Cosper’s 31 lifts Hogs to win in only exhibition
FAYETTEVILLE — Devin Cosper scored 31, including 16 in the fourth quarter, leading Arkansas to an 82-74 win over Northeastern State in exhibition action in Bud Walton Arena on Thursday night.
Cosper’s 31 points led all scorers and she was joined in double figures by newcomer Raven Northcross-Baker with 17 points and junior Malica Monk with 14 points in the win.
The game is the only exhibition contest for the Razorbacks who open the regular season on Friday, Nov. 10, hosting Sam Houston State.
The tip is set for 10:30 a.m. as part of Elementary Day.
• Arkansas went on a 12-0 run in 1:56 to take a 14-4 lead at the media timeout of the first quarter
• Newcomer Raven Northcross-Baker hit her first three shots – all 3’s
• Raven Northcross-Baker finished with 12 points in the first quarter and 17 points in the game
• Arkansas held NSU without a field goal for more than three minutes in second quarter
• Arkansas trailed 38-35 at the half
• Devin Cosper hits a layup and was fouled, making the FT to tie the game in the 3Q
• Arkansas never trailed in the fourth quarter
• Devin Cosper scored 16 points in the final 10 minutes of the game
• Arkansas committed just nine turnovers in the contest
• Malica Monk played 34 minutes, scored 14 points had seven assists and just one turnover
The RiverHawks caught fire in the second quarter outscoring Arkansas 24-15 as their 3-point shooting heated up.
NSU finished the night with 13 3’s but key baskets from Cosper and sophomore Jailyn Mason swung the momentum in Arkansas’ favor.
Arkansas took a two-point lead into the fourth frame after a layup with 11 seconds on the clock in the prior period.
That is when Cosper took over, hitting 6-of-9 from the floor including a 4-for-4 performance from distance. Mason added nine points as the duo played the entire 10 minutes of the frame.
The Razorbacks stretched the lead to as much as 11 before winning by eight when the final buzzer sounded.
The Long road to holidays filled with bumps, potholes
With Arkansas football headed to a stretch run over the final quarter of a season with a 4-5 record, Jeff Long’s job gets interesting.
Which may be an understatement.
If you take him at his word, he doesn’t believe in making changes with coaches during the season. Fair enough, but we won’t know for a year or so if that’s the wise decision in today’s college football world with a new early signing period for recruits.
What has already happened in this season, which may be to Bret Bielema’s benefit, is Florida kicking Jim McElwain to the curb early and Tennessee likely to do the same thing with Butch Jones any day.
Every time I see one of those pictures of Jones on the internet these days, the first thought is always, “dead man walking.” Considering there were a lot of folks in Knoxville that wanted him fired two years ago, that’s not a big leap.
Those two openings alone are considered better jobs than Arkansas.
So, at the least, coaching the Razorbacks is third on the list in the SEC right now. We haven’t even started looking outside the conference. There are possibilities of an opening at Texas A&M and Auburn also in the league and both of those are also considered by most to be a better job than in Fayetteville.
We haven’t even gotten to other possible openings around the country. Nebraska, for example, could affect SEC job openings as it’s likely the Cornhuskers will go after Scott Frost if Mike Riley is canned as expected.
Frost was expected to be a primary target for the Gators. At first, Dan Mullen figured to be a candidate at Florida, but we’ve heard from too many different sources he and athletics director Scott Strickland got enough of each other in six years and Mullen likes it better in Starkville with John Cohen in charge.
Would Long really be trying to find a coach with four other openings in the SEC at the same time?
Let’s face it, last time Long was trying to find a coach he got turned down everywhere he went and somehow talked himself into believing Bielema was the answer despite the fact just a small amount of research would have created enough red flags to toss that idea on the pile.
We’ve heard going after Kirby Smart would have been the next option, but that never would have worked. During that same search Smart walked out of an interview with Auburn about two minutes into it because they weren’t totally committed to winning.
Long might figure, well, it’s not THAT bad with coach winning just under half of the games he’s coached and somewhere south of 30 percent of his conference games.
Hey, the new North End Zone boxes are completely sold and there’s a waiting list for luxury boxes everywhere else.
And, besides, there’s more to a football program than wins and losses. Especially at a school that’s not a win-at-all-cost type program.
Hey, don’t blame me … that’s what Long has said in the past.
All he has to do is figure out how to make it to Thanksgiving. He does have those College Football Playoff responsibilities every week. He’s not the chairman anymore, but he’s still one of the guys making the decision.
It’s just one of those detours along the road he has to navigate.
The first week of November will be what looks like a smooth, straight stretch and about Sunday will take a hard turn south.
LSU will be a pothole that could knock the front end out of alignment. Mississippi State the next week could be the speed bump that knocks half the undercarriage off the vehicle.
And Missouri the day after Thanksgiving is the blind curve to be navigated.
The only positive is he’ll spend a month around some folks that could be used to bounce ideas off. At least a trial run that no one knows about (and thus far the CFP has kept a lid on everything that goes on).
Get ready.
November could be fun.
Hogs continue run to SEC title appearance
ORANGE BEACH, Ala. — For the second-straight season, the Razorback soccer team will be playing for an SEC Tournament title.
After battling with fourth-seed Vanderbilt to a 1-1 tie after 110 minutes of play, it was Arkansas that advanced on penalty kicks, 4-2, reaching its fourth tournament final in school history.
Arkansas (11-9-2) will go for its first SEC Tournament championship on Sunday when it faces No. 2-seed Texas A&M.
