Arkansas hoops looks to even record on trip to College Station

Texas A&M is Arkansas’ all-time most-faced team, holding a 107-61 series advantage.

After falling below .500 for the first time in Head Coach Eric Musselman‘s tenure, the Arkansas basketball team (12-13, 3-9 SEC) will try to even its record again Tuesday night with a trip to Texas A&M.

The Razorbacks have lost three of their last four games, as Musselman continues to seeks ways to overcome injuries and inconsistent play on the court.

Arkansas was down two primary big men Saturday in a 71-67 loss at Mississippi State, after having the lead with a minute to play. Sophomore Trevon Brazile has remained out with a recurring knee injury since a loss to Ole Miss on Jan. 24. Senior Jalen Graham missed Saturday’s game with an inured shoulder, sustained in a loss to No. 8 Tennessee last Wednesday.

It is unknown if either player will return against the Aggies.

Texas A&M (15-10, 6-6 SEC) is Arkansas’ most-common opponent all-time in a series that dates back 100 years. In 168 previous meeting between the two schools, Arkansas has a 107-61 overall advantage, which gives them more wins against the Aggies than any other team.

The schools were each charter members of the now-defunct Southwest Conference from 1927-91, until the Razorbacks left for the Southeastern Conference, A&M joined them in the SEC in 2012.

Arkansas won this season’s first showdown in Fayetteville, 78-77, on junior Tramon Mark‘s buzzer beater, after the Hogs squandered a 20-point lead.

The Aggies are coming off of two losses, including a 74-73 defeat at Vanderbilt last Tuesday and Saturday’s 100-75 blowout to No. 15 Alabama.

Tuesday’s game will tip at 6 p.m. on ESPN.

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

Missouri winless in SEC this season, but Hogs haven’t been much better

After a better showing in Saturday’s loss to No. 6 Kentucky, Arkansas is looking for needed win against Missouri.

The last time the Arkansas men’s basketball team sat at 10-10 after 20 games was in 2016 when the Razorbacks needed four wins in their last six games to finish a ho-hum 16-16 under former Head Coach Mike Anderson.

After a promising outlook this season, ranked No. 14 in the AP Preseason Top 25 poll, Arkansas (10-10, 1-6 SEC) has stumble hard, losing six of its first seven conference games out of the gate.

Hopefully for the Hogs, the best remedy for a struggling team may be playing a team who has struggled even more. Missouri (8-12, 0-7 SEC) eked out an 8-5 record in non-conference action this season and has since been unable to beat another SEC team. The Tigers did take South Carolina to overtime on Jan. 13, before taking a 71-69 loss at home.

Still, Arkansas Head Coach Eric Musselman isn’t taking anything for granted with the way his own team has flopped in January. He knows the Tigers will be motivated against their “Battle Line Rivalry” foe in Columbia on Wednesday night, and a win for the Hogs will take a better effort than what has been displayed so far.

“They’re gonna be hungry for the game on Wednesday and our guys have to realize how hungry they will be,” Musselman said. “If you look at Missouri’s games, a lot of close scores, like you look at the five-minute mark left in games of Missouri’s SEC games. It’s unbelievable how close they are and how hard they’ve played.”

The Razorbacks hold a 33-27 advantage over the Tigers, all-time, and 14-9 since Mizzou joined the SEC in 2012. Arkansas has won six of the last eight meetings between the two schools, including a home-and-home split last season.

Arkansas showed it’s best effort in SEC action last Saturday, leading No. 6 Kentucky at halftime in Bud Walton Arena, before falling to the Wildcats, 63-57. The did hold Big Blue to 27 points under their season scoring average.

“I have not been happy with the effort over the course of the last couple of weeks,” Musselman said following Saturday’s loss. “Tonight I have to go in the locker room and tell them we have to get ready for Missouri. I can’t fault their effort. We are not a good offensive team. All you have to do is watch the game. We struggle at taking care of the ball, but because of effort and defense tonight, we were in the game.”

The Razorbacks will again be without the services of senior guard Davante Davis, who has taken an undisclosed leave of absence from the team, and may still be without 6-foot-10 sophomore Trevon Brazile, who reinjured his surgically repaired knee in a 77-51 loss at Ole Miss a week ago.

Wednesday’s game will tipoff at 7:30 p.m. on the SEC Network, then the Hogs stay on the road with a trip to LSU on Saturday for an 11 a.m. tip, on ESPN2.

