Tye & Tommy on the win over Cincy, best drinking holidays, Brett Goode joins and more!
Key plays down stretch again lift Razorbacks past Bearcats
KANSAS CITY — Arkansas made several key plays inside the final 1:37 to secure a 73-67 victory over Cincinnati to win the 2021 Hall of Fame Classic on Tuesday evening.
The No. 12-13 Razorbacks improved to 5-0 on the season while the Bearcats dropped to 5-1.
Down one, JD Notae made a steal that led to a pair of Au’Diese Toney free throws for a 68-67 lead, one the Razorbacks would not relinquish.
Down the stretch, Jaylin Williams had two defensive rebounds, two offensive rebounds, drew a charge and capped the win with a free throw. Other big plays came from Davonte Davis offensive rebound and, for the second straight game, Chris Lykes made four free throws to ice the game.
Toney led the Hogs with 19 points and accounted for nine of Arkansas’ 46 rebounds. Williams led the way with 11 boards, helping the Razorbacks out rebound the Bearcats by 14.
Toney was named the Classic MVP and Lykes joined him on the all-tournament team.
Information from Arkansas Communications is included in this story.
Eric Musselman: Defense stepped up for win when offense was struggling.
How the Hogs managed to find a way, the great night of Au’Diese Toney creating his own points, getting rebounds.
Hogs’ Au’Diese Toney: Getting rebounds ‘very important’ in win
Tony led the Razorbacks with 19 points, but more importantly on bad shooting night, was the 9 rebounds he grabbed.
Hogs’ Hayden Henry, Joe Foucha after Tuesday practice on Missouri
Winning Friday huge, plus facing a running back that’s on level with the best they’ve seen this season.
Myron Cunningham, Tyson Morris looking ahead to Friday’s game with Mizzou
What closing season with win would it mean to finally get win over Tigers after five straight losses.
Loss to Alabama doesn’t knock Hogs out of CFP rankings
Apparently losing to one of the top four teams in the College Football Playoff won’t necessarily knock you out.
Especially if you started there
Arkansas lost to Alabama on Saturday, 42-35, but it didn’t affect them in the all-important CFP rankings. The Crimson Tide did fall, though, down to No. 3.
The Razorbacks stayed at No. 25.
“Obviously we played a really good team,” Hogs coach Sam Pittman said. “They’re the University of Alabama. They’re a very, very physical football team. Obviously, they have a Heisman Trophy candidate throwing the ball and they did an outstanding job.
“Jameson Williams is a special, special player. But I was very proud of the way we kept coming back, the physicality of our program.
“We did not come here to lose by seven. We came to win the game and I think you could see that by the way that we played. We just ran into a team that was seven points better than us tonight.”
That’s pretty much how the committee that does the rankings saw things, too.
Now they’ve got to stay there for one more week. All they can do at this point is win Friday against Missouri in a game at 2:30 p.m. on CBS.
We’re excited to play Missouri,” Pittman said. “They’re a hot team right now, they’ve won their last two games. They’re coming in here I’m sure with a lot of confidence, and we’re excited to have a big crowd here.”
That big crowd has made a difference at times this season, notably against Texas in September and in the last home game.
“Razorback nation helped us win the Mississippi State game,” Pittman said. “We’re encouraging everybody to have a whole lot of turkey and come out and help us win on Friday.”
Hogs’ Kennedy named one of 15 semifinalists for Broyles Award
Arkansas offensive line coach Cody Kennedy is one of 15 semifinalists for the Broyles Award, given to the nation’s top assistant coach.
The Razorbacks’ offensive line has blossomed under Kennedy’s watch this year, paving the way for the SEC’s second-best rushing attack.
Four Arkansas ball carriers have gained 400-plus yards on the ground this season, marking the first time a Hogs’ offense has had four 400-yard rushers since 1975 when they averaged 320 rushing yards per game and totaled a then-school record 3,523 yards on the ground.
Big day for our offensive line.@CoachCKennedy is a semifinalist for the @BroylesAward, given to the nation’s top assistant coach. pic.twitter.com/W0ilODZAJ8
— Arkansas Razorback Football (@RazorbackFB) November 23, 2021
Thanks in part to the offensive line, Arkansas is averaging 222.3 yards per game on the ground, the program’s best mark since 2006 when the Hogs averaged 228.5 rushing yards per game behind the legs of two 1,000-yard rushers in running backs Darren McFadden and Felix Jones.
Kennedy’s unit is also a semifinalist for the Joe Moore Award, which recognizes the most outstanding offensive line in the country.
A 43-member selection committee of distinguished former head coaches, broadcasters and a committee representing the Football Writers Association of America will next choose five finalists from the list of semifinalists and then an overall winner.
Information from Arkansas Communications is included in this story
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