72° Fair  ·  Home · Archives · Go Hogs! · Blogs · Contact Us Search: Go

Fayetteville, Ark.

logo2.gif
ADVERTISEMENT for PARKER LEXUS parkerlexus.com

SPONSORS

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT





Location: WholeHogSports > Story     |     TAGGED: basketball (8) , SEC (7)

LIKE IT IS : Packed arena sees running, diving, battling UA

Published: Sunday, February 03, 2008 PRINT E-MAIL

FAYETTEVILLE — It is back.

The return of Hawgball was obvious Saturday with one slight change. Now, it is 40 minutes of Pel, which in many ways is perspiringly close to 40 minutes of hell.

An hour before Florida and Arkansas tipped off in a critical SEC matchup, there were more fans than tickets.

Two, three and four fingers waved in the sunshine outside the great venue known as Bud Walton Arena. The hope was finding someone, anyone, who didn’t have time to be a hogcalling maniac.

Few of those, if any, found their loyalty rewarded Saturday as an outrageous Razorbacks nation roared their Hogs to victory.

ADVERTISEMENT

nwahomes_promo_300x250.jpg

The Razorbacks never trailed, taking a 10-8 lead off the only tie when Sonny Weems drove the baseline and slammed down a one-handed dunk.

The home team responded, and while the Razorbacks shot very well, 32 of 59 from the floor (54. 2 percent ), it was still their defense that made the difference, and the two biggest differencemakers were Patrick Beverley and Steven Hill.

By the end, Beverley, who f inished with a game-high 12 rebounds, 8 points and 3 assists, had been like a plague on defense, smothering the Gators with hot hands and quick feet.

Hill finished with only two blocks, but he altered so many shots the Gators started lofting some hopeless prayers and jacked 25 three-pointers trying to get points on the board. They shot only 33. 3 percent from the field, including 16 percent on threes.

For those who have wondered, that’s why Hill starts. He is a force in the middle on defense.

All the while, 19, 981 heartily enthusiastic fans showed their appreciation for the efforts of the team — and that’s what the Razorbacks were as they had a rare game with more assists (19 ) than turnovers (14 ).

John Pelphrey has been preaching teamwork since he arrived on campus, and when the team listens, it wins.

Florida came in riding a three-game winning streak, ranked No. 20, but became the second consecutive ranked team to find no offensive answers for the Razorbacks’ breath-stealing defense.

This was a game that had a little of everything on offense — six three-pointers, rim-ringing rebound slams, several alley-oop dunks and rebound tips.

It even had an introduction of Arkansas’ new football coach, Bobby Petrino, who led the loud crowd, which included several of his key recruits, in a reverberating hog call.

The game was also a showdown of sorts between teacher, Billy Donovan, and student, Pelphrey, and the Arkansas head coach proved he had paid close attention during his days as an assistant at Florida and Marshall.

Pelphrey knows how Donovan operates, and so the Razorbacks’ leader was practically in overdrive, demanding explanations from the officials and questioning their vision.

He was so animated, so intense, he got an official warning — one more and you get a technical foul — from Tracy Woodson.

Pelphrey got close several more times, but with this game hugely important, he never went over the line.

This was the second consecutive quality victory for the Razorbacks, and the dividend should be paid when the newest batch of RPI numbers are released.

The victories came because of hard, physical play, especially on defense.

Razorbacks dove to the floor with reckless abandon for loose balls, and they didn’t quit even when they led by 30.

Give the young Gators credit; they never gave up, either. And they will be making lots more noise in March than they did here Saturday.

Yet, they couldn’t get on track in the paint, getting only 28 points down low while the Razorbacks pounded them for 44.

With Hill, Weems, Beverley and Charles Thomas blocking shots and altering others, and the perimeter defense strong, that makes for a winning formula.

Hawgball is back.

recent_blogs.jpg

VIDEO: Tebow Mania in Alabama

Jul 23, 2008

Walk through the lobby at the Wynfrey Hotel today and you would have seen about a dozen Florida fans gathered, and hoping and waiting for their savior ...

[+] More of this author's blog

dots_under_blog.gif

Brandon Marcello

Slive: Save for UA, SEC almost probation free

Jul 23, 2008

HOOVER, Ala. — Six years into the job, SEC commissioner Mike Slive is happy to say that the SEC is probation free — almost. With Mississippi St ...

[+] More of this author's blog

dots_under_blog.gif

Brandon Marcello

VIDEO: The scene at SEC Media Days

Jul 23, 2008

Bright-eyed from the early morning flight, I just arrived to the Wynfrey Hotel in Birmingham, Ala., for the three-day  frenzy of SEC Media Days. Got ...

[+] More of this author's blog

dots_under_blog.gif

Brandon Marcello

Onward to SEC Media Days

Jul 22, 2008

Just a reminder to keep your browser on The Slophouse Wednesday through Saturday as I'll be bring ...

[+] More of this author's blog

dots_under_blog.gif

Brandon Marcello

Petrino on ESPN: 'Not a thing' to miss in NFL

Jul 22, 2008

ESPN's College Football Live had Bobby Petrino on earlier this hour in a pre-taped segment. No real hard-hitting questions, which wa ...

[+] More of this author's blog

dots_under_blog.gif

Brandon Marcello

AP Top 25

Updated April 16

1. Kansas 35-3

2. Memphis 37-1

3. North Carolina 36-2

4. UCLA 35-3

5. Texas 31-7

6. Louisville 27-9

7. Tennessee 31-5

8. Xavier 30-7

9. Davidson 29-7

10. Wisconsin 31-5

11. Stanford 28-8

12. Georgetown 28-6

13. Michigan State 27-9

14. Butler 30-4

15. Washington State 26-9

16. Duke 28-6

17. West Virginia 26-1

18. Pittsburgh 27-1

19. Notre Dame 25-8

20. Purdue 25-9

21. Marquette 25-1

22. Western Kentucky 29-7

23. Drake 28-5

24. Villanova 22-1

25. Vanderbilt 26-8

How many games will this year's football team win?


1-4

5-6

7-8

9+

Vote

Arkansas Razorbacks' 2008 Football Schedule

Aug. 30

Western Illinois

      TBA

Sep. 6

Louisiana-Monroe

      TBA

Sep. 13

@ Texas

     2:30 pm

Sep. 20

Alabama

      TBA

Oct. 4

Florida

      TBA

Oct. 11

@ Auburn

      TBA

Oct. 18

@ Kentucky

      TBA

Oct. 25

Ole Miss

      TBA

Nov. 1

Tulsa (Homecoming)

      TBA

Nov. 8

@ South Carolina

      TBA

Nov. 22

@ Mississippi State

      TBA

Nov. 28

LSU

     1:30 pm