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Hogs finally get late run to subdue pesky Troy, 74-61
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Ricky Council IV scored 11 points during a decisive 17-0 run to lead No. 11 Arkansas (6-1) to a 74-61 victory over Troy (6-2) Monday night at Bud Walton Arena.
Overall, Council pumped in a game-best 27 points — his second-best career effort — going 12-of-18 from the field. Key among those were back-to-back layups to put the Razorbacks up 59-58 followed by a dagger 3-pointer as the shot clock expired for a 62-58 lead.
Down three with 6:53 left, Council scored 13 points in a 19-3 run to end the game, which included that 17-0 run and a dunk to provide the 74-61 final score. Jordan Walsh added four points and Kamani Johnson two in the spurt.
In addition to Council, the Razorbacks were led by Makhi Mitchell (14 points, nine rebounds and three blocked shots) and Anthony Black (14 points, eight rebounds and three of the team’s four assists).
The game featured six ties and 11 lead changes. Troy was able to make its average of nine 3-pointers but was just 3-of-14 from deep in the second half. Arkansas did most of its damage at the free throw line, making 17-of-23 compared to 4-of-8 by the Trojans.
Troy was led by Nelson Phillips, who scored 22 points. However, he scored 19 of those points through the first 30 minutes, including a 3-pointer at 9:52 to get the Trojans to within three (54-51). He was held without a basket until making a 3-pointer with 55 seconds left to end the Razorbacks’ 17-0 run.
Arkansas will play game two of the current three-game homestand on Saturday (Dec. 3.) versus San Jose State. Tipoff at Bud Walton Arena is set for 3 pm and the game will be televised on SEC Network.
FIRST HALF: Arkansas 31, Troy 33
• This marked the third straight game Arkansas trailed at halftime.
• Arkansas only led three times: 4-3 and 6-5 and after being down seven led 28-27, after a Ricky Council IV steal and dunk at 3:41.
• Troy was 6-of-14 from 3-point range compared to Arkansas making just 1-of-6.
• Arkansas did draw 10 fouls, committing just six, as the Razorbacks were 8-of-10 at the line compared to 1-of-4 by Troy.
• Makhi Mitchell led Arkansas with 10 first half points (5-of-6 FG) and nine rebounds.
• Nelson Phillips led Troy with 12 first half points.
SECOND HALF: Arkansas 43, Troy 28
• Arkansas only committed five second-half turnovers.
• Anthony Black made a free throw and a 3-pointer before a Ricky Council finger roll to put the Hogs up 51-46 to force a Troy timeout. However, the Trojans came back to take a 56-54 lead with 8:02 left.
• From that point, Arkansas reeled off its 17-0 run and ended the game on a 19-3 run for the
• Council scored 19 of his 27 in the second half.
• Black had seven of his eight rebounds in the second half.
• Arkansas shot 64 percent (16-of-25) in the second half while holding Troy to 36.7% (11-of-30).
Game Notes
• Arkansas’ starting lineup was Anthony Black – Barry Dunning Jr. – Ricky Council IV – Jordan Walsh – Makhi Mitchell for the first time this season.
• Troy won the tip. Arkansas is 2-0 this year when opponents control the tip but just 27-14 in the Coach Musselman era.
• Troy’s Nelson Phillips made the game’s first points, a 3-pointer at 19:10. Makhi Mitchell scored the first points for Arkansas at 17:56. In fact, Makhi scored Arkansas’s first six points.
• Arkansas is 2-1 this season when opponents score first and 32-18 in such games in the Musselman era.
• Trevon Brazile was the first Razorback sub for the sixth straight game.
• Arkansas improves to 5-1 versus Troy.
• Arkansas has won 32 straight non-conference games in Bud Walton Arena.
• Arkansas has trailed at the half in the last three games, winning each of the last two.
• Council has only scored 17 points in the first half in the last three games (5.7 avg.) but has scored 48 in the second half over the last three games (16.0 avg.).
• Nick Smith Jr. made his collegiate debut at the 14;)8 mark of the first half. He was on a minute restriction and only played eight minutes (all in the first half).
Information from Arkansas Communications is included in this story.
Nick Smith playing tonight; How to watch-listen to Hogs’ game
Pregame Update: Freshman Nick Smith was on the floor for pregame warmups and is expected to play but no definite word of him starting.
Who: No. 11/9 Arkansas Razorbacks (5-1, 0-0 SEC) vs Troy Trojans (6-1, 0-0 Sun Belt)
What: Game one of a current three-game home stand.
When: Monday, Nov. 28, 7 p.m.
