Tag: Arkansas Tennessee

Diamond Hogs take Game 2, series over Tennessee

Six runs on four hits? Arkansas just keeps finding ways to win.

Arkansas had just four hits against Tennessee on Saturday. Plenty.

The sixth-ranked Razorbacks won, anyway, over Tennessee, 6-3, to ensure a series win and will go for a sweep on Sunday.

Jace Bohrofen’s two-run home run in the first inning provided Arkansas an early one-run lead. An RBI single in the fifth provided some insurance. And a pair of singles and a Tennessee error provided the final three runs of extra protection in the seventh.

Much like in Friday’s opener, Tennessee simply couldn’t crack the Diamond Hogs’ pitching.

Will McEntire gave up two runs – both on solo homers – in six innings while striking out five. Gage Wood entered to start the seventh and gave up one run, but struck out six in his three innings to earn the three-inning save.

The Diamond Hogs will go for a sweep on Sunday at 2 p.m.

Arkansas baseball vs. Tennessee – How to watch, stream, listen to Game 3

An Arkansas sweep over Tennessee is a legitimate possibility.

A series win is in the books. Sunday, the Diamond Hogs will go for a sweep.

And, frankly, nothing could finer for the fan base of the No. 6 team in the country. Arkansas took the first two games from Tennessee, coached by former Razorbacks assistant Tony Vitello, and will look to take the finale at 2 p.m.

Tennessee’s loss Saturday kept the Vols five games back of third-place in the SEC East and seven back of first in the division. Arkansas’ win allowed the Razorbacks to maintain a 1 1/2-game lead over LSU in the West.

The series’ close will mark the official halfway point of the SEC season as teams attempt to lock up NCAA Tournament bid.

Here’s how to catch the action Sunday.

Arkansas baseball vs. Tennessee – How to watch, stream, listen to Game 2

The Razorbacks can take the series with a win Saturday.

Another game from Baum-Walker Stadium against Tennessee. Another loud night is scheduled.

The sixth-ranked Razorbacks host the 15th-ranked Vols for Game 2 of their SEC set at 6 p.m. on Saturday. Arkansas took the opener, 5-2, after the Vols were shut down upon scoring two runs in the first inning.

Arkansas’ win combined with LSU’s loss allowed the Razorbacks to move from a 1/2-game up on the Tigers in the SEC West to a full 1 1/2-game lead for the division crown. Tennessee fell six games back of Vanderbilt in the SEC East.

Neither the Diamond Hogs or Vols will have their season made or broke by this mid-year series. But NCAA Tournament placing time has begun and the Razorbacks, especially, are smelling a national seed. A series win over Tennessee will go a ways in helping achieve that.

That’s one thus far, Tony: Diamond Hogs take opener from Tennessee

Hunter Hollan had a whale of a start in Arkansas’ series-opening win over Tennessee.

The Tennessee baseball team jumped early. Then never again.

No. 6 Arkansas scored five straight runs in a 5-2 win over the No. 15 Volunteers in Friday night’s series opener from Baum-Walker Stadium. The win kept Arkansas atop the SEC West at 9-4 in league play.

Hunter Hollan and Hagen Smith were the biggest reason why. Hollan gave up two runs on three hits in the first inning to Tennessee. The rest of the way, Hollan allowed no more runs and just two more hits as he worked six total innings, striking out that same number and walking just one.

Smith followed with a three-inning save, retiring seven of the nine batters he faced via strikeout. He gave up just a single knock in the ninth.

Meanwhile, the Arkansas lineup came back in pieces, though kind of all at once.

The Razorbacks scored three runs in third inning to take the only necessary lead. One scored on an error and Tavian Josenberger plated two with his home run. For good measure, another would score in the fourth on a double-play and Jace Bohrofen would add a solo shot in the fifth to cap things.

The two teams are back at it Saturday at 6 p.m. from Baum-Walker Stadium.

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Fireworks on tap? Arkansas and Tennessee is SEC’s best baseball rivalry right now

All eyes will be on Fayetteville this weekend for Arkansas and Tennessee.

The last time Tony Vitello was in Fayetteville with his Tennessee baseball team, he and Arkansas coach Dave Van Horn, his former boss, had an animated exchange.

Both coaches have demurred when asked about it, but two years later, it remains in both fan bases’ minds.

That happens when both teams are the level that they are. The Diamond Hogs enter the weekend as the No. 6 team in the land. Tennessee isn’t far behind at No. 12. Two seasons ago, it was Arkansas who spent practically the entire year as the top-ranked team in the land before falling in the NCAA Tournament. Last year, the Volunteers had the same fate.

This season, Arkansas sits atop the SEC West at 8-4, while Tennessee is fourth in the East at 5-7. Those records can largely be ignored, especially as Vitello is mixing things up on the mound.

Andrew Lindsey is set to go for the Vols on Friday. He hasn’t started a game since 2021 when he was Charlotte and he’s never started a game in the SEC.  It’s an unexpected change considering Tennessee returned its entire weekend staff from last year. But UT starters have a 6.67 earned-run average in league play this year.

Pitching has been a modest weakness for Arkansas, too, as the Diamond Hogs. Their staff has an ERA of 5.59 in SEC play.

