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Hogs’ Mike Neighbors after Missouri win: ‘Starting to run out of words’
Arkansas coach beginning to run short of ways to describe team finding ways to win like second-half comeback over Tigers.
Razorbacks storm back to roll through Tigers for 88-71 win
COLUMBIA, Mo. — Arkansas coach Mike Neighbors kinda likes the way this team has come together.
“I’m starting to run out of words,” he said after a 54-point second half led to what became a blowout 88-71 win over Missouri. “Our locker room is a fun place to be right now.”
With the win, the Hogs have now won six straight games over the Tigers.
This one may have been the best performance of the season, though.
The Hogs shot 47% from the field, 40% from three, and dominated the Tigers on the glass, 49-37.
Redshirt senior Amber Ramirez had another big game, scoring 25 points and grabbing nine rebounds.
All of that in three quarters. She didn’t score a point in the first period, but dominated the rest of the way, finishing with her seventh 20-plus point game of the season.
Freshman Samara Spencer returned after missing Thursday night’s win over Ole Miss and had a career-best 22 points, seven boards and four assists.
Mizzou had all the momentum at halftime as Aijha Blackwell dropped in an and-one to close out the first half, and a 41-34 lead.
The Hogs shot just 36% from the field in that first half.
“The halftime locker room was amazing,” Neighbors said later. “The way they were talking to each other, the way they were taking coaching and making the adjustments.”
Arkansas turned the heat up in the second half, dominating Missouri, 54-30, over the final two quarters.
Spencer and Sasha Goforth scored 15 each after the break and Ramirez added 14.
The Hogs led by four going into the final quarter after trailing by as many as 11 in the third quarter.
Ramirez had deep three-pointer just before the buzzer at the end of the third quarter and the Hogs blew the game open after that.
They outscored the Tigers, 26-12, hitting eight of their 13 shots in the frame, including three of four from behind the arc.
“The second half was about as good as we’ve played all year,” Neighbors said.
Game Notes
• Ramirez has simply been unstoppable as of late – she’s gone for 25 or more in four of her last five games.
• Spencer has gone for 20 or more in three of her last four games played.
• Freshman Jersey Wolfenbarger registered her second-career double-double, going for 12 points and 11 rebounds.
• Goforth has now scored 15+ in back-to-back games. She also blocked three Mizzou shots, her 13th game this season with multiple blocks.
• Rylee Langerman collected four steals in the game, a new career-best.
Next Game
The Razorbacks will stay on the road, heading to Gainesville for a showdown with Florida. The Hogs will play Thursday with an early tip-off at 5 p.m.
Razorbacks wipe out Tide’s big lead, but can’t pull out road win
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Arkansas erased a 13-point deficit, behind Jaylin Williams’ seventh double-double and led by one with 48 seconds left before Alabama’s Noah Gurley scored with 27 seconds left for a 68-67 victory Saturday afternoon at Coleman Coliseum.
Arkansas still managed two chances after Gurley’s basket.
First, after Gurley’s basket, Arkansas missed a three-pointer with four seconds left. Alabama was immediately fouled with 3.4 seconds left. Jahvon Quinerly missed the front end of a one-and-one.
Davonte Davis grabbed the defensive rebound and his halfcourt shot just missed.
Williams finished with a career-high 22 points and grabbed 11 rebounds.
The Hogs were down 60-47 with 9:01 to play. From that point on, Arkansas 13-1 run, capped by a JD Notae 3-pointer, to trail by one (61-60) with 4:28 left. Two minutes later, Notae drained another triple to give Arkansas its first lead since early in the first half.
Gurley put the Tide back on top (66-65) with jumper. Notae sank two free throws to put Arkansas back in the lead with 48 ticks left prior to Gurley’s backset that proved to be the game winner.
Stanley Umude added 19 for the Razorbacks and Notae, who was scoreless in the first half and only played 3:44 due to foul trouble, finished with 12 points, four steals and three assists.
Alabama was led by JD Davison’s 11 points and Jaden Shackelford’s 10.
Arkansas stays on the rod to play at Missouri on Tuesday. Tip-off is set for 8 p.m. and will be televised on the SEC Network.
FIRST HALF: Alabama 37, Arkansas 32
• Arkansas started quickly but Alabama made three of its first four triples to tie the game 9-9.
• Alabama pushed the lead to 28-18 at the 8:34 mark.
• From that point, the Razorback defense took over, holding the Crimson Tide scoreless for over five minutes until an Alabama free throw with 3:33 remaining.
