Tag: Tramon Mark

Fans on social media somewhat mum prior to clash with Georgia

Social media has been relatively quiet from Razorback basketball fans.

Despite its recent rocky road, the Arkansas basketball team returns to Bud Walton Arena on Saturday for the first time in 14 days, and is a 3.5-point favorite over Georgia.

The Razorbacks (11-11, 2-7 SEC) have struggled out of the gates in conference play, which includes a 76-66 loss at Georgia on Jan. 10. But now, the Bulldogs (14-9, 4-6 SEC) have lost their last four games, including a 75-62 defeat at Mississippi State on Wednesday night.

Arkansas will have senior guard Devante Davis back on the court. The 6-foot-4 Jacksonville product is the longest tenured Hog on the roster, playing in 121 games, including 80 starts, over the past four seasons. He returned to practice on Monday after several days away from the team for undisclosed reasons.

Following a losing football season, Razorback fans have struggled in dealing with a lackluster basketball season – especially with a team who was ranked No. 14 in the AP Top 25 preseason poll.

Social media has been slightly mum from fans heading into the showdown with the Bulldogs. Here are some of the items posted on X:

Hogs’ Davis set to return to court as Georgia limps into Bud Walton

Arkansas and Georgia have both struggled of late, setting up a needed victory for both programs.

Senior guard Devante Davis is set to return to the court for the Arkansas basketball team on Saturday, while sophomore Trevon Brazile‘s status is still up in the air.

Davis, the longest tenured Hog on the roster, hopes to give the Razorbacks a well-needed boost as Georgia visits Bud Walton Arena for a 5 p.m. tipoff. It will be the first time in two weeks that the Hogs have played a home game.

“We’re excited to have Devo back, and I think he’s excited – he’s been working hard, he’s had a great week of practice,” Head Coach Eric Musselman said. “He feels like he is back to where he was, from a conditioning standpoint. He’s been a part of four really good years, and we’re certainly looking forward to having him back.”

The 6-foot-10 Brazile, who was the team’s top rebounder before going down on Jan. 3 against LSU, reinjured his knee after offseason surgery to repair a torn ACL. The timetable for his return remains unknown.

Arkansas (11-11, 2-7 SEC), who enters Saturday’s game as a two-point favorite by Vegas odds, has struggled mightily out of the gate in conference play, including a 76-66 loss at Georgia on Jan. 18. Musselman has instituted some new plays this week, hoping the new looks can improve the outcome.

“If they work we will use them again, but we’ve got to make shots and we’ve got to make good entry passes,” Musselman said. “You’re not going to change a lot in a week, but certainly we’ve added some tweaks and some other things. We’ve added four or five different wrinkles to some things that maybe we need to take more advantage of, especially when you play a team a second time.”

Junior Tramon Mark has been the Razorbacks’ go-to threat for most of the season and will likely be the offensive catalyst again. The Houston transfer is currently fifth in the SEC in scoring with 17.8 points a game, and has topped 20 points the past two games.

Mark led the Hogs with 24 points and seven rebounds in the first meeting with the Bulldogs. He went 10-of-10 from the free throw line, and also led the team in steals, assists and blocked shots in that game.

Georgia (14-9, 4-6 SEC) also limps in with four straight losses, including Wednesday’s 75-62 defeat at Mississippi State.

Arkansas is 26-17 all-time against Georgia, all coming since the Razorbacks joined the SEC in 1991, including 13-3 in games played in Fayetteville.

Saturday’s game will air on the SEC Network, with Razorback legend Joe Kleine providing the color commentary, along side Mike Morgan.

Jan 31, 2024; Columbia, Missouri, USA; Arkansas Razorbacks guard Tramon Mark (12) shoots against Missouri Tigers guard Anthony Robinson II (14) and forward Aidan Shaw (23) during the first half at Mizzou Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jay Biggerstaff-USA TODAY Sports

Social media is checking out on Razorbacks ‘on-court’ activities

Recent rumors and baseball have been stealing the thunder from the Arkansas basketball teams’ performance, of late.

