Barford, Macon lead Hogs to double-overtime victory
FAYETTEVILLE — Senior guard duo Jaylen Barford and Daryl Macon led Arkansas over Georgia, 80-77, in a double-overtime thriller for the Hogs’ first road win of the season on Tuesday.
In a game that saw 17 lead changes, all in the second half and overtime, Arkansas found itself down by as many as 16 early.
Going against the best scoring defense in the SEC, Arkansas struggled early to find any offense.
The Hogs got behind the Bulldogs 29-13, before the Razorbacks found their groove, using defense to create offense, going on an 15-2 run to cut the Georgia lead to three.
Senior forward Dustin Thomas came off the bench for Arkansas, after not playing in the last game, becoming an immediate spark on both ends of the floor, scoring six of the next eight points for the Razorbacks.
After forcing just two turnovers in the first 14-plus minutes of the game, Arkansas forced four in the last five and half minutes of the half, scoring five points off of Georgia miscues to spark its run.
Making 11 of its first 22 shot attempts, Georgia missed six of its last seven in the half, as Arkansas extended its defense, creating some havoc for the Bulldogs.
A big reason for Arkansas’ comeback was senior guard Jaylen Barford, who had a game-high 10 at the break.
Barford and the Razorbacks would continue their hot shooting to open the second half, as the Razorbacks hit five of their first six attempts, including Barford who hit his first three baskets to give him 18 points and Arkansas its first lead of the game at 40-39.
Opening the game going just 3-of-17 from the field, Arkansas would make 20 of its next 26 attempts, thanks in large part to the Razorbacks creating easy shots.
Arkansas would build its largest lead of the game at 56-50 with 7:45 left. Georgia would go on an 11-2 run over the next five minutes to regain the lead at 61-58.
As Barford helped the Hogs climb out of the 16-point hole, Daryl Macon helped the Hogs over the Bulldogs.
Down three with the shot clock running down, senior guard Anton Beard found Macon for a clutch three to tie the game back at 61-61.
Arkansas and Georgia would head to overtime tied at 63-63. Three of the last four meetings in Athens have went to extra time.
Tied at 66 in the first extra frame, Macon hit another big three to give Arkansas the three-point advantage. Georgia would go down the floor and respond, eventually tying the contest at 69-69, where it would go to double overtime.
In double overtime, Macon’s hot hand would continue. Down one, he would nail a deep three to give the Razorbacks the two-point lead. In the two overtimes combined, Macon scored 16 of Arkansas’ 17 points, hitting each of his last three three-point attempts.
Down one, Georgia would have one last chance.
Georgia would turnover the ball over for the 17th and final time, as the Bulldogs would foul Macon. The clutch shooter hit the final two free throws to hold off the Bulldogs 80-77. Going a perfect 6-of-6 from the free throw line, including 4-for-4 in overtime. Macon is now a perfect 19-of-19 from the free throw line in the last minute of regulation and overtime of games this season. In his career, he is 49-of-53 (.924).
Macon would finish with a team-high 25 points, all coming in the second half and overtime, going 7-of-14 from the field and 5-of-10 from behind the arc. Barford finished just behind Macon with 24 points, shooting 10-of-20 from the field, hitting three three’s. It marks the fourth time this season two Razorbacks scored 20 or more; all four times were by Macon and Barford, including each of the last two outings.
Game Notes
• The win give Arkansas its first road win of the season and the fourth victory away from Bud Walton Arena this year.
• It is the sixth victory in Stegeman Coliseum, including the second win in the last three trips to Athens.
• Mike Anderson is 8-3 all-time against Georgia as a head coach.
• Arkansas is 9-1 in its last 10 contests decided by one possession, the best mark since the 1994-95 season.
• In games decided by four points or less, Arkansas has won 11 of the last 12, including a 6-1 mark away from Bud Walton Arena.
• In the final minute and overtime of games this season, Daryl Macon is a perfect 19-of-19 from the free throw line. In his career, he is 49-of-53 (.924).
• During the last four seasons, Arkansas has the second-most wins in the SEC with 38.
Team effort lifts Razorbacks past Tulsa in season opener
FAYETTEVILLE — No. 18 Arkansas defeated Tulsa 4-3 on Tuesday in its season opener at George M. Billingsley Tennis Center.