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.

Arkansas fans toss basketball team under the Muss Bus after latest loss

Arkansas fans held back no harsh feelings on social media following Razorbacks’ latest disappointing loss on Saturday.

With hopes of a turnaround following Tuesday night’s first SEC win, the Arkansas basketball quickly dashed those feelings against South Carolina on Saturday.

The Razorbacks (10-8, 1-4) never led, and trailed by double-digits most of the game, in the 77-64 loss to the Gamecocks. It didn’t take long for a chorus of boos to arrive from the home crowd midway through the first half.

Following the disappointing loss, Arkansas fans took to social media to post their extreme displeasure, and virtually throw in the towel on the season.

Here is a sample of the negative feedback posted on X:

Hogs put away pesky UNC-Wilmington behind Keyon Menifield Jr.’s 32 points

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.

Oklahoma moves to 9-0 on the season after dispatching Arkansas 79-70

Oklahoma continues to stack wins as they earn they move to 9-0 after defeating future SEC foe Arkansas in Tulsa, Oklahoma on Saturday 79-70.

Oklahoma is currently wrecking their competition. Everything is working for the Sooners.

Saturday was another example of that, moving to 9-0 after roasting the Arkansas Razorbacks 79-70 at the BOK Center in Tulsa, Okla., late Saturday afternoon.

Do not be fooled. The nine-point final score is hardly indicative of what took place from the last quarter of the first half onward. Some garbage time baskets shouldn’t take away from how much better Oklahoma looked than Arkansas.

Oklahoma set the tone from the beginning, as their defense set the tone for the entire game in the first half. The Sooners were elite defending the perimeter, holding Arkansas under 30 percent from distance in the first half.

The game went back and forth for much of the first 20 minutes, with no one having more than a five-point lead.

Rivaldo Soares led the way with nine points and four rebounds in the first half. Porter Moser’s club was also quicker and more dominant on the boards, holding a 19-11 edge.

The Sooners did a terrific job guarding Trevon Brazile, Arkansas’ all-SEC caliber player and a potential first-rounder. He was held to zero points. A 14-2 run to end a first half where Oklahoma shot 58 percent from the field and had 26 points that put the Sooners up 12 at halftime.

Oklahoma would come right out of the half and deliver another flurry to the Arkansas Razorbacks. Arkansas’s head coach, Eric Musselman, was ejected around the 15-minute mark after a disagreement with an official. From there, the wheels came off for the Hogs as Oklahoma pushed out to a 19-point lead before assistant coach Keith Smart of Arkansas was forced to call a timeout.

Javian McCollum continued his ascent as one of college basketball’s best players, pouring in 20 points, five rebounds, and four assists. Otega Oweh chipped in 14 points on 6/7 shooting(2/2 from three) from the field.

Razorbacks guard Tramon Mark came into the game as the Hogs’ leading scorer, yet he was held to just 10 points. Khalif Battle, another scoring guard for Arkansas, was just 2/10 from the field and amassed 13 points, with eight coming via the free-throw line.

The Sooners will now focus on a home game versus the Green Bay Phoenix next Saturday.

Contact/Follow us @SoonersWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Oklahoma news, notes, and opinions. You can also follow Bryant on Twitter @thatmanbryant.

Hogs, Sooners set for rubber match in final Crimson & Cardinal Classic

Arkansas and Oklahoma will play one more non-conference basketball game before the Sooners join the SEC next season.

Saturday will mark the proverbial rubber match in the short-lived Crimson & Cardinal Classic between Arkansas and No. 19 Oklahoma.

The annual neutral-site rivalry game at Tulsa’s BOK Center has taken place for the past two seasons, with each team winning a game. As Oklahoma transitions into the SEC next summer, this will be the final non-conference game between the two traditional programs.

The Razorbacks and Sooners have played 30 times throughout history, with Arkansas holding a 17-13 advantage, which also includes a 6-1 advantage on a neutral court.

The BOK Center is nearly the halfway point between the two schools. The Arkansas campus is 116 miles from Tulsa, while Oklahoma is 125 miles away.

Oklahoma won the inaugural Crimson & Cardinal Classic, 88-66, two years ago, in a game most remembered by Eric Musselman disputing a call and having to be removed from the court by his staff. The Razorbacks bounced back last year with an 88-78 victory, led by Ricky Council’s 26 points and a 24-8 Hog run midway thorough the game.