The Razorbacks lost to the Aggies earlier in the year, 2-1, in College Station.
Just one year removed from reaching the final game for the first time since 1996, Arkansas was able to win three matches over the course of five days to become the lowest-seeded team to ever advance to the tournament final.
Since the field expanded in 2012, there has never been a team that reached the final as one of the bottom four seeds.
“I thought it was mentality that separated us tonight,” Arkansas coach Colby Hale said. “We’ve played an extra game since we’ve been down here, but to go Sunday, Tuesday, Thursday, and still be the better team in overtime was huge.
“We’ve had so many big moments with this program, this may be one of my proudest moments. The mentality this team has had is unbelievable. I could not be more proud.”
Sophomore Kayla McKeon scored her fourth goal of the year in the 22nd minute to put Arkansas ahead in the first half. But, Vanderbilt came back to equalize the match just before halftime in the 41st minute with a goal from Paola Ellis.
For McKeon, it’s her first goal since scoring twice against Mississippi Valley State on Sept. 3, but her third-straight match with at least one point as she recorded an assist in both of Arkansas’ wins earlier in the tournament.
Neither team was able to put a winner home in the second half or the two overtime periods, which forced penalty kicks, but Arkansas owned the possession in extra time, outshooting Vanderbilt, 5-2.
Arkansas made an interesting move going into penalties, changing goalkeepers by bringing in redshirt freshman Taylor Beitz to face the Commodores.
The Ontario native came up big on the first shot, making the save to her left. Senior Jessi Hartzler scored on the back half of the first round of penalties to give Arkansas the early advantage.
Vanderbilt did miss the second penalty off the left post, while Arkansas went a perfect 3-for-3 the rest of the way, getting good kicks from Taylor Malham, Nayeli Perez, and Parker Goins.
“I’m really excited,” Hartzler said. “I don’t even know what to say right now. I’m just really proud of this team.
“We just have a lot of heart. We all trust each other. We may not be the most talented team, individually, but if we come together as a team and fight, we can accomplish anything.”
The Razorback soccer team is in select company after Thursday’s win becoming just the fourth program at Arkansas to reach the conference tournament final in consecutive seasons.
Men’s basketball was the last to do it in the 2007 and 2008 seasons, as well as the 1999 and 2000 seasons, winning it all in 2000. Volleyball (1995-99) and baseball (1998-99) were the only other two programs to achieve the feat.
2017 SEC Tournament Semifinal Notes
• Arkansas reached its fourth tournament final in program history (1993, 1996, 2016, 2017).
• The Razorbacks will be looking to win their first SEC Tournament championship in school history when it faces two-seed Texas A&M on Sunday at 2 p.m.
• As the eight seed in this year’s tournament, Arkansas is the lowest-seeded team to ever reach the SEC Tournament final.
• Since the tournament field expanded in 2012, there has never been a team reach the tournament final from the bottom four seeds before Arkansas achieved that this year.
• Sophomore Kayla McKeon scored her fourth goal of the year in the 22nd minute. It’s her third-straight match with at least one point.
• The Razorbacks were a perfect 4-for-4 in penalty kicks Thursday, getting scores from Jessi Hartzler, Taylor Malham, Nayeli Perez, and Parker Goins.
• Arkansas advanced in the SEC Tournament on penalty kicks for the first time since 1996.
Missouri Western final exhibition matchup for Hogs
FAYETTEVILLE — Arkansas closes out exhibition play on Friday evening, playing host to Division II member Missouri Western inside Bud Walton Arena.
The Razorbacks have won 27 consecutive exhibition games, including a 13-0 record under head coach Mike Anderson.
During Anderson’s 16 years as a head coach, he is 31-0 all-time in exhibition contests.
The Rundown
Opponent: Missouri Western
Date: Friday, Nov. 3
Tip-off: 7:01 p.m. CT
Live Stats: Click Here
Tickets: Click Here
5 Things to know as we close out preseason play:
1. During the Mike Anderson era, Arkansas is 13-0 in exhibition games.
The Razorbacks have won those 13 preseason games by an average of 31.1 points, including a 50-point victory over Emporia State in last year’s final preseason tune-up.
Arkansas has scored 89-plus points in eight of those 13 exhibition games and eclipsed the century mark four times.
2. Sports Illustrated ranked the top 100 scorers in college basketball entering the 2017-18 season and Arkansas has two of the top 80 impact players in the country in Daryl Macon and Jaylen Barford.
Arkansas is one of three teams in the SEC with two players ranked among the top 80 scorers in the country, as Macon is ranked No. 44 and Barford checks in at No. 79.
3. The Razorbacks return their top four assists leaders from SEC play a year ago as big man Trey Thompson showed off his passing ability and led the way with 36 helpers in 18 league games.
According to @HogStats, Thompson is the tallest player in Arkansas history with more career assists (93) than made field goals (72).
4. During the Mike Anderson era over the last six years, Arkansas is tied for sixth in the country and ranks second among high major programs in forcing the opponent to 25-plus turnovers in a game.
It’s happened nine times and the Razorbacks are 9-0 in those contests. During the same span, Arkansas is 27-2 when forcing 20 turnovers in a game.
5. Dating back to last season, the Razorbacks are 6-0 in their last six contests decided by one possession, the longest such streak since the 1994-95 season.
Arkansas has won seven straight games decided by four points or less, including five of those coming away from Bud Walton Arena.