The Razorbacks won the doubles point, highlighted by a 7-5 comeback win from its 57th-ranked duo of senior Mia Jurasic and junior Ana Oparenovic, and posted singles victories at the No. 4, 5 and 6 spots.
“That was probably the best season opener I can remember,” coach Michael Hegarty said. “Tulsa seems to be better every year we face them. It was such a total team effort today, and I appreciate everyone who came out to support us. It was a great atmosphere.”
In doubles, Tulsa struck first with a 6-2 win at No. 3, before Arkansas’ 25th-ranked pair of senior Leolia Jeanjean and sophomore Giulia Pairone responded with a 6-3 victory at the top spot.
With all eyes at the No. 2 position, Oparenovic and Jurasic fought off match point at 40-40 to win the first of six straight games and the match 7-5.
Tulsa tied the overall score 1-1 in singles, behind a 6-1, 6-2 win at No. 2 from No. 122 Martina Okalova.
Pairone reclaimed the lead for the Razorbacks, topping Tulsa’s Tamara Kupkova 6-1, 6-2 at No. 4.
Sophomore Natsuho Arakawa’s three-set victory at No. 5 put the Razorbacks up 3-1. Arakawa overcame a first-set setback to defeat Tulsa’s Vera Ploner 3-6, 6-4, 6-1.
The Golden Hurricane picked up a three-set win from the No. 1 spot to cut the deficit to 3-2.
Freshman Tatum Rice capped her first collegiate dual match with a 6-4, 3-6, 6-2 clincher against Tulsa’s Alexandrina Chinikova at No. 6.
Following the clinch, Tulsa’s Martha Matoula won a tough three setter 7-5, 3-6, 10-7 at No. 3 to close out scoring.
Up Next
Arkansas will return to action this weekend with a trip to Columbus, Ohio, for the Intercollegiate Tennis Association Division I Kick-Off Weekend, which takes place at 15 campus sites. The Razorbacks will compete against Wake Forest at noon CT Friday and either No. 13 Ohio State or Kansas at a time to be determined Saturday.
No. 18 Arkansas 4, Tulsa 3
Singles Competition
1. Ksenia Laskutova (TU) def. No. 67 Leolia Jeanjean (AR) 1-6, 6-2, 6-3
2. No. 122 Martina Okalova (TU) def. Ana Oparenovic (AR) 6-1, 6-2
3. Martha Matoula (TU) def. Mia Jurasic (AR) 7-5, 3-6, 10-7
4. Giulia Pairone (AR) def. Tamara Kupkova (TU) 6-1, 6-2
5. Natsuho Arakawa (AR) def. Vera Ploner (TU) 3-6, 6-4, 6-1
6. Tatum Rice (AR) def. A. Chinikova (TU) 6-4, 3-6, 6-2
Doubles Competition
1. No. 25 Giulia Pairone/Leolia Jeanjean (AR) def. Ksenia Laskutova/Martha Matoula (TU) 6-3
2. No. 57 Mia Jurasic/Ana Oparenovic (AR) def. Martina Okalova/Vera Ploner (TU) 7-5
3. Tamara Kupkova/Shura Poppe (TU) def. Natsuho Arakawa/Tatum Rice (AR) 6-2
Match Notes:
Tulsa 4-1 (0-0 AAC)
Arkansas 1-0 (0-0 SEC); National ranking #18
Order of finish: Doubles (3,1,2); Singles (2,4,5,1,6,3)
T-2:45; A-203
Neighbors knows Gamecocks offer big challenge
Arkansas coach Mike Neighbors isn’t offering false hope in the Razorbacks’ game Thursday against the defending champions.
Weekly conference diving honors continue for Schultz
FAYETTEVILLE — For the seventh time this season, freshman diver Brooke Schultz has earned a weekly honor from the Southeastern Conference, being named SEC Female Diver of the Week for the sixth time on Tuesday.
Over the weekend at Houston, Schultz claimed the one-meter and the three-meter titles against the Cougars. On the one-meter, Schultz outscored the field by 15.82 points, winning with a score of 326.70. On the 3m, Schultz broke her own school record for the fourth time this season, scoring a 384.53 and outscoring her opponents by 58.58 points.