With off-the-court rumors continuing to swirl around the Arkansas basketball program, and baseball season less than two weeks away, fewer fans seem concerned with what the Hogs are doing on the court.

Despite vying for their first win streak in conference play, today in Baton Rouge, the Razorbacks (11-10, 2-6 SEC) appear to have already vanished from the social media fanfare. With 10 games and the SEC Tournament left to play, the towel has long been thrown in by many fans.

Well, there is a little more chatter, and a tad more hope, from the red and white faithful after Arkansas began this two-game road trip with a 91-84 win over Missouri on Wednesday. Tramon Mark led the Hogs with 22 points, while Makhi Mitchell turned in his second consecutive double-double.

Now, with crosshairs aimed directly at the despised Bayou Bengals, the Razorbacks are poised for a second straight victory, for the first time since the end of December.

Here is a sample of the Razorback chatter on X, prior to Saturday’s game:

Arkansas vs. LSU: How to watch, stream, listen, key players and more

Can the Eric Musselman’s Hogs start their first winning streak of SEC play when they face LSU today? Here’s how to catch all of the action.

The Arkansas Razorbacks (11-10, 2-6 SEC) have a golden opportunity to begin their first SEC winning streak of the season when they face the LSU Tigers (11-9, 3-4 SEC) later today.

Following the team’s 91-84 win over Missouri on Wednesday, the Hogs arrive in Baton Rouge with some newfound swagger and momentum that had been absent in their last eight contests.

[autotag]Tramon Mark[/autotag] looks to build off of another stellar offensive performance, where he eclipsed 20 points for the seventh tme this year. [autotag]Makhi Mitchell[/autotag] and [autotag]Jalen Graham[/autotag] are also coming off of arguably their best performances of the season.

Mitchell tied his career-high in points, 19, to go with 14 rebounds. It was his second straight double-double as he also notched 13 points and 12 rebounds in last Saturday’s loss to Kentucky.

Graham was extremely active on both ends of the floor on Wednesday and stuffed the stat sheet. He finished with 19 points, 4 assists, 4 steals and 3 blocks, in what was easily his best defensive performance as a Hog.

The Pete Maravich Center in Baton Rouge hasn’t been the most friendly arena for the Razorbacks in recent years. They’ve only won one out of their last four games at LSU, the most recent one being last season’s disappointing 60-57 loss on the same night as the football team’s thrilling Liberty Bowl win over Kansas.

Entering Saturday’s game the Tigers are rested yet wounded as they’ve lost three straight games. Their last outing being a 109-88 blowout loss to Alabama in Tuscaloosa.

It’s a prime opportunity for the Razorbacks to get another win and here’s how you can watch, listen and stream all of the action.

Musselman, Hogs look to rebound with ESPN GameDay in the house

After losing four of its first five SEC games, Arkansas hopes to get the season turned around against No. 6 Kentucky.

With the ESPN College GameDay crew visiting Bud Walton Arena for the first time ever on Saturday, the Arkansas basketball team has not quite resembled a marquis program of late.

The Razorbacks (10-9, 1-5 SEC), who began the season ranked No. 14 in the AP Top 25, have struggled most of the season. Now, the Hogs have lost five of their first six SEC games, since the New Year began, by an average margin of 20.6 points per defeat.

Things don’t get much easier, as No. 6 Kentucky (14-4, 4-2 SEC) rolls into Fayetteville for a 5 p.m. tip-off, in what could be a less than a raucous Bud Walton atmosphere.

In their lone conference victory – a 78-77 triumph at home over Texas A&M on Jan. 16 – the Hogs jumped out to a 20-point lead before eventually needing a Tramon Mark buzzer-beater to pull it out. But Head Coach Eric Musselman said its imperative to get off to another fast start against the Wildcats.

