Category: Arkansas basketball

Beyond the Box Score: Khalif Battle’s 42 points second-highest this century

Khalif Battle’s 42 points is good for the second-highest this century and 7th all-time for the Hogs.

Makhi Mitchell has been electric for the last 7 games. Now Khalif Battle is going off? Arkansas might be onto something here late in the season.

The Hogs took down Mizzou 88-73 today in a high-octane offensive game. For the first 3 minutes, Arkansas and Mizzou couldn’t buy a shot, but when they finally put one in the basket, it was off to the races.

Arkansas finished with 22-52 (48%) on the floor  and 10-25 (40%) from downtown. Battle led the Hogs with a career-high 42 points while playing nearly the entire game. Mitchell was next with 13, marking his seventh game scoring double-digits in the last eight.

Sean East II was essentially the Tigers’ entire offense, scoring 33 points with nearly half (15) coming from the free throw line.

The Razorbacks out-rebounded Mizzou 33-27, but they surprisingly out-blocked Arkansas 4-2.

Arkansas will take on Vanderbilt on Tuesday in hopes of claiming its third SEC victory in a row.

Now, let’s take a look at Arkansas’ win over Mizzou:

 

Social media posts more positive after Razorbacks win over Mizzou

Khalif Battle’s career-high 42 points gave Arkansas fans a reason to cheer on Saturday.

For the first time this season, the Arkansas basketball team has won back-to-back games in the SEC. The Razorbacks (14-13, 5-9) outscored Missouri 52-39 in the second half on Saturday and swept the season series with the Tigers, following the 88-73 win in Bud Walton Arena.

Senior Khalif Battle was absolutely on fire, scoring a career-high 42 points, marking the 13th time in Razorback history that a player has topped 40. Coming into the game averaging 10.6 points per contest, Battle went an efficient 11-of-15 from the field, including 6-of-10 from the arc and a perfect 14-of-14 from the foul line.

The feedback on social media following the game was about as positive as it has been since conference play began in January, although there are still a few disgruntled outliers, who are going to complain and whine, no matter the outcome.

Here is a sample of the posting on X, after Arkansas’s victory on Saturday:

 

Everything Eric Musselman said after Arkansas basketball beat Missouri

Musselman called Khalif Battle’s performance “insane” against Missouri on Saturday as the Hogs guard scored 42.

Khalif Battle made a lot of Arkansas basketball fans happy on Saturday. More importantly, he made his coach happy.

Battle scored 42 points – the second most ever by an Arkansas player in an SEC game (Todd Day vs LSU, 1992) – and led the Razorbacks to an 88-73 win over Missouri on Saturday. The win provided Arkansas a season sweep of their Battle Line rivals, back-to-back victories for the first time since late December and an above-.500 record for the first time in a couple weeks.

Razorbacks head man Eric Musselman had praised Battle’s play in recent weeks, probably not coincidentally about the time Arkansas picked up its play. On Saturday after the game, Musselman was especially glowing.

“That’s about as a great an offensive performance as a guy can have,” Musselman said.

Arkansas is 4-3 in its last seven games – a record that should be 5-2, Musselman pointed out – and the coach is not about to give up on what the rest of the season, and even the postseason, may hold.

Here’s what Musselman had to say about all of it after Saturday’s record game.

Battle Ship: Hogs’ Khalif B. drops 40-plus as Hogs beat Missouri

Khalif Battle did something only Todd Day has ever done in an Arkansas uniform.

Khalif Battle scored a career-high 42 points to lead Arkansas to a 88-73 win over Missouri on Saturday from Bud Walton Arena in what provided the Razorbacks with back-to-back wins for the first time since December.

Battle, a transfer from Temple, shot 11 of 15 from the floor, including 6 of 10 from 3-point range, and was 14 of 14 from the foul line. Twenty-six of his 42 points came in the second half as the Razorbacks expanded on their two-point halftime lead.

The Razorbacks had just one other player in double figures – Makhi Mitchell with 13 – but as a team shot 48% from the field while holding Mizzou to 39%. Devo Davis also played a large role for Arkansas, scoring eight points, grabbing nine rebounds and dishing out six assists.