Of her 20 six-dive efforts this season, Schultz has 17 first-place showings, having never finished outside the top three.
In dual meets this season, Schultz has yet to finish off the top of the podium, recording 12 first-place performances. She also holds the top scores in the conference on both dives.
Records Broke This Season
Arkansas school record – 1m (twice – 369.90) and 3m (four times – 384.53)
Arkansas pool record – 1m (369.90) and 3m (366.38)
UCLA pool record – 3m (345.20)
Arkansas returns to the pool this Friday, as the Razorbacks travel to Lawrence, Kansas, for their regular-season finale against the Jayhawks.
Razorbacks picked ninth in league in preseason poll
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — In one of the deepest men’s tennis conferences in the country, Arkansas was selected ninth in the SEC coaches’ preseason poll Tuesday.
Texas A&M was selected first by the league coaches, ahead of Florida and Georgia, who tied for second. Arkansas travels to Athens, Georgia, this weekend with the chance of playing the Bulldogs for the first of two times this season in the ITA Kickoff Weekend.
The preseason poll is voted on by the men’s tennis head coach at each institution and is based on a 13-12-11-10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 vote.
So far this season, Arkansas is 1-2, with two losses to top-20 programs in No. 15 Oklahoma State and No. 18 Oklahoma. To open the season, the Razorbacks defeated the Tulsa Golden Hurricane 5-2.
Prior to head coach Andy Jackson taking over the Razorback program in 2014, Arkansas had finished .500 or better in league play twice — in 1992 (6-5) and 2006 (6-5).
After spending the first two years in Fayetteville near the bottom of the conference, finishing 12th and 13th, respectively, Jackson has turned the Razorback program around, recording two of best conference records in school history each of the last two seasons.
A season ago, the Razorbacks finished tied for sixth in the league with a 6-6 conference record, after being selected to finish fifth in the preseason.
In 2016, the Razorbacks recorded their best finish since joining the SEC with a 7-5 record in conference play, finishing tied for fourth.
Five SEC teams are currently ranked in the top-20 of the Oracle/ITA Rankings. Arkansas plays host to two of the top-three ranked teams in the league, hosting No. 4 Georgia and No. 7 Texas A&M.
The Razorbacks will travel to three of the top-five ranked programs in the conference, going to No. 9 Florida, No. 14 Mississippi State and No. 20 South Carolina.
Preseason Poll
1. Texas A&M 157
T2. Florida 153
T2. Georgia 153
4. Mississippi State 132
5. South Carolina 108
6. Kentucky 99
7. Ole Miss 82
8. Vanderbilt 72
9. Arkansas 66
10. Tennessee 53
11. Alabama 52
12. Auburn 29
13. LSU 21
Hogs get third Top 5 ranking from Baseball America
FAYETTEVILLE — With just under a month until first pitch, Arkansas found itself with another preseason top-five ranking.
The Razorbacks will start 2018 at No. 4 according to Baseball America, which released its first national poll of the year this morning.
With Baseball America as the newest of the six polls to release its preseason rankings, Arkansas is ranked No. 6 by Perfect Game, No. 4 by D1Baseball.com, and No. 3 by Collegiate Baseball, its highest preseason ranking since 2013.
Three of the top-10 teams from the Baseball America poll will be coming to Baum Stadium including No. 5 Texas Tech (April 24-25), No. 8 Kentucky (March 16-18), and No. 10 Texas A&M (May 11-13).
Arkansas will also go on the road to face unanimous No. 1 Florida (March 23-25), as well as No. 16 Ole Miss (March 29-31), No. 17 LSU (May 4-6), and No. 23 Mississippi State (April 20-22).
Arkansas is scheduled to open the 2018 season against Bucknell on Friday, Feb. 16 with first pitch at 3 p.m. at Baum Stadium.
