Above .500: Arkansas 72, Stephen F. Austin 69

by Stephen Expat on Dec 19, 2009 5:34 PM CST in Basketball Comment 3 comments

Stephen F. Austin's Eddie Williams, center front, battles for a loose ball against Arkansas' Jemal Farmer, left, and Mike Washington, right. (AP Photo/April L. Brown)

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Thanks to a terrific effort by Michael Washington and solid performances by Stefan Welsh and Marcus Britt, the Hogs won their fourth in a row today and climbed above the .500 mark. Their record now stands at 6-5.

The Razorbacks trailed by five at intermission, but came back to take an 11-point lead. Arkansas then got a little sloppy, and Stephen F. Austin was able to make things way too interesting down the stretch. Overall, a decent win, especially considering that Rotnei Clarke was obviously not at full strength.

I don't know if he's recently discovered Doan's pills or acupuncture or what, but Washington looked much more energetic today than he did earlier in the season. Let's hope his back continues to hold up, as the Hogs' schedule is about to get much tougher. On Tuesday, Arkansas faces unbeaten Missouri State, which is currently ranked 24th in the RPI. On Dec. 30, the Hogs take on Baylor, which has an 8-1 record, and on Jan. 2, they face Alabama-Birmingham, which boasts a 9-1 record and just waxed no. 25 Cincinnati by 17 points. And three days after that, No. 2 Texas comes to Fayetteville.

Yikes.

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End of game was awful

I am glad Arkansas won, but the Razorbacks’ play at the end of the game was terrible. Two straight possessions they let SFA grab the rebound on missed free throws (twice in one possession) and get another basket. And as Blake Eddins diplomatically put it, Welsh was guilty of a gross error of misjudgement by letting an SFA guy put up an uncontested three pointer in the waning seconds. This was the second straight game where Nobles had more turnovers than assists. It is beginning to look more and more like we need Fortson back soon.

by Whit E. Knight on Dec 19, 2009 6:09 PM CST reply actions 0 recs

I agree

I’m not the biggest Fortson fan in the world, but I think the team will be a better one with him. How much better? Maybe not a ton, but I’m ready to find out.

by Stephen Expat on Dec 19, 2009 6:28 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

I will be pleasantly surprised

if they don’t go on a 5-8 game losing streak.

Missouri State
at Baylor
UAB
Texas
at Mississippi State
Alabama
Florida
at Kentucky

Good luck! Otherwise, judging by local comments and thousands of empty Bud Walton seats, everyone is counting down to baseball season and/or spring practice at this point. Depressing.

Your source for replacement level commentary

by RATW on Dec 19, 2009 8:21 PM CST reply actions 0 recs