Tag: Arkansas Missouri

Razorbacks softball keeps hot stretch going with series win over Mizzou

After a modest start, Arkansas softball keeps chipping away at the best in the SEC.

For the second straight weekend, the Arkansas softball team proved it can hang with some of the best of the nation.

Better than that, the Arkansas softball team proved it can beat some of the best in the nation.

The 19th-ranked Razorbacks beat No. 11 Missouri on Sunday in Game 3 of the teams’ three-game set, 4-1. Mizzou and Arkansas split the first two games of the series and the Hogs’ series win was their second straight over a top-15 opponent.

Cylie Halvorson and Nia Carter hit back-to-back solo home runs in the fifth inning to give Arkansas a 2-1 lead. Then, for insurance in the sixth, Hannah Gammill popped an RBI single and Halvorson followed with an RBI double to seal things.

It was more than enough for Morgan Leinstock. Arkansas’ starter struck out seven in 6 2/3 innings in working around five hits and three walks.

Arkansas sits at 7-5 in SEC play, tied for fifth with Georgia, the team the Razorbacks beat in the weekend previous. The Hogs next to Columbia, South Carolina for a series against the 25th-ranked Gamecocks.

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.

Musselman pleased with recent performance of Mitchell, Graham and Lawson

Eric Musselman had nothing but praise for the trio of Makhi Mitchell, Jalen Graham and Chandler Lawson after team’s 91-84 win over Missouri.

[autotag]Arkansas basketball[/autotag] picked up a much-needed road win over Missouri on Wednesday night and avoided becoming the Tigers’ first victim in SEC play.

The win was, in large part, due to a dominant performance inside from the Hogs’ emerging “three-headed monster” of [autotag]Makhi Mitchell[/autotag], [autotag]Jalen Graham[/autotag] and [autotag]Chandler Lawson[/autotag]. Musselman singled all three out for their recent play following the 91-84 victory on Wednesday night.

“I think our three-headed bigs have been unbelievable,” Musselman said. “Chandler and Jalen and (Makhi) have been oustanding. Not good, but outstanding.”

The trio combined for 38 points and 18 rebounds, and helped Arkansas hold a 26-point advantage over Missouri when it came to points in the paint. Mitchell accounted for 19 points and 14 of the trio’s 18 rebounds. Graham had a phenomenal outing on the defensive end, recording four blocks and three steals to go with his 13 points.

“Jalen is looking at the rim and being super, super aggressive. He had four steals, four assists,” Musselman said. “Chandler continues to do the little things that might not show up in the box score. And (Makhi), when he plays like that, he’s as good as anybody in the country.”

While the team has been without forward Trevon Brazile the last two games, it’s been great to see the trio of Mitchell, Graham and Lawson step up and shine in their individual roles.

Wednesday night’s victory over a hapless, 0-8 SEC team like Missouri might not be the turnaround that spurs this team to the NCAA Tournament, but it could be the beginning of Arkansas salvaging what has been an abysmal season thus far. If they do start to salvage the season, it will be on the continual improvement from Mitchell, Graham and Lawson.

The Hogs will be back in action on Saturday when they travel to Baton Rouge to face the LSU Tigers. Tip-off is scheduled for 11:00 a.m. on ESPN2.

Photo gallery: Hogs get off the schneid in dominant win over Missouri

Arkansas looked like the team it was supposed to be all season Wednesday. These photos prove it.

For most of Wednesday night’s game against Missouri, the Arkansas basketball team looked like an NCAA Tournament team.

Razorbacks faithful are hoping it isn’t too late.

Enough was shown on the road, though, to suggest Arkansas can make one of its patented late-season runs again in 2024. That doesn’t mean the Hogs will rip off 10 straight wins and go Dancing, but it does mean the team isn’t completely cooked yet.

Arkansas had plenty of highlights against the Tigers, too, in a dominating 91-84 win that wasn’t even that close. The Razorbacks led for all but three minutes, using two big first-half runs to open a double-digit lead that maintained until the final two minutes of the game when the outcome was not in doubt.

Nearly everything went right, too. Arkansas won the rebounding battle, outscored Mizzou in the paint by a mile, rarely the turned the ball over and came up with 10 steals itself. The entire effort made coach Eric Musselman proud.

Here are some of the best photos from the Razorbacks’ Wednesday night victory.