Although the ESPN’s Basketball Power Index gives the Razorbacks just a 13.5 percent chance of toppling the Volunteers, the Hogs have already dispatched a pair of Top 10 teams inside Bud Walton Arena this season.
Arkansas defeated No. 3 Purdue 81-77 in overtime on Oct. 28 in a charity exhibition game, as both team’s approached it as a regular-season clash. The Razorbacks then downed No. 7 Duke 80-75 on Nov. 29, which led to fans rushing the court.
Tennessee (17-6, 7-3 SEC) has lost two of their last four games, overall, including Saturday’s 85-69 loss at Texas A&M. And although the Vols have won six of the last eight matchups with the Hogs, they have lost seven straight in Fayetteville, dating back to 2009.
Both teams have underachieved this season, according to the SEC preseason media poll. The Vols were picked to win the conference, yet currently sit fourth in the standings. Arkansas was picked to finish third in the conference, but has tumbled all the way to 12th.
The Razorbacks are coming off of Saturday’s 78-75 win over Georgia, avenging a 76-66 loss to the Bulldogs in Athens on Jan. 10.
Senior El Ellis and sophomore Keyon Menifield Jr. led five Hogs in double-digit scoring with 15 each against the Dogs, as more than half of Arkansas’ points came from the bench.
Now, the Razorbacks will be tasked with slowing down Tennessee junior guard Zakai Zeigler, who has been on a tear the past three games, averaging 19.3 points, 9.3 assists and 4,0 steals during that span.
Senior Dalton Knecht, a 6-foot-6 guard, has been the Vols’ main workhorse this season, averaging 20.3 points per game, while shooting 47.7 percent from the field, including 40.3 percent from 3-point range.
Arkansas head coach Eric Musselman installed some new wrinkles to the offensive gameplan prior to the Georgia game, which apparently proved fruitful. But one of the biggest obstacles against Tennessee will be limiting shots from beyond the arc. The Vols have made 200 triples this season, to Arkansas’ 136.
The Razorbacks are 22-25 all time against Tennessee – 19-24 since since joining the SEC in 1991 – including 12-4 on the home court. The Vols are one of only three conference teams to lead the all-time series with the Hogs, along with Florida and Kentucky.
Wednesday’s game will tipoff at 8 p.m. and be televised on ESPN2. The Hogs will next travel to Mississippi State on Saturday for a 1 p.m. tip on ESPNU.
After staggering through the early part of the conference schedule, Arkansas (12-11, 3-6 SEC) has won two of its last three games to keep slim postseason hopes alive.
The Razorback faithful has struggled to stay on board this season, which garnered high hopes of a fourth straight Sweet 16 appearance in the NCAA Tournament.
And fans have let their displeasure show through harsh posts on social media. Things were a little more docile after the victory over the Bulldogs.
Five Razorbacks finished with double-digit points, including senior El Ellis and sophomore Keyon Menifield Jr., who led the way with 15 each.
Senior Devonte Davis made his court return after a short absence, scoring four points, with four rebounds, three assists and two steals.
Most fans were more optimistic after the win, although some still remain bitter. Here is a taste of what was posted on X:
Keyon Menifield Jr. will look to continue giving Arkansas a much-needed spark as Auburn comes to town for the SEC-opener on Saturday.
The last time Auburn made an appearance in Bud Walton Arena, the Tigers were the No. 1 team in the country and had to leave the court through a court-storming of Razorback fans, following a 80-76 loss to the Hogs in 2022.
The Razorbacks (9-4) have been on a roller-coaster ride throughout the non-conference portion of the season, including a win over No. 7 Duke and a home loss to mid-major UNC Greensboro.
Auburn (11-2) has been steady through the early season, but has lost to the only ranked team it has faced – an 88-82 loss to No. 20 Baylor on Nov. 7 – while also dropping a road game to mid-major Appalachian State last month.
Arkansas head coach Eric Musselman has emphasized the importance of getting the conference slate started in the right direction, for both teams.
“Well, I think, every game, whether you’re home or road, is really important to both teams,” Musselman said. “It’s the start of conference play. It’s one game. But it’s against a team that has won a lot of games since Coach (Bruce) Pearl has been there. They’re going to be ready to play and we hope that our guys are ready to play. You’re playing against a team that is ranked. I think, any time you play against a team that’s ranked, you should be ready to play.”
Since a 79-70 loss to Oklahoma on Dec. 9, the Razorbacks have won three straight games with newly inserted point-guard Keyon Menifield Jr. playing a major roll in their recent success.
Menifield transferred from Washington before the season, but was ruled ineligible to play by the NCAA for the first semester. The 6-foot-1 speedster lit up the scoreboard for a career-high 32 points in a 106-90 victory over UNC Wilmington last Saturday.
