Phil Elson and Drew Barrett talk all things Razorbacks from their big win against the cats to Hogs baseball. Also talk MLB and College Football with Connor O’Gara.
Notae picks up national, SEC top player honors after big week
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Last week was a pretty good one for Arkansas’ JD Notae.
After averaging 26 points, 5.5 assists and 3.5 rebounds per game in wins at Florida and against sixth-ranked Kentucky, he picked up some national notice this week.
Notae was named both the National Player of the Week by Andy Katz-NCAA March Madness and the SEC Player of the Week.
It is Notae’s first career weekly SEC honor and the third by a Razorback this season, joining two-time recipient Jaylin Williams.
At Florida, Notae had a team-high 22 points while adding six rebounds, three assists and two blocked shots in helping Arkansas snap a 14-game losing streak to the Gators in Gainesville.
Notae scored five key points late in the game to secure the win. First, with Arkansas up one with 1:06 left, he drained a three-pointer to put Arkansas up four. After a defensive stop, Notae sank two free throws with 40 ticks left for a six-point cushion.
Before another packed house at Bud Walton Arena on Saturday against Kentucky, Notae had 30 points and eight assists in a 75-73 win.
He became the first Razorback to have at least 30 and eight in any game since the Hogs joined the SEC (1991-92).
He additionally became the first SEC player to have at least 30 and eight against an AP top 10 team in the last 25 years.
It was the third time Notae has scored at least 30 points this season and his eight assists both tied a season-high and were a career-high in an SEC game.
Notae led Arkansas to a 15-2 run to start the Kentucky game with eight points and two assists. He accounted for 12 of the first 15 points.
While he only scored once inside the final 11:07, four of his eight assists came during the span, including assists on two of Jaylin Williams’s three field goals when Williams scored 10 straight for the Hogs (three field goals and four free throws) inside the final 4:38.
His eighth assist of the game came with 1:22 left (to Williams) that put Arkansas up one (71-70), a lead the Hogs would not relinquish.
Finally, up four with nine seconds left, Notae blocked a shot by TyTy Washington to help seal the win.
Notae is second in the SEC in scoring (19.07), second in steals (2.21), fourth in field goals made (2.25), 12th in assists (3.57) and 13th in assist/turnover ratio (1.32).
Arkansas returns to action Wednesday against LSU in the Razorbacks’ final home game of the 2021-22 season.
Tipoff is set for 8 p.m. and the game will be televised on ESPN2.
Information from Arkansas Communications is included in this story.
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Razorbacks close out regular season finally getting a win
STARKVILLE, Miss. — Arkansas finally got one of these games at the end of a brutal schedule to go their way.
“To end the stretch that we had with a win just encapsulates how our season has gone,” Razorbacks coach Mike Neighbors said after an 87-79 win over Mississippi State.
It’s been a tough end of the season with four straight losses before closing out with a win over a pesky Bulldogs’ team that couldn’t seem to miss a lot of three-pointers.
After feeling “gut-punched” after a one-point loss to Georgia at home Thursday night, Neighbors let the players take over preparations for the road game without a real day to practice.
“Our players did the scouting report,” he said later. “I assigned each one part of the film and every word we put on the scouting report was from their reports.”
It worked out well.
The win over State gave the Hogs an eighth-place finish in the SEC headed to the tournament next week. They will play a familiar opponent on Thursday in Missouri, who clinched the No. 9 seed with a win over Florida.
Against the Bulldogs, the Hogs’ offense had six different Hogs reach double figures.
Sasha Goforth led the way, scoring 20 points for the first time since coming home to Arkansas. Amber Ramirez supplied 15 and Makayla Daniels scored 14.
TURNING POINT
This was a fast-paced game all the way through, and the two offenses scored with relative ease in the first two quarters.
Arkansas was finally able to gain some separation right before the halftime break with a quick 7-0 run, including five straight points from Daniels. The Razorbacks entered the break up 44-39.
Mississippi State came out of the locker room hot, going on a 7-2 run of its own to tie the game at 46.
It was a seesaw affair once again, and the Dawgs even took the lead back with 5:10 to play in the third quarter.
The Hogs put together another big run to close the quarter, going on a 10-4 spurt to close the penultimate frame. The Hogs led 61-56 after three.
The Razorbacks were able to hold on due to some clutch plays down the stretch. Erynn Barnum was excellent in the fourth quarter, scoring eight of her 10 points in the quarter.
