11:30 – Connor O’Gara
Hogs March run comes to an end; Reminiscing about the season; Baseball wins another series Call or text, 877-377-6963
Bud Light Next Morning Rush Podcast: Back to Back Elite 8’s!
Tye & Tommy on the basketball season, Tom Murphy joins, Oscars incident and more!
Diamond Hogs punish Missouri for errors, win series
COLUMBIA, Mo. — Arkansas senior center fielder Braydon Webb broke Sunday’s rubber match against the Missouri Tigers wide open with a two-out, two-run double, giving the Razorbacks a 6-2 lead, which they held onto for an eventual 6-4 series-clinching victory.
For the second straight game, the Hogs had to play from behind. After they failed to convert with two runners in scoring position and one out in the second inning, Missouri first baseman Luke Mann put them in a 2-0 hole with a long fly ball that somehow cut through the wind for a home run.
Through two frames, Razorback starter Jaxon Wiggins had allowed three hits and a walk, but the sophomore right-hander settled in to throw one of his best outings of the season. For the first time in his career, he pitched into the eighth inning after surrendering just two baserunners between the third and seventh frames.
The Hogs knotted the score at two runs apiece in the fourth inning after loading the bases with one out. Senior shortstop Jalen Battles drove in the first run with a single up the middle, and junior left fielder Zack Gregory walked to bring home the second.
Neither team could muster much offense in the fifth and sixth innings, but once again, a four-spot in the seventh made the difference in the game. Two errors, an infield single that could have resulted in an out and a balk gave the Hogs a two-run lead, and Webb doubled it with his second late-inning extra-base hit of the series.
Wiggins ran into trouble in the eighth, walking the leadoff batter and hitting the next, rapidly approaching the 100-pitch plateau. After his eighth strikeout, he allowed his fourth hit, an RBI single that made it a 6-3 game. Freshman righty Brady Tygart entered the game with runners on the corners and one out, and nearly had an inning-ending double play. Right fielder Carlos Pena beat out a grounder to second to cut the lead to two runs, but Tygart induced a soft liner to second to avoid further damage.
Tygart shut the door in the ninth with a groundout and a pair of looking strikeouts to earn his fourth save of the season.
UALR will visit Fayetteville for a pair of midweek games Tuesday and Wednesday before the reigning national champion Mississippi State Bulldogs come to town for a three-game set starting Friday. The midweeks will stream live on the SEC Network+, beginning at 6:30 p.m. and 4 p.m., respectively.
Hog Reaction: Razorbacks fall in the Elite 8 to Duke
Tommy Craft, Tye Richardson and Drew Barrett recap the Razorbacks lose to the Duke Blue Devils and talk about the incredible season for the Hogs.
Arkansas’ complete postgame after falling in Elite Eight to Duke
Razorbacks coach Eric Musselman, players Jaylin Williams, Trey Wade, JD Notae after season comes to end in loss.
Duke knocks Arkansas out of NCAA Tournament with 79-68 win
SAN FRANCISCO — Arkansas’ run in the Elite Eight came to an end on Saturday night at Chase Center in a 78-69 loss to a hot-shooting Duke.
The two teams opened the game by trading baskets and the game remained tight until an 8-0 Duke run midway through the half.
Jaylin Williams’ layup snapped the run but the Blue Devils maintained a lead the remainder of the half.
Duke fully swung the momentum their way to end the first half when Trevor Keels nailed a three-pointer at the buzzer to finish another 8-0 run for the Blue Devils.
Duke made four of their final five shots of the half while holding Arkansas scoreless over the final 2:14 on 0-of-5 shooting.
The Razorbacks’ resiliency showed up in the second half.
A 9-2 Arkansas run cut the Blue Devils’ lead to five with 13:19 remaining but the Blue Devils rattled off the game’s next 10 points to establish a 15-point lead with 10:18 left. Duke held off the Hogs down the stretch to advance to the Final Four.
Duke shot 55% for the game and dominated the game from the inside, outscoring Arkansas 46-34 in the paint.
Williams led three Arkansas players to reach double digits in the game with 19 points along with 10 rebounds for his 16th double-double of the season. JD Notae and Stanley Umude each added 14 points with Notae adding four assists.
Notae and Williams were named to the NCAA West Regional All-Tournament team.
Paulo Banchero led the Blue Devils with 16 points to go along with Mark Williams 12 points and 12 rebounds.
Arkansas ends the season 28-9 overall.
Missouri snaps Diamond Hogs’ winning streak, evens series
COLUMBIA, Mo. — A nightmarish seventh inning for the Arkansas bullpen turned into four runs for Missouri, propelling the Tigers to a 7-5 victory Saturday afternoon at Taylor Stadium and snapping the Razorbacks’ 12-game winning streak.
The Tigers got out to a 2-0 advantage in the first inning with three singles, including a two-out, two-run knock by right fielder Carlos Pena.
The Razorbacks took the lead in the top of the second on sophomore third baseman Cayden Wallace’s two-out, bases-clearing double, which could have been caught if not for the high winds in Columbia. Wallace scored two batters later when Tiger third baseman Justin Colon spiked a throw to first base, making it 4-2 in the Razorbacks’ favor.
Missouri pitchers retired the next 11 hitters, allowing the Tigers to close the deficit to just one run. Colon made Hagen Smith pay for a pair of two-out walks with an RBI single in the fifth. The freshman left-hander surrendered three earned runs, six hits and three walks in five innings of work, adding five strikeouts to his stat line.
Smith was in line for the win upon his departure, and the Hogs doubled the lead in the seventh on a two-out RBI single by Robert Moore.
