evaporate.

Fans had seen it before and many in the small, intimate, gathering of 6,347 were squirming in their seats.

It cued what resulted in a dramatic comeback for a team that somehow seems to find ways to keep these nail-biters going.

Arkansas’ Keyshawn Embery-Simpson puts up a layup in the first half of the 69-66 win over Vanderbilt on Tuesday night. PHOTO BY ANDY HODGES | HITTHATLINE.COM

The Hogs were behind the Commodores when Embery-Simpson got loose when Daniel Gafford was double-teamed and he hit a 3-pointer with 14 seconds left for a 67-66 lead. Mason Jones added a pair of late free throws for the final margin after drawing a charge.

“He turned it down earlier, but he nailed the biggest one,” Mike Anderson said later.

This is now the second game in a row that Embery-Simpson has made a big difference. He scored 16 in Baton Rouge on Saturday in that win, now this.

“Whatever it takes to get the team the win,” he said later. “The shot clock was going down, and I was like, ‘Hey we’ve got to get it up.’ I was confident in shooting it. I felt it coming off my hand and was like, ‘Oh, this has got to be good.’”

Gafford got his 28 points and Isaiah Joe had 18, but it was Embery-Simpson’s shot that nailed down the game for a team that has struggled at times to hit those wide open shots.

“As soon as it left his hand, I knew it was going in,” Joe said after the game. “I had faith whoever took the shot it was going in. It just happened to be him, and I knew it was going in.”

It wasn’t over, even after Jones’ two free throws. Vanderbilt came flying down the court and Matt Ryan got what Commodores coach Bryce Drew called “a good look” at a 3-pointer, but it bounced off the rim, Jalen Harris snatched and took off the other way as the clock ran out.

“They trusted each other and that’s the growth right there,” Anderson said of Gafford’s kicking the ball out. “A lot of teams, the guy with the ball would have said, ‘I need to make the play,’ but Dan did a good job of getting through that double team because they had him sandwiched in there.”

Mason Jones on defense against Vanderbilt on Tuesday night and coach Mike Anderson said later the defense was a huge part of the 69-66 win. PHOTO BY ANDY HODGES | HITTHATLINE.COM

Arkansas was on a four-game SEC winning streak while Vandy was looking for one win after nine straight losses. Both teams ralled from 10-point deficits.

Vanderbilt led 28-18 on Aaron Nesmith’s pull-up jump shot from the lane with under four minutes left in the first half before Joe went on a 3-point scoring binge.

Joe ended a three-minute stretch for the Razorbacks without a field goal with 2:57 left in the first half and drained four 3-pointers to pull the Hogs within one, 35-34, at halftime.

Gafford, who was making just 57 percent of his free throws coming into the game, kept Arkansas in the game early by hitting 8-of-9 from the free-throw line in the first half.

“I don’t want them to have the game plan of ‘hack a Dan,’” Gafford said. “I’ve just been working real hard on my free throws because as y’all can see I haven’t been hitting consecutive free throws down the stretch.”

For the game he hit 10-of-12 and the Hogs as a team were 75 percent, which was a drastic improvement.

The Razorbacks raced to a nine-point lead midway through the second half, then saw the lead evaporate as Vanderbilt’s Joe Toye hit three 3-pointers to help the Commodores go on a 12-2 run to retake the lead.

Vanderbilt’s last lead came with under a minute left when Toye, who had 18 points, hit his fourth 3-pointer of the second half for a 66-64 lead.

It doesn’t get any easier for this team and we’ll find out how much the’ve improved. They hit the road for a game Saturday at South Carolina. It’s the first of three out of four on the road.

But for now, they are on a roll.

We’ll see how long it goes.

Joe, Gafford joined late by Embery-Simpson after rally for win

Arkansas players Isaiah Joe (18 points) and Daniel Gafford (28) were joined late in their press conference by Keyshawn Embery-Simpson, who hit a huge late shot for the lead.

Anderson on defense carrying Razorbacks in win over Vandy

Hogs’ coach Mike Anderson said after the 69-66 win over the Commodores that defense is carrying this team now, but it was Keyshawn Embery-Simpson’s big shot that made the difference.

Vanderbilt’s Drew talks about getting close in loss to Hogs

Commodores coach Bryce Drew talked with the media after the 69-66 loss to Arkansas that forced his team to come back from 10 down after they lost a 10-point lead before falling late.

???? Tuesday Halftime Pod — featuring Rivals’ Nikki Chavanelle

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Phil & Tye discuss the Arkansas vs. Vandy game, plus Nikki Chavanelle joins the pod!