She was also four of four from the free throw line down the stretch. The Bulldogs were able to cut the lead down to four with 1:38 to play, but the Hogs ended the game on a 7-3 run, clinching the eighth seed and the season sweep.
HOG HIGHLIGHTS
• Samara Spencer led the team in assists, matching her career-high with six of them.
• Goforth had three more blocks in the game, her ninth game this year with three or more.
• Ramirez led the team on the glass, pulling down eight rebounds. She also had a team-high four steals.
• Barnum’s 10 points marked her first game in double-figures since November 28 against Belmont.
NEXT TIME OUT
Arkansas is onto the SEC Tournament, where they will meet Missouri in the 8/9 game. That game will tipoff at noon on Thursday, March 3, and will air live on SEC Network.
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Notae paces Hogs past No. 6 Kentucky in another win over ranked team
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — JD Notae became the first Razorback to score 30 points and have eight assists in an SEC game and Jaylin Williams recorded his 11th double-double of the year as No. 18 Arkansas defeated No. 6 Kentucky on Saturday afternoon at Bud Walton Arena.
The Hogs (23-6, 12-4 SEC) improved to 4-0 against ranked opponents this season and won its 13th of its last 14 games. The Hogs tied for second in the SEC standings, one game behind Auburn.
Arkansas raced to a 15-2 lead and led by as many as 13 three times in the first half.
The Wildcats made a run and trailed by just six points (34-28) at the break.
Kentucky continued to play well into the second half, outscoring the Hogs 13-6 to start the frame, and took its first lead, 41-40 at 14:53, since scoring the game’s first basket.
From that point, it was a slugfest with neither team leading by more than four points.
With 2:21 left, Kellen Grady made his only basket, a three-pointer, to put the Wildcats up one (70-69).
Jaylin Williams answered with a jumper to put the Hogs back in the lead and never relinquished the lead.
Arkansas got a stop and Williams converted two free throws with 36 seconds left for a three-point lead. The Hogs got another stop and Davonte Davis made one-of-two at the line to make it a two-possession game with 13 seconds left.
On the ensuing possession, Notae and Au’Diese Toney each blocked shots with nine and six seconds remaining, respectively.
Davis once again went one-of-two at the line for a five-point cushion. TyTy Washington provided the final, 75-73, after banking in a three-pointer at the buzzer.
Notae scored 30 points for the third time this season and he tied a season-best with eight assists.
Williams, who scored 10 straight for the Hogs inside the final 4:38, finished with 16 points and 12 rebounds, two assists and two steals.
It was Williams’ sixth straight double-double and 11th overall.
Kentucky was led by Oscar Tshiebwe’s 30 points and 18 rebounds. Keion Brooks Jr., and Sahvir Wheeler 14 points.
Arkansas hosts LSU on Wednesday. Tipoff is set for 8 p.m. and the game will be televised on ESPN2.
FIRST HALF: Arkansas 34, Kentucky: 28
• Kentucky scored first but the Hogs reeled off seven straight to force a Wildcat timeout. The Hogs would push the run to 15-0 to lead 15-2.
• Arkansas led 17-7 at the second media timeout (11:19).
• The Razorbacks led by as many as 13 three times, including 15-2, 30-17 and 32-19.
• Arkansas shot 46.7% from the field while holding the Wildcats to 33.3%, including 0-of-8 from 3-point range.
• Oscar Tshiebwe had a double-double at halftime with 14 points (half of his team’s 28) and 12 rebounds. However, Kentucky was only up one in the rebound battle, 21-20, at the break.
• JD Notae led all scorers with 18 points while Jaylin Williams had nine rebounds.
Game Notes
• Arkansas’ starting lineup was JD Notae – Au’Diese Toney – Stanley Umude – Trey Wade –Jaylin Williams for the 13th straight game.
• Arkansas won the opening tip.
• Tshiebwe scored the first points of the game, jumper at 18:18. Williams scored the Razorbacks’ first points, a dunk at 17:53, to spur a 15-0 run.
• Davis was the first Razorback sub.
• Arkansas is now 8-8 against Kentucky in games played in Fayetteville but still trails in the overall series, 33-13.
• Arkansas is the only SEC school that is undefeated against Top 25 teams this season, going 4-0 with wins at No. 12 LSU and at home against No. 1 Auburn, No. 16 Tennessee, No. 6 Kentucky.
• Arkansas is now 45-47 when a ranked Razorback team faces a ranked opponent. Arkansas is 17-5 when ranked and hosting a ranked team.
Game notes and information from Arkansas Communications