“Certainly getting off to a good start, we were able to do that against Texas A&M, and I thought it helped fuel our confidence,” Musselman said when he met with the media on Thursday. “Especially when you are playing a team like Kentucky, and they’re No. 1 in the country in points per game, they’re No. 3 in field goal percentage, No. 7 in three-point percentage, and eighth in assists – so there’s a lot of things, defensively.

“We’re playing the No. 1 offensive team in the country, a team that’s got a ton of pros. Super talented. I think Coach (John) Calipari is an incredible coach.”

Arkansas has struggled on the offensive boards this season, which has often led to the opposition getting good looks and easy baskets on the other end of the court. In SEC play, the Razorbacks have committed 64 turnovers to only 59 assists, and have been out-rebounded by an average margin of 11 per game. Musselman emphasized the importance of improving the transitional defense.

“Transition defense, super important, obviously, and defending the three, super important,” he said. “We’ve had too many sequences when you have guys in no-man’s land. They’re not going to the glass and they’re not getting back. And that equates to our record.”

He didn’t give any details as to what the lineup would look like on Saturday, but did stress the need for key players to step up their play on the court.

“I think, right now, we need all of our main rotation guys to play well,” Musselman said. “I mean, when you look at our stats, individually and as a team, we’ve got to improve in a lot of areas, on both sides of the basketball. We’ve got to improve, we’ve got to get better.”

The Razorbacks struggled mightily Wednesday night in a 77-51 loss at Ole Miss, playing without the services of leading-scorer Tramon Mark, and missing leading-rebounder Trevon Brazile in the second half.

Mark was dealing with a severe migraine headache, and Brazile began to have pain in his knee, likely associated with his off-season ACL surgery. Musselman was unsure if either player would be available against Kentucky.

“I assume Tramon should be getting better each day with the migraine – that’s usually the history of how migraines go, but they are also very unpredictable,” the coach said. “And with TB, he would like to play, for sure, But he’s got some soreness, and there are a couple different thought processes. Does he rest, does he see how it feels before tip? At best, a game-time decision.”

Musselman and Calipari have known each other for several years, dating back to their international coaching experiences. Since arriving at Arkansas, Musselman has defeated his counterpart three of the four times they have faced off, but the Wildcats did pull off an 88-79 win in Fayetteville last season.

Kentucky has an all-time 34-14 advantage in the series, which dates back to 1945 – a 67-42 Big Blue win in Lexington. Since becoming conference foes in 1992, the Wildcats holds a 30-14 series lead, although 10 of those battles were settled by four points or less, and five have needed overtime.

At least Arkansas has nostalgia on its side this time around. This is the 10th anniversary of  Michael Qualls’ legendary 2014 put-back slam at the buzzer that defeated Kentucky, 87-85 in overtime, and sent the Bud Walton crowd into a frenzy.

Fans may attend the airing of ESPN College GameDay for free Saturday morning, with the doors opening to the public at 9 a.m. The arena will then be cleared after the show to prepare for the 5 p.m. tipoff.

Fans quietly waiting to see where Razorback hoops goes from here

Social media has been relatively quiet leading up to Saturday’s tip-off with South Carolina, as Arkansas fans wait to see which direction the Hogs will go.

Arkansas’s basketball team finally got off the schneid Tuesday night, taking down Texas A&M, 78-77, for its first SEC win of the season.

Now, the Razorbacks (10-7, 1-3 SEC) remain at home with a chance to build on that momentum against South Carolina on Saturday. The X (Twitter) feed had mixed emotions from Hog fans after beating the Aggies. Some happy for the win, while others are still upset with the start of the season.

Social media has been relatively quiet leading up to the showdown with the Gamecocks, as the Razorback faithful waits to see how things carry over. But there does seem to be a bit more excitement in the air.

Here are some of the posts on X, leading up to Saturday’s tip-off in Bud Walton Arena:

Hogs look to keep momentum as South Carolina invades Bud Walton

After an 0-3 start in the SEC, the Arkansas basketball team is looking for a second consecutive win against South Carolina on Saturday.

