Hogs can’t overcome hot-shooting Aggies on road
COLLEGE STATION, Texas — Arkansas could not overcome the hot shooting Texas Aggies on Tuesday night, as the Razorbacks fell on the road, 80-66.
The Razorbacks and Aggies traded baskets for the first four minutes of the game, as Texas A&M would hold a one-point lead.
Getting his fifth start of the season, freshman guard Darious Hall was big early for the Hogs. Hall had six of Arkansas’ first 14 points to go along with two steals.
The Razorbacks ran off a 10-0 run to take a 17-8 lead, their largest in the first half. A&M would put together a 20-4 run of their own to take a six-point lead, but Arkansas would use a 9-2 run to close the half to trail 33-32 at the break.
Arkansas’ offense ran through its defense. The Razorbacks forced 12 Aggie turnovers in the first half, scoring 15 points off of those miscues.
Arkansas also had its own mistakes though, turning the ball over nine times in the opening period. Hall tied with Daryl Macon at the half, leading the Hogs with 10 points each.
To open the second half, the Aggies got hot. Texas A&M manufactured an 24-4 run, hitting five consecutive three pointers to quickly stretch their lead to 21.
A&M hit nine of their first 10 shots coming out of the break, including seven three pointers, while Arkansas missed 11 of its first 13 shots.
After the Aggies built their largest lead of the game at 59-38, the two teams would go back and forth before Arkansas manufactured a 13-2 run, including scoring 10 straight to cut it to nine with six minutes remaining.
That is as close as Arkansas would get. The Aggies would hold on for a 80-66 win.
Macon led all scorers with 20 points on 7-of-16 shooting, going 3-of-9 from deep. Hall finished with 13 points on 6-of-6 shooting, while senior guard Jaylen Barford scored 19 of his own, going 7-of-16 from the floor.
Texas A&M went 7-of-12 (.583) from deep in the second half to run away from the Hogs, going 15-of-25 (.600) from the floor overall in the final period.
Has time come for Arkansas to play Arkansas State?
A week or so ago, a booster whose family has been donating and buying tickets for several decades approached me with a message.
It was as simple as it was surprising.
“It’s time for the Hogs to start playing Arkansas State,” he said.
To be honest, I didn’t need any convincing. I’ve been on the record for over 40 years as saying the Razorbacks should be playing the little school in Jonesboro … in ALL sports, not just football.
Frank Broyles had a simple answer that, well, really was just a BS solution to the problem that sounded politically correct and gave everybody an out.
It was Frank’s public belief that it would divide the state. He wanted the fans of the smaller college football teams to also be Razorback fans.
What he failed to grasp about, oh, the mid-1970’s was playing the smaller teams in the state wasn’t going to lose any Hog fans. I attended Central Arkansas in the mid-1970’s and it was easier on Monday mornings to find students that knew the score of the Razorback game than how the Bears did the previous Saturday.
Going to Arkansas games in Fayetteville it was not uncommon to see fellow students in attendance at those games. UCA (like some other college teams) scheduled their games around the Razorback games so fans could listen and follow THAT game before coming to the Bears’ game.
Things haven’t really changed.
Oh, the way they keep up with the Hogs has. The internet has helped that along tremendously.
In reality, less than three percent of the population of the entire state of Arkansas can squeeze into Razorback Stadium. That means 97 percent of the state is following the games on their mobile phone, television, radio or whatever.
Trust me, it’s not usual at a game between two other Arkansas schools for somebody to shout in the press box about the score with the Hogs. I’ve been there and seen it.
Playing other colleges in Arkansas isn’t going to affect the fan base one bit.
The UA has a problem in Little Rock and some new expansion in Fayetteville that may or may not cause some interesting financial situations. Only time will tell on the latter.
But the Little Rock problem could be solved by playing Arkansas State there. I’ll be honest, I’ve bounced back and forth between playing them in Little Rock or Fayetteville, but War Memorial probably makes more sense.
Give ASU 10,000 tickets to the game and no guarantee. That’s it, pure and simple.
Sorry, but splitting the stadium and giving ASU half isn’t fair. Now that would likely be a cheaper solution for the UA than paying some ridiculous guarantee to a Sun Belt team to come to Little Rock for a game.
And if ASU wants to come to Fayetteville every year they get a guarantee and the same number of tickets any other visiting team gets.
It would be a wise move for the state to rotate between UCA and UAPB every year, too. Play that game in Fayetteville. They get a guarantee, the money stays within the state of Arkansas and everybody benefits.
But if the argument is the Hogs will lose fans or support by playing those teams, then that’s simply a BS argument. This doesn’t cost Arkansas in recruiting, but could benefit other in-state teams. If a high school senior isn’t good enough to play for the Hogs at least he could play against them.
Why?
If they do, then there are bigger problems.
Igbokwe named SEC’s top runner of week after big weekend
BIRMINGHAM — Fresh off taking over as the world leader in the 400-meter dash this past weekend at the Razorback Invitational, Arkansas junior Obi Igbokwe has been named the Southeastern Conference Runner of the Week, announced Tuesday afternoon by the league office.
