Cosper’s double-double not enough against Tide
FAYETTEVILLE — Devin Cosper collected her seventh career double-double against Alabama on Sunday, but it wasn’t enough.
The Crimson Tide led most of the way and hit free throws for an 83-76 win Sunday at Bud Walton Arena.
Arkansas trailed for much of the game and was down three points, 32-29, at the half
They rallied with a big third quarter outscoring Bama, 26-18, to lead 55-50 at the end of the frame.
Cosper dropped in 24 points and grabbed 13 rebounds, going 12-for-12 from the line but it was enough as Arkansas (10-6, 1-2 SEC) dropped a second straight SEC game. The Crimson Tide improved to 12-4, 2-1 SEC.
Alabama turned up the offensive intensity and got to the line, going 20-for-25 from the bonus stripe to come from behind in the final frame.
In addition to Cosper, Arkansas got double figures from Malica Monk with 21 points and Jailyn Mason with 12 points.
Notes
• Cosper was in double figures in the first half with 10 points in the first 20 minutes.
• Cosper scored 24 points … her sixth career 20+ point game.
• Cosper had a career-best 12-for-12 night from the line.
• Malica Monk finished with 21 points … her 14th game in double figures this year and her seventh game with 20+ points.
• Jailyn Mason scored 12 points … her ninth double figure scoring game of the year and her third consecutive.
Up Next
Arkansas plays four of its next five games on the road. The Razorbacks have back-to-back SEC road contests at Georgia (Jan. 11) and at Auburn (Jan. 14). They host Florida ((Jan. 18) and again go back-to-back with games at Missouri (Jan. 21) and at South Carolina (Jan 25).
Neighbors, Cosper after Razorbacks drop one to Tide
Arkansas coach Mike Neighbors and Devin Cosper talked about the close loss to Alabama on Sunday afternoon.
Alabama coach talks about road win over Hogs
Alabama coach Kristy Curry talked with the media after the Crimson Tide’s 83-76 win over Arkansas on Sunday afternoon.
KNWA VIDEO: Anderson on ‘disappointing loss’
VIDEO COURTESY OF KNWA
Arkansas coach Mike Anderson talks about the “disappointing loss” to Auburn on the road Saturday.
Hogs’ attempted comeback falls short at Auburn
AUBURN, Ala. — After a slow start on the road Saturday, Arkansas fell to the Auburn Tigers 88-77, after its second-half comeback fell short.
Down by as many as 21, Arkansas used a 19-5 run midway through the second half to cut the Auburn lead to seven. That was as close as Arkansas would get.
Auburn hit its first shot from deep to start the game and continued to roll from there. The Tigers sank their four shot attempts of the contest to take a 10-2 lead and later expanded it to as many as 16.
Arkansas clawed back to 11, prior to Auburn closing the half on a 6-0 run to take their largest lead at that point of the game to the break, up 47-30.
Arkansas shot well from inside the arc, but was not very successful from beyond. The Razorbacks shot just 1-of-9 (.111) from deep in the opening period compared to 12-of-22 (.545) from inside the arc.
On the other hand, Auburn shot 7-of-13 (.538) from three and 12-of-23 (.522) from inside the arc.
The Hogs only made three in the first half came from senior guard Anton Beard, who led Arkansas at the break with nine points on 4-of-8 shooting.
Arkansas came out the locker room on a 4-0 run to cut the Auburn lead to 13.
The Tigers would stretch it back to 17, before senior guard Jaylen Barford would take over for Arkansas. Barford would score seven of Arkansas’ next nine points to chip the deficit to 11.
Arkansas would use a 14-2 run to cut the Auburn lead to seven, but that is as close as the Razorbacks would get.
Barford led the Razorbacks with 21 points, his sixth 20-point effort of the season. Barford has 11 career 20-point games, eight coming away from home.
One of the bright spots for Arkansas was its ability to rebound against one of the best rebounding teams in the country. Arkansas out-rebounded the Tigers 35-30, including 9-5 on the offensive end.
Beard finished the game with 11 points, while senior guard Daryl Macon scrapped together 10 of his own, scoring eight in the second half.
The Razorbacks return home on Wednesday, as Arkansas hosts the LSU Tigers (10-4, 1-1) for an 8 p.m. tip on SEC Network.
Could LSU pull trigger on hiring Freeze as OC?
LSU finally split up with offensive coordinator Matt Canada this past week and mum has been the word out of Baton Rouge since.
Much of the speculation is that Ed Orgeron would take the easy out and just move Steve Ensminger up, but that’s not giving it too much thought.
I won’t be surprised if he hires former Ole Miss coach Hugh Freeze.
Shocked? Don’t be.
When Orgeron was hired one of his first comments when asked about his offensive direction was that he would go to some sort of spread. That didn’t happen.
Canada is a pro-style guy with a lot of pre-snap movement, motion and alignments, but it was all out of a pro system.
In no universe did it ever resemble much of anything that was anything near a spread.
Before you have the same knee-jerk reaction a lot of people do and talk about his NCAA issues at Ole Miss, remember this: He basically was cleared of everything except not keeping a close enough handle on a couple of boosters.