Where: Fayetteville, Ark., Bud Walton Arena/Nolan Richardson Court
On TV: SEC Network (Kevin Fitzgerald and Pat Bradley)
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: 158 (Sirius) / 190 (XM) || SXM App: Channel 961
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Maybe the biggest question before tonight’s game is the status of freshman Nick Smith, who hasn’t played in the regular season.
We still don’t know … and won’t until the tip-off at 7 p.m. at Bud Walton Arena on the SEC Network.
• This will be the fifth meeting between Arkansas and Troy. The Razorbacks own a 4-1 advantage in the series, including a 2-1 mark in games played in Fayetteville. The last time the squads met was Dec. 16, 2017, in North Little Rock. Arkansas claimed an 88-63 victory thanks to 25 points from Daryl Macon. Arkansas shot 53.1 percent from the field while holding the Trojans to 30.5 percent. Troy was led by Wesley Person Jr., who scored 25, making 11-of-13 at the free throw line.
• Arkansas starts another three-game home stand which includes facing the Trojans once and a pair of Spartans (San Jose State and UNC Greensboro). Following this current home stand, 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 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 prior to opening league play Dec. 28.
Pig Trail Nation’s Mike Irwin says we’ll just have to wait to see what happens
It’s a waste of time for speculating about who may be coming or going for Razorbacks over next few weeks.
Halftime Pod Presented By Eastside Liquor- November 28, 2022
Another failure in CoMo; Tracking the Portal; Hoop Hogs battle Troy; WBB Remains Undefeated
Guests- Mike Irwin & Connor O’Gara
Halftime is LIVE with Phil Elson, Matt Jones, and Matt Travis
11:15 – Mike Irwin
1:15 – Connor O’Gara
Another failure in CoMo; Tracking the Portal; Hoop Hogs battle Troy; WBB Remains Undefeated Call or text, 877-377-6963
Bud Light Next Morning Rush Podcast: Changes ahead for Razorback football
Tye, Tommy and Chuck on the loss to Mizzou, Troy tonight, coaching changes and more!
The Gimme the HAWGS Chuck Podcast E34: Matt Jones recaps Mizzou loss
Presented by Weichert Realtors – The Griffin Company
Razorbacks dominate Kansas State to win Paradise Jam
ST. THOMAS, USVI — Arkansas is coming back to Fayetteville with the Paradise Jam Reef Tournament Championship and three more wins, highlighted by a 69-53 victory over No. 25 Kansas State.
It was the Wildcats’ first loss of the season.
Chrissy Carr paced the Razorbacks against her former team with 19 points and earned a spot on the five-person All-Tournament Team.
Makayla Daniels logged 13 points and six boards and won the tournament’s MVP honors after averaging 17.3 points, 5.7 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 2.0 steals over the week.
Kansas State scored the first two baskets of the game, but Erynn Barnum got the Razorbacks going with a layup.
Saylor Poffenbarger made a tough layup and followed that up by making one of two free throws, as Arkansas trailed at the media timeout, 6-5.
Barnum tied the game at six with a free throw, but Kansas State responded with a 3-pointer. After that, the lead changed twice until the contest was knotted up back at 13 with a little over a minute left.
Daniels got fouled with three seconds left and was sent to the line, knocking down both free throws. Arkansas led 15-13 after one quarter.
Arkansas kept the momentum rolling in the opening minutes of the second quarter, charging on a 6-0 run.
K-State cut the lead to three, 21-18, off a 3-pointer, but the Razorbacks scored nine straight points, including a 3-pointer from Carr for a 30-18 lead with 2:48 left in the quarter.
The Wildcats cut the Razorback advantage to 10 with less than a minute left, but Daniels drove to the basket for a layup and got fouled in the process with a second left on the clock.
She made the free throw to send Arkansas ahead, 38-26 at the half. Barnum logged 13 of her 17 total points in the second frame.
Carr buried a 3-pointer to begin the third quarter and extend the Razorback lead to 15.
That 3-pointer sparked an 8-2 run and after a Daniels 3-pointer, K-State called a timeout. The 3-pointers kept falling, as Daniels knocked down another one and after Maryam Dauda had one of her own, the Hogs pulled ahead 52-33 with 4:42 left in the third.
K-State could not find an answer for Carr, as another triple extended the lead to 22. Arkansas outscored K-State 24-15 in the third and entered the final quarter with a 62-41 advantage.
Although Arkansas was outscored 12-7 in the fourth quarter, the Razorbacks held K-state to 27.3 percent shooting in the fourth to hold the Wildcats back from making a late run.