• Arkansas shot just 31.4% overall and was 1-of-7 from 3-point land but stayed close by forcing 15 Alabama turnovers.
• JD Notae only played 3:40 before picking up two quick fouls but still managed three assists.
• Jaylin Williams led the Hogs with 10 points. Au’Diese Toney had five rebounds.
Game notes
• Arkansas’ starting lineup was JD Notae – Au’Diese Toney – Stanley Umude – Trey Wade –Jaylin Williams for the ninth straight game.
• Arkansas won the opening tip.
• Jaylin Williams scored the first point of the game, a free throw at 19:44.
• Davonte Davis was the first Razorback sub.
• Arkansas forced Alabama into 24 turnovers and the Tide was just 1-of-13 from 3-point range in the second half.
• Arkansas had its nine-game win streak snapped.
Information from Arkansas Communications is included in this story.
Jaylin Williams after Razorbacks’ comeback falls short at Alabama
Williams scores 22 points, pulls down 10 rebounds but second-half comeback attempt fails as Crimson Tide get 68-67 win.
Musselman after Razorbacks can’t overcome Tide’s lead, losing 68-67
Arkansas coach Eric Musselman recapping road loss at Alabama they had chance to win at end but fall just short.
Hogs underdogs against Crimson Tide despite winning streak
It’s not about respect, despite what a lot of fans may think.
Arkansas heads to Tuscaloosa, Ala., to play a wildly inconsistent Alabama team on a nine-game winning streak as an underdog.
The money is this hot streak of the Razorbacks is going to come to an end after getting past No. 1 Auburn on Tuesday night in overtime. That’s what determines betting lines, not connected with respect.
The Crimson Tide like to shoot three-pointers, but is also quite capable of getting the ball down low. The Hogs have had their problems defending both of those at times this year.
Not lately, though.
“We’re just going to lock in these next two days and figure out how we’re going to combat that,” Hogs’ forward Stanley Umude said Thursday.
A lot of people remember Alabama’s 90-59 win over the Hogs in Tuscaloosa last year. The Tide had a 25-point lead at halftime and kept pulling away.
“Some of the players talk about it,” Umude said. “I heard it was a tough game for us, but hopefully we don’t let that happen again this year.”
The loss last year was when the switch changed for a team that raced to the Elite Eight.
That is exactly what fans are hoping for this year … just without that big loss in Tuscaloosa.
Tipoff at Alabama is set for 11 a.m. and the game will be televised on the SEC Network.
Listen online at HitThatLine.com and 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-XM 382, online 972.
Game Notes
• This will be the 66th meeting between Arkansas and Alabama and 56th since the Razorbacks joined the SEC. Arkansas leads the all-time series, 36-29, and is 29-26 versus the Crimson Tide since joining the SEC.
• Alabama owns a 21-8 advantage in games played in Tuscaloosa. Arkansas has won 8 of the last 10 in the series.
• Arkansas has allowed less than 60 points in five of its 11 SEC games and — despite allowing Auburn to score 76 in an overtime win. The Razorbacks continue to lead the conference in scoring defense in SEC games at 66.7 ppg.
• IN the first 15 games of the season, Arkansas opponents were shooting 44% from the field and 36.6% from 3-point range. During the current nine-game win streak, opponents are shooting just 36.7% from the field and 27.5% from deep.
• Last time out, JD Notae scored a game-high 28 points versus Auburn and strengthened his lead in the SEC in overall scoring (19.13 points per game) and regained the SEC only scoring lead.
• Notae is not just a scorer. He added a career-high four blocked shots and three steals versus Auburn. Also, Notae is the only player in the SEC to rank among the league’s top 15 in scoring (1st), steals (second), assists (13th) and defensive rebounds (15th).
Arkansas vs. Alabama
Current Records: Arkansas Razorbacks (19-5, 8-3 SEC) vs. Alabama Crimson Tide (15-9, 5-6 SEC)
Date-Time: Saturday, Feb. 12 at 11 a.m.
Where: Coleman Coliseum (14,474), Tuscaloosa, Ala.
TV/Streaming: SEC Network (Tom Hart and Carolyn Peck).
Radio: Listen online at HitThatLine.com and 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-XM 383, online 973.
Sportsbook Info (via BetOnline.ag)
Spread: Arkansas +5 (+100), Alabama -5 (-120)
Total: 157.5 – Over: -110, Under: -110
Moneyline: NA
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