11:15 – Mike Irwin
1:15- Connor O’Gara
It’s a Manic Monday: Liberty Bowl; KJ Announces Return; Two Basketball Blowouts; Transfer Portal Opens Call or text, 877-377-6963
Bud Light Next Morning Rush Podcast: Here we come Liberty Bowl
Tye, Tommy and Chuck on the upcoming Liberty Bowl, CFB Playoff, plus win over San Jose State!
The Gimme the HAWGS Chuck Podcast E37: Heading to the 901
Presented by Weichert Realtors – The Griffin Company
Another career night for Spencer lifts Hogs to big win
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Arkansas (10-0) is continuing to roll, taking down Oral Roberts (2-7) on Sunday, 92-58.
The Razorbacks outscored ORU 51-21 in the second half, after it was a four-point differential at halftime. Samara Spencer scored a career-high 32 points on her birthday, while Saylor Poffenbarger earned her first career double-double off 14 points and 13 rebounds.
The Hogs are off to its best start since 2013 and continue to stay undefeated with five games left in the non-conference slate.
The Hogs started the game with turnovers on their first two offensive possessions, but the birthday girl, Spencer, got things going with a 3-pointer.
Oral Roberts went 0-for-10 from the field with the Hogs getting a hold of three of those shots with blocks. Erynn Barnum and Poffenbarger came up with layups prior to the media timeout, as Arkansas had the 15-8 edge with 4:21 left in the quarter.
The Razorbacks fell in a scoring drought for nearly three minutes until Spencer hit 1-of-2 free throws and followed that up with a 3-pointer to extend the lead to 10. Arkansas took the 22-16 lead through one quarter.
Barnum opened the quarter with a layup, but ORU went on a 4-2 run to cut the lead to six. A Chrissy Carr triple and Spencer driving layup put the Razorbacks up by 11 with 7:31 remaining in the quarter.
ORU was 0-for-4 from the field until the Golden Eagles converted on their next three possessions to cut the Arkansas lead to seven, 37-30, with 3:18 remaining in the half.
The Hogs were 0-for-6 from the field until Maryam Dauda delivered off a putback basket. ORU made 5-of-7 field goals down the stretch, including a 3-pointer to cut the deficit to four going into the break with the Razorbacks ahead, 41-37.
The Razorbacks commenced the second half on a 9-2 run, which was sparked by a Jersey Wolfenbarger layup off a nice drive to the basket. Arkansas led by nine, 50-41, with two minutes and some change into the third frame.
The Hogs cruised on a 7-3 run with big thanks to Spencer’s two 3-pointers, to lead 57-44 at the media timeout. Arkansas continued to roll and after Spencer’s sixth 3-pointer of the game, extending the lead to 72-47.
The Razorbacks outscored the Golden Eagles 32-10 in the quarter.
Arkansas entered the fourth quarter with a 73-47 lead.
The Razorbacks got off to 10-2 run, sparked by a Poffenbarger 3-pointer. At the media timeout, Arkansas was up 86-53 with five minutes and some change left in the game. The Razorbacks won 92-58.
HOG HIGHLIGHTS
• Spencer stole the show with a career-high 32 points off 10-for-17 shooting from the field and a career-high six 3-pointers. She also tallied three steals, three assists and two boards.
Carr logged 15 points with three triples along with five rebounds.
Poffenbarger earned her first career double-double with 14 points off 5-of-11 shooting from the field and 13 rebounds, five assists and one block.
Dauda recorded 10 points, her second double-digit scoring game, with a career-high eight rebounds and two blocks.
In her first start of the season, Wolfenbarger finished just shy of a double-double with nine points and a career-high in both rebounds (12) and blocks (four).
Barnum tied her career-high in assists with four.
Arkansas outrebounded its opponent for the ninth game this season, 57-41.
The Razorbacks had 16 assists on 33 field goals.
UP NEXT
The Hogs are set to host Lamar next Thursday, Dec. 8, to continue on its four-game homestand. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. at Bud Walton Arena with coverage of the game being broadcast on SECN+.
Hogs, Kansas to meet in Liberty Bowl on Dec. 28
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — A lot of folks will be shocked to find out Kansas made Arkansas football explode.