After a scoreless sixth from senior righty Kole Ramage, the bullpen imploded in the seventh. Ramage walked both hitters he faced, the second of whom saw three consecutive wild pitches to allow the first to score.
Senior righty Elijah Trest surrendered a pair of hits, allowing the Tigers to tie it, and both of those runners scored on a two-out double by Missouri leadoff hitter Josh Day off junior lefty Zack Morris.
Graduate right fielder Chris Lanzilli led off the eighth with a single, and senior center fielder Braydon Webb nearly tied it with a towering fly ball to left field, but the wind knocked it down and it died on the warning track, taking the Hogs’ hopes down with it.
Sophomore right-hander Jaxon Wiggins will get the start for the Hogs in Sunday’s rubber match, which is set to begin at 1 p.m. and stream live on the SEC Network+.
How to watch-listen to Razorbacks against Duke tonight
SAN FRANCISCO — After a historic win in the Sweet 16, fourth-seeded Arkansas will face No. 2 seed Duke with a shot at the Final Four on the line.
The Blue Devils are led by Mike Zrzyzewski, the winningest coach in NCAA Tournament history.
• Arkansas is making its 11th NCAA Elite appearance and second straight. This is the first time Arkansas has made consecutive Elite 8 berths since winning the national title in 1994 and finishing runner-up in 1995. Last year, Arkansas advanced to the NCAA Elite 8 before falling to eventual national champion Baylor.
• Arkansas is 6-4 in NCAA Tournament Elite 8 games.
• This will be the fourth time Arkansas and Duke have met. Arkansas owns a 2-1 advantage and are 1-1 versus the Blue Devils in the NCAA Tournament.
• Duke defeated the Razorbacks, 97-83, in the 1990 Final Four in Denver. Arkansas defeated Duke, 76-72, in the 1990 NCAA title game thanks to “The Shot” by Scottie Thurman — a 3-pointer with 50 seconds left and the shot clock hitting zero as the ball was in the air for a 73-70 lead.
How to watch Duke vs. Arkansas
• Who: Duke Blue Devils (31-6) vs. Arkansas Razorbacks (28-8)
• What: NCAA Tournament West Regional finals
•Seeds: Duke is the No. 2 seed in the West Regional; Arkansas is seeded No. 4.
• When: 7:49 p.m., Chase Center, San Francisco, Calif. (capacity 18,064)
• TV: TBS with Jim Nantz (play-by-play), Grant Hill and Bill Raftery (color commentary) and Tracy Wolfson (sideline)
• Radio: Listen to Chuck Barrett and Matt Zimmerman on the radio at ESPN Arkansas 99.5 in Fayetteville, 95.3 in the River Valley, 96.3 in Hot Springs and central Arkansas, 104.3 in Harrison-Mountain Home and on satellite radio at Sirius 135 and XM 202.
• Latest Line: Duke is a 4-point favorite over Arkansas, according to BetOnline.ag. The over/under is 147. The latest money line Saturday afternoon has Duke at -205 and Arkansas is +175.
• Poll rankings: Duke is ranked No. 9 in the final Associated Press poll and 10th in the Coaches poll. Arkansas is ranked No. 17 in the AP poll, and No. 18 in the Coaches Poll. They were ranked as high as No. 10 on Nov. 29, but were also out of the poll for eight straight weeks in December and January.
• Kenpom.com rankings: Duke is No. 8 in the Kenpom.com rankings. Arkansas is No. 18.
Diamond Hogs take series opener at Missouri
COLUMBIA, Mo. — Arkansas senior center fielder Braydon Webb launched a 404-foot blast over the right-center field fence in the eighth inning, propelling the Diamond Hogs a 7-5 win Friday night at Taylor Stadium.
The victory was their 12th consecutive and their fourth in as many Southeastern Conference games.
The Razorbacks got on the scoreboard first with three hits in the first inning. Junior second baseman Robert Moore recorded the third to drive in the first run of the game and his seventh in the past four contests.
Senior designated hitter Brady Slavens doubled the lead two batters later with a sacrifice fly.
Although they never led at any point Friday night, the Tigers were always within striking distance. Missouri cut the lead to one run in the home half of the first, punishing Razorback senior starter Connor Noland for a one-out walk.
Arkansas got that run back in the top of the second on an RBI groundout by graduate catcher Michael Turner, but the Tigers knotted it at three with four singles, two of which came on bunts, in the bottom of the frame.
After Noland recorded the first of three straight scoreless innings in the third, Turner collected two more RBIs in the fourth on a one-out, opposite-field double in the fourth, putting his righty back in line for the win.
After five innings and 101 pitches, Noland had allowed seven hits, three earned runs and a walk to go with nine strikeouts.
Unfortunately for the Arkansas ace, the bullpen could not keep the Tigers off the board. Seniors Evan Taylor and Zebulon Vermillion each allowed a run in the sixth and seventh innings, respectively, leveling the score at five runs apiece.
Webb’s eighth-inning homer broke the deadlock, putting Vermillion in line for the win and prompting a six-out save opportunity for Brady Tygart. The freshman righty secured his third save of the year and second in a row, striking out the side in the eighth and fanning two more hitters to work around a pair of infield singles in the ninth.
The Razorbacks and Tigers will square off again at 2 p.m. Saturday, and the game will be broadcast on the SEC Network. Freshman left-hander Hagen Smith is due to start on the mound for Arkansas.
Musselman on facing Coach K, Blue Devils in Elite Eight matchup
Arkansas coach Eric Musselman previews Saturday’s Elite Eight matchup against Duke for a chance to advance to Final Four.