Game Highlights
• Coach Mike Neighbors is off to the best start during his time at Arkansas at 8-0. This matches a best beginning to a season for the Razorbacks since 2016 when that team also commenced the year with eight wins.
• Carr led the charge with 18 points and four rebounds. She added three triples tonight
Barnum was solid once again, tallying 17 points off an efficient 7-of-9 field goal percentage. She added four boards, two blocks and three steals.
• Daniels was everywhere with 13 points, six boards, two assists and two steals
Poffenbarger logged nine points, six rebounds, a career-high six assists and two blocks.
• Samara Spencer logged six points, a career-high eight boards, four assists and three steals.
• Dauda registered five points and four boards off the bench.
• The Razorbacks outrebounded the opposition for the eighth straight game, 41-33.
• Arkansas dominated in the paint with 30 points inside versus K-State’s 14
Next Game
The Razorbacks return for a four-game homestand, starting with a matchup versus Troy on Thursday. Tipoff is set at 7 p.m. at Bud Walton Arena.
Still more questions about when Hogs’ Nick Smith returns
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — It’s sounding more and more like Nick Smith will be back probably sooner rather than later.
The Arkansas freshman went to the Maui Invitational, but didn’t play. Now they have a quick turnaround against Troy on Monday at Bud Walton Arena against Troy.
“He’s getting closer to playing for sure,” Hogs coach Eric Musselman said Saturday.
That was about as close as he was getting to disclosing anything.
“He’s starting to do some team stuff again,” Musselman said. “Today we’ll be able to get a little bit more active. Tomorrow will be more active than even today. He’s moving in the right direction for sure.”
Monday night’s game is at 7 p.m. and will be on the SEC Network. You can listen to the game online at HitThatLine.com or on ESPN Arkansas 99.5 in Fayetteville, 95.3 in the River Valley, 96.3 in Hot Springs or 104.3 in Harrison-Mountain Home.
“That’s one of the concerns is coming back and playing your first game,” Musselman said. “To my knowledge, we have the earliest game being on a Monday. Some other teams play on Tuesday and another team plays on Thursday as their first game back.
“Again, I think we have for sure as short of a turnaround as anybody. So, that is of concern. I know sleep patterns are a little bit messed up right now for all of us. But hopefully by (Sunday) night we’ll be a little bit more adjusted timeframe-wise.”
Playing three games in three nights in Maui took a physical toll. Musselman made it clear he was doing it to prepare for the SEC Tournament when they may have to play that many games in a row.
The players felt the effects.
“We’re a little banged up across the board,” point guard Anthony Black said. “Pretty tired from those three games.”
Now they have Troy coming on a 6-1 start to the season that includes an impressive win over Florida State from the ACC.
“They’re gonna be hungry,” forward Ricky Council said Monday. “They’re a pretty good defensive team. So we’re just gonna have to be ready.
“We’re seeing around the country smaller schools are beating bigger schools. We just can’t take them lightly. We just got to play our game.”
But nobody is giving out any information on when Smith will be playing. He hasn’t played in a regular-season game.
“Everybody here understands when he’s not playing how badly he wants the team to win,” Musselman said.
Pittman firing strength coach not news, but could indicate future
When word started leaking Saturday morning about Arkansas’ strength and conditioning coach, the initial thought is it’s really just a social media post.
In the case of the Razorbacks on the heels of a 29-27 loss to Missouri that put a sour finish to a season that didn’t come close to meeting expectations, it creates a bigger question:
Who’s next?
Jamil Walker isn’t the cause for a 6-6 season a year after a 9-4 season with an Outback Bowl win over Penn State. Especially considering the platitudes he was given in spring and preseason camp about what a great job he had done.
It is one of the most important positions on the coaching staff, though. Per NCAA rules, he gets to spend more time with the players than any other coach through off-season workouts, then the summer and even in the season he can be with them more than just about anybody.
Just applying some logic here.
Despite what some people think (and social media is full of people wanting to fire everybody right now), offering up the strength and conditioning coach usually indicates the first in a lot of exits coming soon.
Sam Pittman isn’t wasting any time. An educated guess is Walker didn’t suddenly forget everything he knew about strength and conditioning of players.
You don’t develop a team like 2021 that was called one of the most physical teams in the SEC with the best rushing attack in the Power 5 to the point where Pittman said they “got our butts beat” against Missouri at the end of the year.
This will be wondered about for a few weeks, especially a month away from the early National Signing Day.
It may just be the first drop in a lot of changes coming for the Razorbacks.