It is Igbokwe’s second honor of the season, having earned the recognition two weeks prior for his efforts in the 200-meter dash at the Arkansas Invitational.
Sprints Specialist
Matched up against two 2017 national indoor championships finalists in Florida’s Kunle Fasasi and Texas A&M’s Mylik Kerley, Igbokwe executed his race as instructed by Razorbacks assistant coach Doug Case, beating his competitors to the break.
He maintained his speed through the third turn before changing his gears over the final 100 meters to distance himself from his league rivals and cross the finish line in first place.
His 45.72-second performance tops the NCAA and world leader boards and ties him with former Arkansas quarter-miler great Marqueze Washington at No. 2 in program history.
Through three weeks of competition Igbokwe sits at No. 1 in the 400 and No. 5 in the 200 among NCAA sprinters.
Following a break competition this weekend Igbokwe and his teammates will resume competition Feb. 9-10 as Arkansas hosts the Tyson Invitational.
Foundation, Bielema reach agreement on buyout
Former head coach Bret Bielema will be getting over $320,000 a month through 2020 to NOT coach the Razorbacks.
Bielema’s buyout with Arkansas has been finalized at $11.935 million, according to an announcement from the Razorback Foundation on Tuesday.
The agreement comes more than two months after Bielema was fired following a season-ending loss to Missouri and after several more months of confusion over the amount he would be due if fired for convenience.
Bielema will receive the buyout in monthly payments of $320,833.33 through Dec. 31, 2020, but that amount can be reduced if he is hired by another school or finds another job. The agreement requires Bielema “to diligently seek and to obtain other employment.”
“We are appreciative of the way Coach Bielema and his representatives at NC Sports, Neil Cornrich and Jonathan Hurst, cooperated in developing the necessary mechanism to implement the monthly guaranty payments while reducing them based upon other sources of income Coach Bielema earns in the future,” Razorback Foundation executive director Scott Varady said in a statement. “Both parties worked in good faith to complete this agreement.”
The buyout was originally reported to be $15.4 million, but the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reported during the season that it could be closer to $6 million based on language in his contract.
There was no official statement from the UA or Razorback Foundation about the buyout until Tuesday’s press release.
“I wish Razorback Athletics and the Razorback Foundation continued success in the years ahead,” Bielema said in a statement. “I also want to express my gratitude to all the passionate Razorback fans I had the pleasure to meet at Razorback Clubs in Arkansas, Texas, and Oklahoma during my tenure as head football coach. Having completed this agreement, I am pleased to move forward in my career and am excited about the future.”
Bielema compiled a 29-34 overall record, including an 11-29 mark in SEC play, during his five-year tenure with the Razorbacks.
SI.com story updates on Bielema job prospects
Considering his name didn’t pop up in any of the coaching carousel this time around, you got the idea Bret Bielema either isn’t working too hard to find another gig or just wasn’t that desirable.
Sports Illustrated was obviously wondering the same thing when Andy Staples did a story on what Arkansas’ former coach is up to these days.
As it turns out, he’s not doing a whole lot.
“I had a morning last week where I had to drop the dogs off to get groomed, pick up a UPS package, make a stop at the pharmacist to pick up a prescription for my daughter and pick the dogs back up,” said Bielema, who became a dad for the first time in July and who was fired in November after five seasons at Arkansas. “I said ‘I need to get back into coaching pretty quick. This is getting to be too much.’”
According to the story, Bielema has been offered assistant coaching jobs in the NFL and television analyst positions.
It doesn’t appear he’s that anxious to get back into the college game, though, as the growing social media trend is something he’s not really that fond of.
Bielema said “about a half dozen” NFL teams have reached out to him about coaching at that level next season. He’s thinking about it, too. He realizes he wouldn’t be able to walk into a head coaching job, but he’s intrigued by the idea of coaching the best players without dealing with some of the more annoying aspects of recruiting. “I don’t mind Twitter,” Bielema said. “But when a kid makes a decision based on how many Twitter followers he gets, that’s when I’m about ready to tap out.”
In the article, he does lament that he made mistakes with the Razorbacks, particularly in understanding the depth necessary to compete for championships in the SEC.
He admitted in the story he didn’t do enough homework. It was obvious halfway through his first season to some that he was completely out of his element in Arkansas and the SEC.
After getting a ridiculous new contract from former athletics director Jeff Long after a 7-6 season his second year that featured a ridiculously high buyout, he thought he had more time than he obviously had.
“I just wish I’d had a little bit more time, but the powers that be made that decision,” he said in the story.
He also realized he’d put on a little weight in his time at Arkansas and claims to be working on that, too.
“In the morning, I start off with one grapefruit. I’ve had 14 days of that now,” he said in the story. “I loved grapefruit 14 days ago. I don’t know about that now.”
Cosper scores 17, but Kentucky rolls over Razorbacks
FAYETTEIVLLE — Devin Cosper scored 17 points on Monday night, but Arkansas fell, 76-65, to Kentucky in Southeastern Conference action in Bud Walton Arena.
The game was even in the opening minutes, with Kentucky up one, 13-12, at the 5:08 mark of the first frame.