After five years of investigating all the NCAA came up with was that. Because they spent five years in Oxford, they gave him a two-game conference suspension if — and only if — he is the head coach of a school in 2018.
There was no show-cause penalty for Freeze. In fact, the NCAA in the final order against Ole Miss said Freeze did just about everything he could in managing the situation with the exception of the actions of a couple of boosters.
In other words, there is no NCAA issue with Freeze being an offensive coordinator at LSU.
Freeze is available and started a public relations campaign last week, appearing for a very open, honest and intense interview with Clay Travis of Outkick The Show.
Don’t think it can’t happen. Orgeron gave Freeze his first job at the SEC level when he was coaching at Ole Miss and the two have remained fairly close since then.
When Orgeron replaced Les Miles at LSU, Freeze gushed at his weekly press conference about Orgeron. The week before the two played in 2016 was full of praise for each other.
When all of Freeze’s problems surfaced publicly about calling escort services on his university cell phone (the matter had already been known with Freeze’s family and close friends), Orgeron reached out to him, along with Nick Saban, Gus Malzahn, Bret Bielema and many other coaches.
The reason Freeze didn’t have a job at the start of last season was the fact the NCAA was so slow in releasing the final order against the Rebels.
Now that they cleared Freeze, the fact he called some escort services on a school phone isn’t going to stop many folks from hiring him, I don’t care what anybody says.
It shouldn’t be a surprise if Orgeron brings him in as offensive coordinator at LSU and completely turns the offense over to him. He has said repeatedly he should have done that when Orgeron was at Ole Miss.
And if it happens, every other team in the SEC West should be worried.
While Freeze has had issues, scoring points and moving the ball aren’t among them.
It’s kinda scary to imagine his offense with all that talent and a defense like Dave Aranda usually has.
Which is why Arkansas fans should be hoping they promote Ensminger.
Why Kirby just isn’t smart enough yet to beat Nick
Everyone loves to see the pupil beat the teacher, mainly because it doesn’t happen that often.
Georgia fans are hoping Kirby Smart learned enough to win the National Championship Game on Monday night, even though the Bulldogs are a 3½-4½-point underdog in Las Vegas.
The odds are, though, it will be another Alabama championship.
If Georgia was playing anybody else they would be the favorite, I think. They probably should be. I didn’t think they’d beat Oklahoma, but I over-estimated the Sooners’ defensive ability by about 10 points.
Kirby’s biggest problem is Nick Saban. He might not be smart enough to outfox the old man.
“They don’t make ’em like they used to,” was how Saban answered the question about being run over by his quarterback Jalen Hurts against Clemson on Monday night.
That applies to much more than that.
Saban has never lost to a former assistant. He’s 11-0 against his former employees.
He taught every single one of them a lot of what THEY know about coaching football … maybe everything they know.
But it’s a guaranteed fact he hasn’t taught them everything HE knows.
That is why this game is intriguing. Both teams like to run the ball, so there will be the inevitable predictions about the team that runs the ball best will likely win.
No, this game is going to come down to which team can hit the biggest downfield plays.
Hurts is going to have to be better passing the ball for the Crimson Tide to win.
And Jake Fromm is going to have to excel against a defense unlike anything he’s seen before. With defensive coordinator Jeremy Pruitt already accepting the job as Tennessee’s new head coach, it’s a safe bet Saban has been involved in the game planning.
Plus, you can bet he’s used some of his consultants to help on this game.
Oh, yes, Saban has long used consultants nobody knows about on his game plans and other things. That is where new things get introduced nobody saw coming.
Everyone is talking about the two defenses in this game, which is understandable when you have the first (Alabama) and fifth (Georgia) best defenses in all of college football in points allowed.
By the numbers, this shouldn’t be a high-scoring game.
But I’m not going to be surprised if it doesn’t get lopsided … in favor of the Crimson Tide.
Oh, they won’t run away with it early. It likely will more closely resemble the Tide’s win over Clemson than the Bulldogs’ double-overtime win over Oklahoma. Remember, Clemson’s defense came into that game third in the nation giving up points.
Alabama knows how to win these games.
And while Kirby learned an awful lot about these games as an assistant for Nick, there’s probably a couple of gaps.
Because you can bet Nick didn’t tech Kirby everything NICK knows.
Which will be the difference.
Fassi wins Mexican Amateur for third time in four years
GUADALAJARA, Mexico — Arkansas junior Maria Fassi played to a 10-shot win at the Campeonato Nacional de Aficionadas 2018 in Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico, on Sunday.
Fassi dominated the four-day event shooting nine-under with scores of 66-71-76-66=279, at the Guadalajara Country Club. It is Fassi’s third title in four years at this event.
Fassi had a solid fall helping the Razorbacks to a No. 3 final ranking after the first semester of the season. She is currently ranked No. 25 by the World Amateur Golf Ranking and is the No. 4 amateur player according to Golfweek.com.
Razorback teammate Dylan Kim finished tied for fourth shooting 75-74-74-72=295 and Cara Gorlei was 27th shooting 83-77-79-73=312 at the event.