The Arkansas basketball team finally broke into the SEC win column with a buzzer-beating victory over Texas A&M Tuesday night and now looks to keep the momentum rolling as South Carolina comes to Bud Walton Arena on Saturday.

The Gamecocks soar in with an overall record of 14-3, but are just 2-2 since the conference slate began, including two losses in their last three games. Carolina is looking to bounce back from a 74-69 home loss to Georgia on Tuesday night.

Arkansas Head Coach Eric Musselman praised the Gamecocks’ play, thus far, particularly that of junior guard Meechie Johnson, who comes in averaging 17.3 points and 4.2 rebounds per game, while also leading the team with 35 made three-pointers and 16 steals.

“They have a really good backcourt and Johnson is playing as well as anyone in the country … but there are a lot of things we’ve got to get ready for between now and Saturday,” Musselman said on Thursday.

The fifth-year Hog coach is more concerned with his own team, and continuing to figure out which lineup gives the Razorbacks their best chance to win.

Arkansas (10-7, 1-3 SEC) did end a three-game conference losing streak with the 78-77 win over the Aggies, but now needs to find a way to build on it.

“For us it’s about preparation, understanding South Carolina’s record,” Musselman said. “The last game was good. Whether anything carries over, we will find out at gametime. But certainly a step in the right direction on many fronts.”

Since he arrived in 2019, Musselman has typically utilized a seven- or eight-man rotation during conference play. That formula has proven to work by the end of the season, as the Razorbacks have advanced to the past three Sweet 16s of the NCAA Tournament, including a couple of trips to the Elite 8.

This year’s roster has him a little more baffled, as he and his staff try to figure out the best combinations to put on the court together. Everyone on the bench graced the court in a 90-68 loss at Florida last Saturday, and 10 players saw time against Texas A&M.

“I don’t think it’s about any one player,” Musselman said. “We can’t keep playing 11 or 12 guys. When we do that the game’s not in our favor. We’ve historically been a program that has played seven or eight guys, trying to pair the rotation down. Who has a good game on Saturday, or who has a sub-par game, I’m not really sure.”

The overall depth of this season’s roster seems to be better than past seasons, top to bottom, but not many players have stepped up on a regular basis.

“There is only so many minutes to go around and certainly we have a staff that evaluates practice, and pieces have got to fit together,” he said. “Both sides of the basketball are important, and offense is as important as defense. If not, defense may be a little bit more important here at Arkansas. So, it’s just a whole bunch of factors with all of our guys – and I’m talking in general, from one to 14.”

Junior guard Tramon Mark has been the most consistent with his performances, averaging 17.8 points per game – 20.3 in SEC games – while shooting 53 percent from the field. The Houston transfer scored a career-high 35 against Texas A&M, including the final dagger, a floating jump-shot with 1.1 seconds remaining on the clock.

This will be the 39th meeting between Arkansas and South Carolina, since both schools entered the SEC together in 1991. The Razorbacks hold a 23-15 overall advantage, including a 12-5 mark in Fayetteville.

The teams will tip off at noon on Saturday and it will be aired nationally on the SEC Network.

Photo gallery: Arkansas’ buzzer-beating win over A&M

Here are the best photos from Arkansas’ heart-stopping victory over Texas A&M on Tuesday.

Tramon Mark’s hanging bucket with one second left gave Arkansas its first SEC win on Tuesday night over Texas A&M.

It was the shot in the arm that the program needed after a three-game losing streak to begin league play.

Texas A&M’s Wade Taylor IV had hit a 3-pointer on the possession before that gave the Aggies a one-point lead, but Mark saved the day at the other end.

Now Arkansas will look ahead to Saturday, as the South Carolina Gamecocks come to town. They are coming off a loss at home to Georgia.

Tipoff is at 1 p.m. on Saturday.

Here are the best photos from Tuesday night’s game.

Some fans still sour on social media following Razorbacks’ dramatic win

Tramon Mark electrified the crowd on hand with his game-winning buzzer-beater Tuesday night, but some on social media were still not happy.