Arkansas hadn’t won more than a single game in a row in the 2024 calendar year. Last time out, the Razorbacks beat Texas A&M and Saturday’s win over the Tigers lifted coach Eric Musselman’s team back above .500 (15-14, 5-9 SEC).

Battle’s 42 points are the most by any player in an SEC game this season and the second most by an Arkansas player in an SEC game ever, trailing on Todd Day’s 43 against LSU in 1992.

Doubters still slinging shade at the Razorbacks basketball team

Arkansas has a chance for a season-sweep over cross-border rival Missouri today in Bud Walton.

If nothing else, the Arkansas basketball team is now offering fans optimism for some victories in the SEC. The Razorbacks have won three of their past six conference games, including Tuesday’s impressive 78-71 win at Texas A&M.

Arkansas (13-13, 4-9 SEC) now has a chance to win consecutive SEC tilts for the first time this season, with an added opportunity to get back above .500 in its overall record.

Following a sluggish football season with a highly disappointing basketball campaign has taken it’s toll of Razorback fans this school year. Most supporters just want to see an honest effort against conference foes, with hopes of defeating some of their rivals.

After beginning the conference slate with a 1-6 mark, Musselman seems to have added some new wrinkles to the gameplan and put his team in more of a position to compete.

With Tuesday’s win, the Razorbacks have secured the season sweep against the despised Aggies. Saturday, they have an opportunity to sweep cross-border rival Missouri. After defeating the Tigers 91-84 in Columbia on Jan. 31, Arkansas hosts Mizzou at 11 a.m.

Here is some of the chatter being posted on X, prior to the showdown:

 

 

Arkansas basketball vs. Missouri: How to watch, stream, listen

Wake up, throw on some brunch and get ready to watch the Hogs this morning.

It’s been almost two months since the Arkansas basketball team last won two straight basketball games. A victory Saturday, though, would provide such a distinction.

Arkansas tips off against Missouri at 11 a.m. on Saturday from Bud Walton Arena with a chance to get above .500. The Razorbacks won the first meeting between the two teams back on January 31, 91-84.

That game was on the road. With this one at home, the Hogs are favored to win both by the Vegas oddsmakers and ESPNs Basketball Power Index. Missouri is, not coincidentally, winless in SEC play so far this season.

Arkansas’ season hasn’t gone as planned. The team entered the year ranked in the Top 25 and the Hogs had made the last three Sweet 16s in the NCAA Tournament. The Dance is almost out of the picture this year barring a miracle run in the SEC Tournament, but Arkansas has been playing better in recent weeks than it did in January.

A win against the Tigers would provide a bit of a lift to where the Razorbacks could play spoiler down the stretch.

Here’s how to catch the action.

Razorbacks looking for season sweep of Missouri in Bud Walton

Arkansas is fresh off of an impressive 78-71 win over Texas A&M on Tuesday night.

Arkansas Head Coach Eric Musselman called the Razorbacks’ last two games “the best 80 minutes of basketball we have played.”

He was referencing the 71-67 loss at Mississippi State last Saturday, and Tuesday night’s 78-71 victory at Texas A&M.

The Razorbacks (13-13, 4-9 SEC) battled both teams down the wire, falling in the final minute against the Bulldogs, but hanging on to topple the Aggies, which gave the Hogs the season sweep. They defeated A&M, 78-77, in Fayetteville on Jan. 16, on a Tramon Mark buzzer-beater.

The Razorbacks can complete a another season sweep on Saturday, as the struggling Missouri Tigers come to town. Arkansas already downed Mizzou in Columbia, 91-84, on Jan. 31.

The Tigers (8-18, 0-13 SEC) remain the only winless team in the conference, but did nearly pull a major upset Tuesday night, narrowly falling to No. 5 Tennessee, 72-67.

Arkansas enters the contest as a 4.5-point favorite, according to the Vegas odds, and is given a 68 percent chance to win, by ESPN’s Basketball Power Index.

In 61 previous matchups between the two schools, Arkansas leads the all-time series, 34-27, and is 15-9 since the Tigers joined the SEC in 2012. The Razorbacks are also 7-2 in the last nine overall meetings between the two.

The game will tip off at 11 a.m. inside Bud Walton Arena and will air live on ESPN2.