The Wildcats moved into a zone defense and finished the first quarter on 6-2 run. They extended the margin with a double-digit scoring run in the second quarter to lead by 17 at the half.
The Razorbacks (11-11, 2-7 SEC) struggled with several long scoring lapses and never seemed to get in sync offensively. The Wildcats (11-11, 3-5 SEC) shot better than 50% for the first half opening a big lead that Arkansas was unable to overcome.
Jailyn Mason and Malica Monk also scored in double figures. Mason had 13 points and three rebounds while Monk added 11 points and six assists for Arkansas
The Razorbacks made four more 3-point field goals (9-5) than the Wildcats and the rebounds were nearly even with Kentucky finishing with a 35-33 advantage.
Notes
• Malica Monk scored 11 points, scoring in double figures for the 21st time in 22 games this season.
• Devin Cosper led the team in scoring with 17 points. It is Cosper’s 16th double-digit points game and it is the sixth time she has paced the team this year.
• Jailyn Mason added 13 points, scoring in double figures for the 14th time this year.
• Malica Monk dished out six assists. It is the seventh game of the year she has had five or more assists and it is the 14th game of her career with five or more assists.
Up Next
Arkansas plays four of its final seven games in Bud Walton Arena.
The Razorbacks also host No. 10 Tennessee, No. 11 Missouri, LSU and No. 15 Texas A&M.
Arkansas sprinkles in road trips to Alabama, Kentucky and Vanderbilt before the SEC Tournament.
Spring football practice starts March 1 for Hogs
Arkansas will start spring practice under new coach Chad Morris on March 1 and will practice at least once after the April 7 Red-White game.
The Razorbacks released practice dates Monday via its football recruiting website. The spring football calendar featured 14 practice dates, leaving one open practice open to reach the allowable 15 workouts during the period.
The Twitter post with the spring schedule featured a line saying that all practices will be open to high school coaches and prospects and extending an invitation to them.
The scheduled practice days are March 1, 3, 6, 8, 10, 12 and 14 prior to the UA’s spring break, then on March 26, 28, 29 and April 3 and 5 prior to the Red-White game on April 7 at 1 p.m. at War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock.
The final practice day is scheduled for April 9, two days after the Red-White game, which is not ordinary, but nobody said you have to hold a spring game on the final day of practice.
Hogs set to have 11 games on national television
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Arkansas will make at least 11 national television appearances on an ESPN affiliated network in 2018, the league office announced Monday.
Now in its fourth full year of covering the Southeastern Conference, the SEC Network will feature the Razorbacks for eight of its 11 television games with ESPN2 picking up the remaining three. There will be a potential for more nationally televised games as the season progresses.
Nearly 100 SEC baseball games are slated to air across ESPN networks, including 76 on the SEC Network beginning on March 13, the opening week of conference play.
The schedule finishes the year with the SEC Network airing the entirety of the SEC Baseball Tournament, with the championship game on ESPN2.
The first chance fans will have to watch the Razorbacks on network television will be on Tuesday, March 13, when they face former Southwest Conference rival Texas at Baum Stadium at 7 p.m.
The Razorback-Longhorn matchup will be the first SEC baseball game televised nationally for the 2018 season.
Later that weekend, Arkansas will host the eighth-ranked Kentucky Wildcats for a three-game set starting on Friday, March 16 at 6:30 p.m.
Game one between the Hogs and Wildcats is part of the SEC Network’s four-hour Bases Loaded special.
The show will feature a live compilation of seven games — all 14 teams — taking place that evening across the conference.
Every Bases Loaded game will also be available in its entirety, streaming live via SEC Network+ on Watch ESPN and the ESPN app.
The SEC will continue its Thursday Night Baseball tradition throughout the season on ESPNU and the SEC Network, featuring a preseason Top 25 team nearly every week of the regular season.
After the opening night of conference play, Arkansas will have six more home games televised nationally throughout the season including games against Auburn (April 8), South Carolina (April 12), Texas Tech (April 25), and the entire Texas A&M series (May 11-13).
2018 Arkansas Baseball Television Schedule
| Date | Time (CT) | Game | Network |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tues, March 13 | 7 p.m. | Texas at Arkansas | SEC Network |
| Fri, March 16 | 6:30 p.m. | Kentucky at Arkansas | SECN+ (Bases Loaded) |
| Sat, March 24 | 11 a.m. | Arkansas at Florida | ESPN2 |
| Sun, March 25 | 11 a.m. | Arkansas at Florida | SEC Network |
| Sun, April 8 | 4 p.m. | Auburn at Arkansas | SEC Network |
| Thurs, April 12 | 6 p.m. | South Carolina at Arkansas | SEC Network |
| Wed, April 25 | 6 p.m. | Texas Tech at Arkansas | SEC Network |
| Sat, May 5 | 7 p.m. | Arkansas at LSU | SEC Network |
| Fri, May 11 | 6 p.m. | Texas A&M at Arkansas | SEC Network |
| Sat, May 12 | 1 p.m. | Texas A&M at Arkansas | ESPN2 |
| Sun, May 13 | Noon | Texas A&M at Arkansas | ESPN2 |