Finally, the Arkansas basketball team chalked up an SEC conference win Tuesday night, but not before the drama played out on the court.

Arkansas (10-7, 1-3 SEC) led by 20 points midway through the first half, only to see Texas A&M (10-7, 1-3 SEC) claw its way back, inside a relatively spirited Bud Walton Arena. Then the Aggies took their lone lead of the game with seven seconds remaining, only to see junior Tramon Mark hit a dagger in the lane just before the buzzer, to give the Razorbacks a 78-77 victory.

Mark went for a career-high 35 points to lead the Hogs, with his final shot electrifying the fans in attendance. Yet, some of the feedback on social media didn’t reflect a lot of exuberance from the Razorback faithful. Many only focused on the negative aspects of the game.

Here is a sample of the postgame posting on X:

 

Razorbacks face steep uphill climb as Texas A&M comes to Bud Walton

Arkansas basketball will try to stop a three-game SEC losing streak against the Aggies on Tuesday.

Head Coach Eric Musselman’s basketball teams have started historically slow in Southeastern Conference play since he arrived five years ago, but the Razorbacks have always seemed to surge back for a post-season run in the NCAA Tournament.

After an 0-3 start in the conference this season – all double-digits losses – Arkansas faces another uphill battle. But even with an influx of upperclassman transfers on this season’s roster, that hill may finally be too steep.

ESPN has given Arkansas (9-7, 0-3 SEC) just a 34 percent chance of defeating Texas A&M in Bud Walton Arena on Tuesday,

These Razorbacks seem to lack the defense and grit that past squads have possessed. The Hogs started 1-5 in the SEC a season ago and still ended up in the Sweet 16. But with three historically bad losses over the past 10 days, this year’s hopes of another dance in March may quickly be fading away.

“This group does not have the characteristics of our past four years,” Musselman said after the Florida loss on Saturday. “I mean, you can see that. We have a lot of holes in a lot of different areas. So, our job as a staff will be to continue to do what we can, try to provide teaching points, to try to continue to give scouting reports that are effective. That’s what we’re supposed to do, is continue to try to get guys better and get the collective whole better.”

Arkansas lost its last home game on Jan. 6 to Auburn, 83-51, in what was the worst defeat of the Razorbacks in the 31-year history of Bud Walton Arena. The Hogs then lost consecutive road games, at Georgia and Florida, completing the worst three-game skid in Hog history. Those three losses were by a combined 64 points.

Texas A&M (10-6, 1-2 SEC) has had an up-and-down season, but is soaring after defeating No. 6 Kentucky, 97-92 in overtime on Saturday.

The Aggies are led by junior guard Wade Taylor IV, who is averaging 18.2 points, 4.1 assists and 2.4 steals. He exploded for 31 points, six rebounds and five assists in the win over Kentucky.

“They’re so well-coached,” Musselman said. “(Head coach) Buzz Williams does a phenomenal job with his team on both sides of the ball. They’ll mix up defensive coverage. It’ll be important for our ball handlers in the pick-and-roll to be able to identify their soft traps.”

The Razorbacks will hope to continue getting the warrior-like effort from junior guard Tramon Mark, the Houston transfer who is averaging 16.7 points a game.

Arkansas has played more games against Texas A&M than any other school in program history, sporting an overall 106-61 advantage over the Aggies. The series dates back to the Razorbacks’ first season in 1923-24, when the Aggies defeated them twice, on consecutive days, in College Station.

Since Texas A&M joined the SEC for the 2012-13 season, Arkansas owns a slight 11-10 advantage. The Razorbacks are 9-1 against the Aggies in Bud Walton, during that time, while the Aggies are 7-2 on their homecourt.

Also of note heading into Tuesday’s game, senior Davonte Davis is just eight rebounds and nine assists shy of joining Todd Day as the only Razorbacks to post at least 1,000 points, 500 rebounds and 300 assists.