Pressure? Arkansas basketball favored for first time in ages Saturday

Wait a second. Arkansas is…favored? Like, objectively? It’s almost as though the Hogs have played well lately.

Arkansas basketball coach Eric Musselman has been in a more pleasant mood lately in his post-game press conferences, Tennessee notwithstanding.

No one would call him giddy, exactly, but his team has played much stronger basketball in recent weeks. So much better, in fact, the Razorbacks are actually projected as winners Saturday.

ESPN’s Basketball Power Index gives Arkansas a 68% chance to beat visiting Missouri when the Tigers and Hogs tip off at Bud Walton Arena at 11 a.m. It’s the first time the Razorbacks have been projected to win by the metric in about a month.

Arkansas is coming off a victory over Texas A&M from Tuesday. The Aggies are a borderline NCAA Tournament team and the Hogs’ win was on the road, to boot. Before that, Arkansas nearly beat Mississippi State on the road in a game that was in doubt until the final seconds.

That’s hardly a glimmering endorsement, one straight win. But in a season that has seen the Razorbacks struggle throughout, a brief shine is cause for a good mood.

Beyond the box score: Mitchell, Mark scored 20-plus in win over Aggies

Beyond the box score: Mitchell, Mark scored 20-plus points in win over Aggies.

Jimmy Dikes said it throughout last night’s broadcast, “In games like this, the team with the best effort wins.” Arkansas—whose effort has been questioned all season long—quieted critics for at least four more nights.

The Razorbacks entered College Station and completed their first sweep of the season, taking down Texas A&M 78-71 on Tuesday night.

Intense defense and effort won the game for Arkansas. Team efforts like holding prolific scorer Wade Taylor IV to 6 points from the floor made it possible to walk away with a win yesterday. And if it weren’t for some favorable A&M calls in the second half, the Hogs could have broken the game wide open.

What makes the win even more impressive is who they did it without. Trevon Brazile, Jalen Graham, and Keyon Menifield were all unavailable for Tuesday’s game.

On the offensive side of the ball, second-chance points, an outstanding effort by minor scoring contributors like Layden Blocker and Jeremiah Davenport, and huge performances from Makhi Mitchell and Tramon Mark made the difference.

Let’s take a dive into the stats and see why:

Column: If you quit on the Hogs, shame on you

Arkansas deserves your attention. Not because they’re a great basketball team, but because the Hogs keep giving it all they have.

The Arkansas basketball season has not gone the way it was anticipated it would back in November. For various reasons, few of them valid, fans have jumped ship.

Maybe that’s just the way things are now. We live in a world in which instant gratification is the standard. If things don’t meet such a qualification, we dismiss them as not worth our time.

Perhaps I just figured Arkansas basketball fans were better than that.

Most are, certainly. Razorbacks faithful are, by and large, a dedicated bunch. With no other school in the state truly vying for eyeballs and dollars, the people of the Natural State devote time and money to their Hogs almost exclusively. That’s part of why seeing smaller crowds at Bud Walton Arena lately and the seeming relentless negativity on social media is so jarring.

The Hogs are not what anyone would call a “good” basketball team. After Tuesday’s win against Texas A&M, Arkansas is now. 500 overall and has just four wins in SEC play. A couple times – Tennessee and Auburn – the Razorbacks were downright embarrassing. No one blamed any fan for turning such madness off early.

But even with everything that has gone wrong for Arkansas this season – injuries, disappointing losses, off-court distractions and more even more injuries – coach Eric Musselman’s team has not quit. Down three key rotation players against the Aggies, Arkansas beat a Texas A&M bunch that handled Kentucky, Florida and Tennessee in College Station. Not exactly lightweights.

Makhi Mitchell is the best center in the SEC right now. Tramon Mark is playing through pain that would shelve most players. Devo Davis returned to the team and keyed a victory. Khalif Battle has turned into a defender. Layden Blocker looks like a future starter. All kinds of positives have come to the team in recent weeks.

Even if the wins haven’t.

Forget the notion of “real fan” or “fairweather fan.” How about just “fan?” To anyone who gave up on Arkansas because they thought their Hogs had nothing left to offer, shame. Musselman’s Razorbacks are still giving it all they have.