All Alone Atop the West: Arkansas 92, South Carolina 79

by Stephen Expat on Feb 17, 2010 10:35 PM CST in Arkansas Razorback Basketball

Tonight, the Hogs did what they do best: get to the free-throw line. Arkansas hoisted 36 attempts from the charity stripe (36!) and made 27 of them. The Razorbacks were hot from the field as well, shooting 55 percent.

Marshawn Powell was a beast for much of the evening, and Courtney Fortson turned in his usual fine effort. As a result, the Hogs are once again all alone in first place in the SEC West.

I was curious to see how Arkansas would respond after Saturday's deflating loss to Alabama, and I was impressed with their performance. Just two more wins, and the Hogs will finish the year with a winning conference record. I don't know about you, but considering all that has transpired this season, I find that rather amazing.

Also kind of amazing: this team is now 6-1 since the massacre at Kentucky. Despite the recent surge, the Hogs will be extremely hard-pressed to make the NCAA Tournament.

But they appear determined to go down swinging.

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Wow

I have been the Naysayer. But this was a well-played game against a team that played pretty well. Powell was nothing short of a Beast. In the first three minutes he had at least three strong drives to the basket, and it totally set the tone. Hogs played good D throughout the game, shot well, but most importantly they passed the ball well.

Play like that, Hogs, and you may just win the West.

Arkansas Expats: Acting like the Lost Generation since at least 2007.

by J. Hawg 3 on Feb 18, 2010 12:23 AM CST reply actions

It was their best-played game of the year, no doubt

Powell was definitely the hero, and the bench has really come on in recent games, too. They didn’t have great nights statistically last night, but Nobles, Johnson, Bryant and Farmer provided some high-energy minutes.

Arkansas Expats: Calling the Hogs from points way yonder.

by Stephen Expat on Feb 18, 2010 8:49 AM CST up reply actions

Long Shot

11-5 or 10-6 in the SEC; one or two wins in the SEC tourney and the committee would dare to leave them home? I doubt it. They really need these next two on the road to get to 9-4!

by T-towner on Feb 18, 2010 11:28 AM CST reply actions

Last year, South Carolina was the first team to win 10 SEC games and be left out. We need to win the next 4 of 5 to have a real chance at the NCAA; that is a tall order with 3 on the road and Vandy and Ole Miss at home. If we do pull it off we will at least put some pressure on the NCAA Tourney decision-makers.

by marquisc51 on Feb 18, 2010 11:33 AM CST reply actions

This. The NCAA isn't afraid to leave a 10-win team out in a weak SEC...

And you guys have an even worse OOC resume than we had last year. Granted, they’ll give you some credit for not having Fortson for those games, but it will still hurt you. What you guys need is to get a victory over a truly good team, such as Vanderbilt. That’s what we lacked last year, as we lost one to LSU and both to Tennessee, really the only two conference teams that were truly good last year.

Anyways, good game last night. You guys looked sharp. Good luck down the stretch.

Garnet and Black Attack: A Blog by and for Gamecocks Fans.

by Gamecock Man on Feb 18, 2010 12:40 PM CST up reply actions