Thought this was going to be boring, huh? The Razorbacks and Jayhawks will play in the Liberty Bowl on Dec. 28 as next best choice for that game after Missouri refused to play their old Big 8 rival.
But the Hogs got on the football map simply because of Kansas and Missouri.
When Jack Mitchell set sail from Fayetteville in 1957 to take over at Kansas, Frank Broyles was wrapping his first year as a head coach in Missouri.
Athletics director John Barnhill called Broyles in Columbia and wrapped up the Hogs’ new coach, thus setting in motion the first step in taking football around here to a national level.
Now the Hogs are the second choice to go to Memphis after Missouri didn’t want any part of renewing any old rivalries there.
Yes, Kansas is pretty much a basketball school that doesn’t exactly set the world on fire. They played in an Orange Bowl in 1968 with a lineman named Karl Salb from Crossett on the offensive line and lost a close one to Penn State.
Pepper Rodgers was the coach then and they didn’t get back to a big-time bowl until returning to Miami in 2007 under Eric Mangino. They downed Virginia Tech, 24-21.
The Jayhawks have played in just 12 bowl games in their entire football history. Basketball is the big sport there. They have four national championships.
Wilt Chamberlain and Adolph Rupp played there (if you don’t know who they are, Google should be your friend). The original rules of basketball by James Naismith are on campus.
The Hogs will be playing in the Liberty Bowl for the sixth time, and for the first time since a 45-23 victory over Kansas State on Jan. 2, 2016.
The Razorbacks are 2-3 all-time in the Liberty Bowl. Old-timers will remember getting hosed by the officiating crew on a cold Monday night in December, 1971, when Joe Ferguson won the MVP award, but Tennessee won the game when a phantom holding call against Bobby Nichols wiped out a game-winning field goal by Bill McClard.
The game will be the first between Arkansas and Kansas since 1905, when the Jayhawks won 37-5 in Lawrence, Kan. The Razorbacks also lost 6-0 to Kansas in 1905.
Kansas, under second-year coach Lance Leipold, is in the midst of its best season in more than a decade, but has lost six of seven games leading into the postseason. The Jayhawks began the season 5-0 and reached No. 19 in the Associated Press Top 25 poll.
This will be Kansas’ first time to play in the Liberty Bowl since a 31-18 loss to North Carolina State in December 1973.
The Jayhawks have not played in any bowl since they defeated Minnesota in the Insight Bowl to conclude the 2008 season.
Hog fans will be happy for a short trip to Memphis.
Coach Sam Pittman will be glad to have some extra days of practice time to look at some younger players that haven’t gotten a lot of playing time this year.
Unless you’re in the playoff, that’s about all you have to focus on for this secondary bowl trips.
Kickoff for the game is 4:30 p.m. and will be televised on ESPN.
Brazile’s 23 leads Hogs to dominating win over Spartans
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Trevon Brazile scored a career-high 23 points and the Razorbacks out-out-scored San Jose State 59-23 in the second half to lead No. 11 Arkansas to a 99-58 victory over the Spartans on Saturday afternoon at Bud Walton Arena.
Ricky Council IV added 17 points and Nick Smith Jr., who got his first career start and saw his most extensive since missing the first six games with an injury, scored 16 points with five assists.
Despite 12 lead changes, Arkansas controlled most of the first half, but only led by five at the break. The Razorbacks, up three (44-41) at the 17:27 mark in the second half, reeled off a 15-2 run to take 16-point lead and never looked back.
Arkansas shot a blistering 75.9 percent (22-of-29) from the field, including 5-of-7 from 3-point range, while holding the Spartans to just 9-of-26 (34.6%) overall and 2-of-11 (18.2%) from deep. Brazile scored 14 of his 23 in the second half and Council scorde 10 of his 17 in the period.
The biggest boost in the second half came from Jalen Graham who scored 11 points with six rebounds in 11:39 played – all in the final 20 minutes.
San Jose State was led by Omari Moore with 21 points, but he only scored five second-half points. Sage Tolbert finished with a double-double (12 points and 11 rebounds).
Arkansas concludes the current three-game homestand on Tuesday (Dec. 6) versus UNC Greensboro. Tipoff at Bud Walton Arena is set for 6 pm and the game will be televised on SEC Network.