“I think he’s just an innate baller,” Musselman said this week. “You could probably throw him on any team tomorrow and he would figure it out. He’s got unbelievable court awareness. We need him to practice a little bit harder and we need him to improve in some areas. But his teammates really like him – they like playing with him – and you can see that.”
This will be the 60th meeting all-time between the two programs, with all but one of those games coming since the Razorbacks joined the conference in 1992. Arkansas own a 38-21 advantage in the series, including a 23-5 mark in games played in Fayetteville.
The Razorbacks have won 14 of the last 19 contests against the Tigers, including a split last season. Auburn won at home during the regular season, before Arkansas returned the favor in the SEC Tournament.
Dec 21, 2023; Fayetteville, Arkansas, USA; Arkansas Razorbacks guard Tramon Mark (12) dribbles in the second half against the Abilene Christian Wildcats at Bud Walton Arena. Arkansas won 83-73. Mandatory Credit: Nelson Chenault-USA TODAY Sports
Sophomore newcomer Keyon Menifield erupts for career-high 32 points to lift Arkansas to victory over UNC Wilmington.
After an up-and-down non-conference slate early in the season, the Arkansas basketball team finally gave fans a sigh of relief on Saturday, soaring to a convincing 106-90 victory over scrappy mid-major UNC Wilmington.
Most of the social media chatter surrounds newcomer Keyon Menifield Jr., who erupted for a career-high 32 points in just his third game with the Razorbacks. The NCAA forced the 6-foot-1 sophomore transfer from Washington to sit out the first semester of the season. He has continued to be more productive each game he has played.
Wilmington was a 10.5-point underdog but had proved their prowess with an 80-73 win against Kentucky at Rupp Arena on Dec. 2. The Seahawks kept things close against the Razorbacks in the first half Saturday, but Arkansas began to roll after the intermission. The Hogs outscore UNCW 58-48 in the second half.
Here is a snippet of what was being posted by fans and media on X (Twitter) after the game:
Arkansas was able to put away a pesky UNC-Wilmington behind an incredible offensive onslaught, led by Keyon Menifield’s 32-point performance.
It was an offensive showcase in Bud Walton Arena on Saturday evening as [autotag]Arkansas basketball[/autotag] was able to put away a very pesky UNC-Wilmington team, 106-90. With the win, the Hogs enter SEC play with a 9-4 record on the year.
Both teams showed minimal rust from their extended breaks in the first half as Arkansas shot 15-30 (50%) from the field and UNCW shot 18-33 (54.5%). The first half featured eight ties, eight lead changes and the Hogs appeared to have their hands full.
That was until they went on a late run to gain some much-needed breathing room at halftime, with a 48-42 lead.
The offensive onslaught from both teams continued into the second half, but [autotag]Eric Musselman[/autotag]’s squad was able to fend off any run that UNCW tried to put together. The Hogs led by as much as 19 late into the second half while also never letting the Seahawks get closer than four (59-55).
UNCW kept it around 10 for final stages of the second half and the Razorbacks capped off the win with a slam dunk from Jalen Graham, giving them the final tally of 106-90.
[autotag]Keyon Menifield Jr.[/autotag] was easily the star of the night, scoring 32 points on 8-14 shooting from the field, 3-7 shooting from 3-point land and 13-17 from the charity stripe. He added five assists, four rebounds and only three turnovers.
The Hogs had four other players in double-figures – [autotag]Tramon Mark[/autotag] (18), [autotag]Jalen Graham[/autotag] (16), [autotag]Devo Davis[/autotag] (14), and [autotag]Trevon Brazile[/autotag] (12). Brazile led the team with eight boards while Graham and Davis each had six apiece.
Arkansas is back in action next Saturday when they begin SEC play in Bud Walton Arena against the Auburn Tigers. Tip-off is scheduled to begin at 1:00 p.m. and will be on ESPN2.
Arkansas Razorbacks fans would like more improvement on the court, but are pleased with the victory.
After trailing by seven points at halftime, Arkansas got a spark from new point-guard Keyon Menifield in a furious second-half comeback, en route to an 83-73 victory at Bud Walton Arena.
Fans expressed their desire to see more improvement from the team, but were also gracious for the win. The Razorbacks have already lost to one mid-major school at home this season – a 78-72 defeat at the hands of UNC-Greensboro on Nov. 17.
Arkansas offered many highlights in the game, from dunks to three-point bombs, but it was the outstanding play of Menifield and junior Tramon Mark that paved the way to triumph.
Menifield controlled the tempo of the game, on both ends of the court, and finished with 11 points, six rebounds and two assists. Mark, the team’s leading scorer this season, tallied a double-double, with 25 points and 11 rebounds.