Arkansas (6-3) began this season ranked No. 14 in the AP Top 25, but fell out after losses to UNC-Greensboro, Memphis and North Carolina. The Hogs have regrouped since then with an 80-75 win over then No. 7 Duke and a 97-83 win over Furman, both in Bud Walton Arena.

Oklahoma (8-0) began the season unranked, but after a a perfect run out of the gate now finds itself ranked No. 19.

“I would say that all preseason polls are so meaningless, in football, basketball,” Musselman said. “Because you just don’t know about chemistry, you don’t know how pieces are going to fit together, everyone’s rosters are fluctuating,

“I love what Coach (Porter) Moser has done. I think he’s done an incredible job. They have some returners that are key pieces.”

The Razorbacks may be without the services of leading rebounder Trevon Brazile, who suffered a severe ankle sprain in the win over Furman, but leading scorer Tramon Mark was able to log 26 minutes against the Paladins, scoring seven points after injuring his back on a hard fall in the loss to North Carolina.

Along with Mark, the Razorbacks will again rely on the team’s second-leading scorer, senior Khalif Battle, who has already led the team in scoring five times this season.

The Temple transfer has added a dynamic to this year’s squad that keeps opponents off balance. He scored a game-high 21 against Duke, then poured in 25 in the win over Furman.

“One, he can get his shot off real quick and can elevate over people, and if you crowd him he is going to take the ball to the basket and draw free-throws attempted,” Musselman said. “So, when you have a guy who can shoot, dribble and draw FTAs it makes him hard to guard. And he has deep range.”

Saturday’s game will tip-off at 3 p.m. and will be televised on ESPN2.

Can the Oklahoma Sooners take advantage of Arkansas Razorbacks 3-point defense in Tulsa?

When the Oklahoma Sooners take on the Arkansas Razorbacks, they’ll have opportunities from three-point range. Can they take advantage?

Porter Moser and the Oklahoma Sooners find themselves 8-0 for the first time since the 2015-2016 season. They have ripped through their competition, including wins over a USC Trojans team with multiple NBA-caliber players, a high-scoring Iowa team, and a Providence team that beat Wisconsin earlier in the year.

The Sooners still have a few non-conference foes left before they dive head-first into what will be one final grueling and challenging Big 12 slate before they depart for the SEC and its gauntlet next season.

One of their toughest nonconference opponents remaining is Eric Musselman’s Arkansas Razorbacks. The Sooners and Razorbacks will meet again at the BOK Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma, on Saturday. This is the rematch of last year’s game that went 88-78 in favor of the Hogs.

Much has changed from a personnel standpoint on both sides. Milos Uzan is the only starter returning for the Sooners. Meanwhile, the Razorbacks have no starters from that game this year, with the likelihood that projected first-round pick Trevon Brazile will be out after an ankle injury against Furman in their last game.

While only the Sooners come in ranked No. 22 in the USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll, this is a resume-building win for either team. It’s a game that could make a big difference when it’s time for the selection committee to evaluate teams pursuing an NCAA tournament bid.

Derek Oxford of Razorbacks Wire gave us time to share his thoughts on questions surrounding Arkansas as we head into this pivotal clash between future conference foes.

Brazile has severe ankle sprain, not ruled out for Saturday

Trevon Brazile will likely be a game-time decision on Saturday against Oklahoma, but Eric Musselman didn’t rule him out on Wednesday.

Trevon Brazile sprained his ankle badly in Monday’s 14-point win over Furman, but luckily avoided a season-ending injury like a year ago.

Eric Musselman had a Zoom presser with the media on Wednesday to preview Saturday’s Crimson and Cardinal Classic matchup with Oklahoma at the BOK Center in Tulsa.

Arkansas did fortunately get back Tramon Mark against Furman, and the junior transfer from Houston contributed 7 points, 3 rebounds and 2 assists in 26 minutes of action.

Makhi Mitchell was also made available to media via Zoom on Wednesday, and spoke about the importance of playing at a high level against a ranked Oklahoma team coming in undefeated with tons of confidence,

“It’s going to take good rim protection and good on-ball defense,” Mitchell said. “I think it’s going to pretty much take everything to win this game.”