FIRST HALF: Arkansas 40, San Jose State 35
• The first half featured 12 lead changes, but Arkansas did lead 12:34 compared to San Jose State leading just 3:01.
• Arkansas used a 9-0 run to take a 38-31 late in the first half.
• San Jose scored the next four points before Ricky Council IV his two free throws with 0.4 seconds left before the break to provide the 40-35 score at the break.
• Nick Smith Jr., led Arkansas with 11 points and four assists while Trevon Brazile had nine points and four rebounds.
• San Jose State was led by Omari Moore’s 16 points while Sage Tolbert grabbed eight rebounds.
• Both teams shot the ball well as San Jose State was 14-31 (45.2%) from the field and Arkansas was 15-of-30 (50%).
• Arkansas had 10 assists on its 15 made field goals.
SECOND HALF: Arkansas 59, San Jose State 23
• Arkansas only led by three (44-41) at the 17:27 mark of the second half.
• The +36 scoring margin in the second half ties for the ninth-biggest point differential in a half since 1945. (It ties for the sixth-largest in the second half alone.)
• Arkansas only missed seven field goals in the second half (22-of-29) and no player missed more than one shot from the field.
GAME NOTES
• Arkansas’ starting lineup was Anthony Black – Nick Smith Jr. – Ricky Council IV – Jordan Walsh – Makhi Mitchell for the first time this season.
• Arkansas won the tip.
• Makhi Mitchell scored the game’s first points, an alley-oop layup from Anthony Black at 19:08.
• Trevon Brazile was the first Razorback sub for the eighth straight game.
• Arkansas had six “and-one” old fashion 3-point plays in the game.
• Nick Smith made his first collegiate basket at 17:57, a 3-pointer from the right wing.
• Arkansas was at its season scoring average (77 points) with 8:09 left in the game, leading 77-52.
• Second-year walkon Cade Argobast scored his first collegiate points, hitting a 3-pointer from the right wing with 1:32 left in the game.
• This is the first game all 15 Razorbacks played in a game this season and 10 scored.
• Arkansas had a season-high 22 assists, including six from Black, five from Smith, three from Davonte Davis and three from Derrian Ford.
• Joseph Pinion made his first career 3-pointer.
Information from Arkansas Communications is included in this story.
KJ’s coming back, which is a big relief for Hog fans
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — He may not have a backup yet, but Arkansas quarterback KJ Jefferson will be back.
It’s been a question that has kept some Razorback fans squirming since the season ended last week.
Jefferson didn’t keep everybody hanging for long, which means he obviously didn’t have a particularly high NFL draft score and didn’t want to look for somewhere else to play.
Now coach Sam Pittman and his staff have to find a backup with Malik Hornsby announcing he’s entering the transfer portal Monday and Cade Fortin fresh out of eligibility.
Can’t stop what God got for you?? #KMT ? pic.twitter.com/Tn2OY1qx7K
— KJ_Jefferson2 (@kj_jefferson2) December 2, 2022
Considering Jefferson will be behind almost a completely new offensive line, that backup spot may end up being kind of important.
Pittman had said he was looking for help in the portal this year and they have committed four-star Malachi Singleton out of Georgia, but they still have get his name on the bottom line. Relying on a true freshman is not particularly comforting for anybody
Jefferson’s career completion percentage of 65.5 is currently the best in program history by a wide margin.
His 5,529 career passing yards ranks eighth in school history, 2,236 yards behind the all-time leader in Tyler Wilson.
Jefferson’s 46 passing touchdowns are the seventh-most in school history and 18 shy of Brandon Allen’s program record.
The Hogs are waiting to find out their bowl destination this season with a lot of speculation has them playing a Big 12 opponent in the Liberty Bowl in Memphis on Dec. 28.
Considering the way the season has gone, that would be a good note for fans.
Not as good as Jefferson being there and coming back for a fifth season.
If Barry Odom leaves, where does Sam Pittman start looking?
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Thank you, Dean Blevins.
The former Oklahoma quarterback has certainly fired up the message boards and rumor mill in Arkansas with a simple tweet Friday afternoon.