Here is some of the chatter on X, following the win:
Transfer point-guard Keyon Menifield now eligible. should add speed to Hogs’ offense
When sophomore Keyon Menifield Jr. decided to enter the transfer portal in the offseason, his expectations where to immediately play for his new team this season.
The 6-foot-1, 170-pound point-guard ended up committing to Arkansas and Head Coach Eric Musselman over Alabama, Tennessee, Ohio State and Louisville on April 4. He was the first of six additions for a Razorback transfer class that ranked No. 7 nationally, according to 247Sports.
Menifield arrived on campus early in the summer, shortly before the NCAA denied him eligibility for the current season. It was then announced that the Flint, Mich., native would redshirt the season as a non-scholarship player.
That all changed last Friday, when Arkansas announced that Menifield was granted a waiver by the NCAA and was immediately eligible, following the fall academic semester. A day later, he took the court for the first time as a Razorback, in a 69-66 win over Lipscomb in Little Rock.
“Man, I couldn’t believe it,” Menifield said Monday, as a guest on the Eric Musselman Live radio show at Sassy’s Bar & Grille. “From coming here and thinking I was going to play from the start. Then having that happen to me and having it in my mind that I wasn’t going to get to play this whole year. I just set my mind on just working as hard as I can to get ready for next year. Then to hear that I could finally play was amazing.”
He was named the 2021 Michigan Division 3 Player of the Year at Flint’s Beecher High, capping the year with a 37-point performance in the state championship game. He then transferred to Phoenix (Ariz.) Prep for his senior season, where he was the leading scorer in Nike’s prestigious EYBL 2022 Peach Jam, averaging 22.6 points on 46.7 percent shooting.
After beginning his collegiate career at the University of Washington, he earned Pac-12 All-Freshman honors last season. He was an immediate hot commodity when it was announced that he would enter the transfer portal in April.
“I really didn’t know what to expect – I was just throwing myself out there to see what I could get,” he said. “It was crazy. I woke up the next morning and had a bunch of missed calls from phone numbers I didn’t know, and text messages I didn’t know. I didn’t know who was who.
“Every single coach on the Arkansas staff hit me up. They were on me every day and talking about the winning culture here and how Coach Muss is hard on his players, but he’s going to do whatever he has to do to make us better.”
Menifield felt an immediate bond with the staff and teammates when he arrived in Fayetteville, although he admitted, that the slower pace of Northwest Arkansas is much different than Flint, Phoenix or Seattle.
“It’s a lot quieter here and everybody is together here,” he explained. “I feel like it is a better place for me here, better competition, a better environment. They treat me like family here. The whole coaching staff always hits me up to talk to me, so it just feels like family.”
With the Hogs (7-4) struggling through the early season, thus far, Musselman is thrilled to finally have Menifield in uniform, as a true point guard who can control the flow of the game.
“He’s going to change our team, for sure,” Musselman said during his show on Monday. “He’s a very, very unselfish player. He’s got an incredible burst of speed. He’s a dynamic player, but one of the things that’s cool about Keyon is that he has a real positive spirit about himself. The other players were really excited when it became known that he would be eligible. They want to play with him, they want him on the floor. I think he’s going to make our offense run a little bit smoother, because he is such a dynamic, quick force, who’s got a true point-guard mentality.”
Musselman then got a chuckle from the crowd when he added, “I don’t like the fact that he wears the same size clothes that I do. That’s just less gear for me.”
Menifield played 19 minutes against Lipscomb, more than expected, and finished with two points, three rebounds and two assists.
“I thought I was in shape until I got out there and got to running up and down,” he said with a laugh. “Game shape is way different than practice shape.”
Menifield prides himself on being an effective playmaker who can score, but his main objective on the court is to keep his teammates involved in the flow.
“I really want to get my teammates involved and go out there and share the ball – and I think that’s what we need right now,” he said. “I get more excited when I can pass my teammates the ball and see them score. It just gives me a lot of joy to get all my teammates involved.
“I feel like I can go at a slow pace or a fast pace, depending on what we need in that situation.”
Menifield was blown away the first time he experienced the raucous Razorback crowd and atmosphere in Bud Walton Arena, for the Purdue exhibition game on Nov. 28.
“I had never seen anything like that before, a sold-out crowd,” he said. “At Washington it was like 9,000 people in the stands, the max. So, coming here and seeing everybody cheering, and it was loud, was something I had never seen before.”
Although he had been unable to suit up for games, Menifield has practiced with the team since the season began. When it was announced that he would not be eligible, his teammates rallied around him with encouragement.