The Razorbacks won three of four fall events with Fassi leading the team with wins at the Mason Rudolph Classic and the ANNIKA Intercollegiate. She has a 69.00 season stroke average through four events.
Hogs hoping to end Auburn’s winning streak
FAYETTEVILLE — Arkansas (11-3, 1-1) looks to get back in the win column Saturday, going to Auburn to face the Tigers, who are riding an SEC-best 11-game winning streak.
The Rundown
Opponent: Auburn Tigers (13-1, 1-0)
Date: Saturday, Jan. 6
Site: Auburn Arena (Auburn, Ala.)
Tip-off: 5 p.m. CT
TV: ESPNU | WatchESPN
Live Stats: Click Here
SiriusXM Radio: 113/191
The #Fastest40 Facts
• Arkansas debuted in the AP Top 25 Poll on Monday for the first time since March 2015, checking in at No. 22.
• The Razorbacks are 7-1 against Auburn under Coach Anderson, including a 4-0 mark in Auburn Arena.
• Daryl Macon was named SEC Player of the Week on Monday, joining current assistant coach Scotty Thurman as the only Razorback players to ever earn the award twice in a three-week span.
• Dating back to 2015-16, Arkansas is 8-4 in its last 12 SEC road games, including a 6-3 mark last season.
• Following Tuesday’s loss in Starkville, Arkansas’ RPI fell from No. 4 to No. 9 according to the NCAA, while its strength of schedule went from No. 16 to No. 10.
• The Razorbacks posted two AP top-20 wins in a five-game span with wins over No. 14 Minnesota and No. 19 Tennessee. Arkansas has multiple top-20 wins in the same season for the third time under Coach Anderson.
• During the last four seasons, Arkansas ranks second in the SEC in league wins with 35. Auburn ranks 13th in the conference with 17 victories.
• For the first time since the National Championship run in 1994, Arkansas scored 90-plus points in nine of its first 14 games.
• Arkansas is one of three teams in the nation to rank in the top 10 in points per game and assist-to-turnover ratio, joining No. 2 Duke and Creighton.
• The Razorbacks lead the SEC and rank No. 9 in the nation in assist-to-turnover ratio thanks to 132 assists and just 63 turnovers in the last seven games.
A Win Would
• Give Arkansas a perfect 5-0 record at Auburn Arena under Coach Anderson.
• Send Arkansas to a 15-9 record as a ranked team under Coach Anderson.
• Give Arkansas its 10th win over Auburn in the last 11 meetings dating back to a season sweep of the Tigers during the 2010-11 campaign.
The Best Guards In The Nation
• In the upset win against No. 19 Tennessee, Daryl Macon’s 33 points and Jaylen Barford’s 28 points marked the first time Arkansas has had two 28-point scorers in an SEC game.
• Against current AP Top 25 teams, Barford (22.7) and Macon (22.3) have combined to average 45.0 points per game in three contests.
• Barford is the only player in the SEC to rank in the top three in points per game (3rd) and field goal percentage (3rd).
• Against Tennessee, Daryl Macon became one of six players in program history to record multiple 30-point games against SEC opponents.
Two personal bests wrap up Tennessee diving invite
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Two Razorbacks divers set personal bests on the final day of competition from Knoxville on the platform, as junior Marissa Green and sophomore Caroline Welch each notched career marks.
Green led all three Razorback divers with a score of 211.90, more than 10 points higher than her previous career best.
Green’s effort was enough for a 12th-place finish, her best of the week. Green has two of the top four platform scores on the team this season.
Senior Nicole Gillis wrapped up her strong week with a 14th-place performance, scoring a 209.35.
Gillis finished in the top-15 in all three dives this week with a 10th-place showing on the one-meter and a seventh-place effort on the three-meter.
Welch also recorded a personal best, scoring 181.60 on the platform, 2.75 points higher than her previous best. Welch’s personal best was good for a 20th-place finish in the event.
“For the first meet of the new year, I thought we competed well,” said head coach Neil Harper. “Marissa and Caroline recording personal bests in the platform today is a great start to this semester.”
RESULTS
Wednesday, Jan. 3
1m Prelims
3rd – Schultz (295.10)
6th – Gillis (275.70)
24th – Green (231.60)
33rd – Welch (196.50)
1m Finals
2nd – Schultz (325.70)
7th – Gillis (281.55)
Thursday, Jan. 4
3m Prelims
2nd – Schultz (329.15)
10th – Gillis (296.45)
25th – Green (233.50)
32nd – Welch (203.05)
3m Finals
1st – Schultz (383.40 – SCHOOL RECORD)
7th – Gillis (305.40)
Friday, Jan. 5
Platform Finals
12th – Green (211.90 – PERSONAL BEST)
14th – Gillis (209.35)
20th – Welch (181.60 – PERSONAL BEST)
As the winter invitational season wraps up, the Razorbacks return home for Senior Day next Saturday morning at 10 a.m. at the Arkansas Natatorium, as Arkansas hosts the No. 7 Tennessee Volunteers.