Can’t stop what God got for you?? #KMT ? pic.twitter.com/Tn2OY1qx7K
— KJ_Jefferson2 (@kj_jefferson2) December 2, 2022
Razorbacks defensive coordinator Barry Odom was one of coach Sam Pittman’s first staff hiring back in 2019 and has basically been the head coach of defense since.
Now, this is a report (from a usually solid source in Oklahoma) he could be interested in the Golden Hurricane after three seasons in Fayetteville and his son has finished his senior season at Shiloh Christian.
Hog fans are starting to wonder who would be next. No guesses here on exactly who they could get.
It is something to consider, consider the Hogs are coming off a 6-6 season that was seriously off the expectations of just about everybody after last season’s 9-4 mark that finished with a bowl win over Penn State.
His defenses with the Hogs have given up lots of yards, but actually done pretty well keeping people out of the end zone at times.
Odom was kicked to the curb after four seasons as the head coach at Missouri with a 25-25 overall record.
When Pittman was hired with the Hogs in December 2019 he didn’t waste any time picking Odom and the two have also been fairly close with regular walks discussing various aspects of being a head coach in the SEC.
Tulsa fired football coach Philip Montgomery after a 5-7 season on Sunday. The Golden Hurricane finished 2022 season on a high note, though, with a 37-30 upset of Houston on Saturday.
Razorbacks finally get Saturday home game against Spartans
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — With December, we’ve come to learn Arkansas’ basketball teams start coming together.
Until the SEC play starts Dec. 28 in Baton Rouge against LSU and a new coach.
For now, though, San Jose State comes to town for a 3 p.m. game.
HOW TO WATCH-LISTEN
Who: No. 11 Arkansas Razorbacks (6-1, 0-0 SEC) vs. San Jose State Spartans (6-2, 0-0 Mountain West)
What: First home Saturday game of 2022-23 (Arkansas’ next Saturday game in Bud Walton Arena won’t be until Jan. 21).
When: Saturday, Dec. 3, 3 p.m.
Where: Fayetteville, Ark., Nolan Richardson Court at Bud Walton Arena
On TV: SEC Network and fuboTV (Kevin Fitzgerald and Daymeon Fishback)
Listen Online: HitThatLine.com
Radio: ESPN Arkansas 99.5 in Fayetteville, 95.3 in the River Valley, 96.3 in Hot Springs and 104.3 in Harrison-Mountain Home (Chuck Barrett and Matt Zimmerman)
Sirius/XM: 136 (Sirius) / 207 (XM) • SXM App: Channel 983
GAME NOTES
• This will be the first meeting between Arkansas and San Jose State.
• However, Razorbacks coach Eric Musselman has a history with the Spartans while at Nevada as both schools were members of the Mountain West Conference. Musselman was 6-0 versus San Jose State while at Nevada. Musselman posted a 60-21 record versus Mountain West opponents while at Nevada and has improved that mark to 61-21 thanks to a win over San Diego State at Maui.
• Ricky Council IV is the SEC leader in scoring (20.14 points per game) and minutes played (36.96 avg.) while ranking sixth in field goal percentage (.514).
• Anthony Black ranks among the SEC top 15 in minutes (3rd; 33.74 avg.), steals (8th; 2.29), assists (9th; 3.43), points (14.1 points per game) and rebounds (13th; 5.71).
• Arkansas caps its three-game home stand Tuesday versus UNC Greensboro. Following this current homestand, Arkansas will play three games as the home team — playing two games on neutral courts and one at Bud Walton Arena — before opening SEC play on the road Dec. 28 at LSU.
• Dec. 10: Arkansas will be the home team in the second annual Crimson and Cardinal Classic versus Oklahoma in Tulsa.
• Dec. 17: Arkansas will make its annual trip to North Little Rock to host Bradley.
• Dec. 21: Arkansas will return to Bud Walton Arena to host UNC Asheville.
Information from Arkansas Communications is included in this story.
Halftime Pod Presented By Eastside Liquor- December 2, 2022
Phil and Matt talk to Aaron Torres, San Jose State tomorrow, Championship weekend and more!
Bud Light Next Morning Rush Podcast: CFB Playoff expands, Official Visits
Tye, Tommy and Chuck on the field expanding in the 2024-2025 season, dead period over and more!