“They were very encouraging and just said, ‘Take this year to get stronger and faster for next year’,” he said. “They just kept pushing me, so that made me more comfortable. and they made it real easy for me.
“When I first got in the game Saturday I was kind of nervous, because I hadn’t played in an actual game since March. But once I got in there and got going up and down, then took my first shot, it was normal. Just playing with my teammates. I’ve been practicing with them all year, so it just felt normal.”
The toughest part for Menifield is being so far away from his close-knit family in Michigan.
“My mom is like my best friend – she did a lot for us growing up, so it makes me want to go harder and do better for her,” he said. “When I make it, she’s going to make it. I want to see her happy and not have to work any more.”
He then drew some laughs from the crowd when he discussed his family’s postgame calls to him.
“After the games I’ve got missed calls from my mom, my brother and my dad,” he said with a grin. “Whoever called me first, I call them back. And then they talk to me about what’s going on – why I did this or didn’t do that. I’m unusually scared of my dad’s phone calls.”
For now, Menifield is focusing solely on his role with the team and how he can make everyone around him better.
“I just want to get back to playing with my teammates, get my chemistry right with them,” he said. “Then make sure I’m doing things the right way, so when it’s my time, I can be ready to go.”
New sophomore point-guard Keyon Menifield talks with Chuck Barrett during Monday’s “Eric Mussleman Live” radio show.
Arkansas basketball takes on Lipscomb in North Little Rock later this evening. Here’s how to watch, stream the game, key players and more.
After a week off to rest and regroup following their loss to No. 19 Oklahoma last Saturday, [autotag]Arkansas basketball[/autotag] heads to North Little Rock’s Simmons Bank Arena to face off against Lipscomb.
The annual trip to central Arkansas hasn’t always been kind to [autotag]Eric Musselman[/autotag]’s squad, but a sold-out crowd is expected to be on hand for Saturday evening’s contest. Also, for the first time since 2014, the annual North Little Rock game is going to be streamed live for fans to watch. Previously, Simmons Bank Arena didn’t have the technological capability to do so.
Another interesting wrinkle added to this matchup is that the Hogs will have a fresh face suiting up for the first time this season. [autotag]Keyon Menifield Jr.[/autotag], a 6-1, 150-pound guard who transferred from Washington earlier in the year, was granted a waiver for immediate eligibility for the rest of this season on Friday afternoon. That means he’ll be available to make his Arkansas debut against Lipscomb on Saturday.
It’s a significant development for the Razorbacks, who are in need of some consistency from the point guard position. We’ll see if Menifield being added to the fold is the change that this team needs.
Here’s how you can catch all of Saturday’s action, key players to watch and much more.
[autotag]Keyon Menifield Jr.[/autotag] was not on scholarship and was not counting against the roster currently.
The Washington transfer came to Arkansas after being on the Pac-12 All-Freshman team last season with the Huskies. He has been with the Razorback program since the summer.
“It has been a long process that we had to work through, but we are excited for Keyon and are proud of how he handled the process,” Arkansas coach [autotag]Eric Musselman[/autotag] said. “Our staff and administration have worked hard to get this done and we appreciate their hard work. Keyon is an explosive point guard with great play-making ability.”
He will make his first appearance tomorrow at 5 p.m. in North Little Rock as the Razorbacks take on Lipscomb.
Eric Musselman and Arkansas basketball make the final cut for highly-coveted transfer guard from Washington.
[autotag]Eric Musselman[/autotag] and the Arkansas Razorbacks have been extremely active in the transfer portal since their season ended nearly two weeks ago. The Razorbacks have officially contacted over 70 players and hosted numerous players on unofficial and official visits in that timespan.
Things are starting to pick up and highly sought-after players are starting to narrow down their potential landing spots. Monday afternoon, Washington transfer guard [autotag]Keyon Menifield Jr.[/autotag] announced his list of six schools that he’ll be choosing from and the Razorbacks were among them. Alabama, Louisville, Tennessee, Ohio State and Washington were the other teams listed alongside Arkansas.
Menifield is a 6-1, 170-pound guard who just finished his freshman season with the Washington Huskies. He appeared in every game and averaged 10 points (41.0 FG% and 33.0 3PT%), 2.9 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 1.1 steals in his lone season.
Before being recruited to Washington, Menifield wasn’t a highly-touted high school prospect and didn’t have offers from any big time college programs. During his freshman year with the Huskies, he largely outplayed his recruiting ranking and was one of the lone bright spots during an otherwise disappointing season in Seattle. While he’s somewhat undersized, he’s shown an ability to score from anywhere on the floor and to create at a very high level that could translate well in the SEC.
There was no announcement date set for Menifield’s decision, but expect that it would happen sooner than later with the uptick of activity surrounding the transfer portal lately.