A sweep by either team seems unlikely, but pulling one would certainly vault the winning club into assured “hosting” position in the NCAA Tournament projections.

In other words, a lot is on line, even if it’s only halfway through the league season.

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Everything Eric Musselman said after Arkansas stumbled badly at Tennessee

“Tennessee completely outplayed us,” Arkansas coach Eric Musselman said after Arkansas’ 18-point loss.

Ricky Council provided the dreaded “no comment” when asked about Arkansas’ mentality in the locker room following the Razorbacks’ 75-57 loss to Tennesee on Tuesday night.

Arkansas coach Eric Musselman provided more words when asked about his team’s performance, though he was quick to exit stage left after fewer than 10 such.

The frustration level was certainly high amongst both the Arkansas players and Musselman himself. He had anticipated a bounce-back after a disappointing, though somewhat expected, loss to Alabama on Saturday. It wasn’t close.

In fact, Musselman said it was more than a single step in the wrong direction.

Check below for everything Musselman had to say in his post-game press conference. Note: his remarks are paraphrased.

Photo gallery: The pre-game fireworks in Knoxville were a preface of what Vols did to Arkansas

Is that fire Arkansas’ NCAA Tournaments chances going up in smoke? Not likely, but it’s possible.

The flames that served as pre-cursor to the Tennessee basketball team entering the court Tuesday night in Knoxville were the perfect prelude to what the Volunteers did to Arkansas.

The Razorbacks, in need of a win to feel confident about their NCAA Tournament chances, never led against Tennessee. The Vols dominated Arkansas in every facet, especially the interior, as the country’s best defensive team made the Hogs look like Tourney wannabes in a 75-57 win.

Arkansas now faces its season finale against Kentucky at home on Saturday sitting at 19 wins (20 is the common mark of a NCAA Tournament team) and a game below .500 in SEC play.

The Razorbacks are by no means out of the NCAA Tournament and may not even need a win against the Wildcats to clinch such a spot. But after Tuesday’s debacle, they sure would feel better getting one.

Pre-game tweets: Tennessee fans a bit nervous ahead of Arkansas game

Arkansas can practically clinch an NCAA Tournament berth with a road win. Easier said than done.

The math is simple for the Arkansas basketball team.

If the Hogs beat Tennessee on Tuesday night from Knoxville, Arkansas will make the NCAA Tournament.

OK, perhaps that is us projecting. But it makes sense. Arkansas’ NET ranking shows the team is well-respected even if their SEC record hovers around .500. Tennessee is even higher, so a Hogs win on the road – something they haven’t done much this year – would be a boon for those Tourney chances.

A loss doesn’t mean the Razorbacks are out. Far from it, though Arkansas would certainly be more squarely on the bubble, even with that aforementioned NET so high.

So let’s take a look at what social media is saying ahead of the tip. Note: not much, which is weird, considering the seasons both teams have had.

Arkansas basketball at. No. 11 Tennessee: How to watch, stream, listen

The Razorbacks travel to Knoxville for an important SEC showdown against the Volunteers.

The Arkansas Razorbacks have one more chance to claim a quality before the end of the season.

Thompson-Boling Arena will play host to the SEC showdown, which is turning out to be important for both teams. No. 11 Tennessee (21-8, 10-6) has lost four of their last six games. During that span, they claimed a victory over Alabama, keeping critics calm. 

For the Hogs, this is a must-win to add to their portfolio before Selection Sunday. The Hogs gave up a big lead against Alabama in their road two-point loss to arguably the best team in the country.

While the loss does hurt their tournament chances, the Razorbacks showed they can run with the presumed “elites” of college basketball when they have a healthy roster.

Really? ESPN gives Arkansas a 1-in-6 shot to beat Tennessee

The Basketball Power Index isn’t giving Arkansas much of a chance Tuesday night on the road in Knoxville.

The road has been unkind to the Arkansas basketball team this season.

In fact, the easiest way to show why the Razorbacks are sitting on the NCAA Tournament bubble as opposed to sitting pretty up around that Top-10 ranking they held in the early part of the season is because of their difficulties on the road. Arkansas is just 2-7 when playing at a visiting court this year.

That’s a big part of why ESPN’s Basketball Power Index is giving Tennessee an 84.5% chance to win when the two teams meet on Tuesday night from Knoxville.

The Vols (21-8, 10-6 SEC) are just two games ahead of Arkansas in the SEC standings (19-10, 8-8), but are significant favorites, anyway. Tennessee is 13-2 when playing at home.

Exacerbating Arkansas’ low odds of winning is that the Razorbacks haven’t been at their best against the best. The Hogs are just 3-7 against Quad 1 teams this year as defined by the NCAA’s NET ranking.

But that NET ranking still thinks highly of Eric Musselman’s team. They’re ranked No. 14, which is third-best in the SEC, just behind Alabama and, no surprise, Tennessee.

Arkansas is likely to make the NCAA Tournament regardless of Tuesday’s outcome against the Volunteers. But an Arkansas upset, as it were, would make that likelihood more of a reality.

Tip from Thompson-Boling Arena is 8 p.m. CT.

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