2018 Opponents In The Rankings
| Team | D1Baseball.com | Perfect Game | Collegiate Baseball | Baseball America |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Florida | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Arkansas | 4 | 6 | 3 | 4 |
| Texas Tech* | 3 | 4 | 5 | 4 |
| Kentucky* | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 |
| LSU | 16 | 12 | 10 | 17 |
| Ole Miss | 9 | 11 | — | 16 |
| Texas A&M* | 10 | 15 | — | 10 |
| Mississippi St. | 12 | 25 | 13 | 23 |
| Texas* | 21 | 23 | — | 14 |
| South Carolina* | — | — | 19 | — |
| Missouri St.* | — | — | 22 | — |
Offensive lineman Heinrich retires due to back injury
Arkansas offensive lineman Jake Heinrich has accepted a medical exemption and will retire from football, he announced Monday.
The former four-star recruit from Urbandale (Iowa) was a member of Arkansas’ 2016 signing class, but did not appear in a game during his two years with the Razorbacks. He redshirted his first year and never cracked the depth chart this past season.
“My time as a football player here in Fayetteville has gone about exactly the opposite of what I imagined it would and I was hoping to right that with a new off-season upon us,” Heinrich wrote in a statement on Twitter. “Unfortunately, after rupturing multiple intervertebral discs in the last few months along and having my spine deteriorated to the point of a senior citizen, according to various doctors, it simply makes sense to accept this new reality for the sake of my long-term health and quality of life.”
Heinrich will get his bachelor’s degree this semester and remain at Arkansas for two more years to go through graduate school. He said former head coach Bret Bielema first approached him about the medical exemption a couple of months ago and that new head coach Chad Morris approved it “with no questions asked.”
— Jake Heinrich (@JAKEHEINRICH1) January 22, 2018
Morris, staff recruiting approach getting attention
Arkansas isn’t going to climb very high into the recruiting rankings this year.
What many fans don’t believe (or refuse to) is they weren’t going to be that high regardless of what coaching staff came in.
Without running off a bunch of players there simply weren’t going to be enough numbers to shoot the Razorbacks into the Top 10.
The guys in Fayetteville who do a great job following all the recruiting stuff have said in a year with normal recruiting numbers (20-25), the Hogs would be ranked in the Top 20 based on the quality they are getting.
Let’s face it, Bret Bielema and the previous staff didn’t run off a lot of players. That wasn’t their style. At Alabama and other places across the league it is not unusual for players to be “encouraged” to transfer if they don’t meet expectations. The coaches actually help them find places more suited for them to contribute more.
Bielema and his staff didn’t do much of that. Whether that was right or not is more for each individual to decide. One way or the other isn’t for everyone.
But what Chad Morris and his staff are doing is drawing attention, both from recruits and others across the league.
For starters, the guess here is their style of play fits more quality players. Let’s face it, there aren’t a lot of high school football teams that still huddle, much less anything else Bielema’s offense did.
On defense, new coordinator John Chavis’ style is more aggressive, which is going to give Hog fans something completely new to look at.
It’s already paying off with four commitments after the first weekend of official recruiting visits. Players committed to other schools flipped to Arkansas, which happens every year. The Hogs have flipped two players from Mississippi State and the players they are getting have been offered by other SEC and Power 5 schools.
That is progress. I doubt Arkansas will ever be a consistent challenger for No. 1 in recruiting, but early appearances are this staff is going to be signing players regardless of their position.
If nothing else, this staff is all over Twitter constantly as they appear to be working the recruiting angle almost constantly.
And that is the biggest positive change. Others are noticing, too.
“This is the hardest I’ve seen an Arkansas staff recruit in years,” was how one former SEC coach summed it up.
Don’t start comparing this staff to what you’ve seen in Razorback recruiting the past 10 years. The impression I always got was they viewed chasing high school youngsters as a necessary evil and viewed it the way NFL teams view the draft.
The results speak loudly. Like a run-of-the-mill NFL team when they caught some breaks, avoided a ton of injuries and the schedule was favorable, well, they had a good record (2010 and 2011).
When all of that went the other way they didn’t.
By all appearances and having covered other teams in the SEC, this staff is taking more of the approach of teams that are at the top of the standings every year.
Getting consistently into the Top 10 every single year in recruiting might be a stretch to expect. That’s why the approach this staff has in schemes, etc., is going to make a big difference.
And I don’t think it’s going to take as long as some do.










