Hog Calls

Free fall not unfamiliar for Hogs fans

Arkansas guard Jalen Harris reacts Saturday, Jan. 12, 2019, after the Razorbacks' 94-88 overtime loss to LSU in Bud Walton Arena in Fayetteville.

FAYETTEVILLE -- Arkansas Razorbacks fans to their dismay are experienced in their Hogs free-falling.

They've become football-accustomed off the 0-8 SEC season under Bret Bielema's overall 3-9 inaugural 2013 campaign and the Chad Morris era in 2018 commencing 2-10 overall, 0-8 in the SEC.

Last season, UA football divvied six- and four-game free-falls.

John Pelphrey's four years coaching Razorbacks basketball included free-falling from the Dec. 30 and Jan.6 2008-09 euphoria of nonconference, Walton Arena-packed-house upsets over No. 4 Oklahoma and No. 7 Texas into 2-14 SEC ignominy. They closed losing eight straight.

Free-falls can happen to the best. Dave Van Horn, the Razorbacks baseball coach since 2003 and headed for Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame induction Friday, has a College World Series appearance, a Fayetteville Regional finalist and last year's national runner-up at the College World Series for three of his last four seasons.

But even he wasn't immune to the free-fall of 2016. In the only losing season of his head coaching career spanning from piloting Texarkana Junior College in 1989, Van Horn's 26-29, 7-23 in the SEC 2016 Razorbacks closed in a 13-loss free-fall.

So Arkansas fans have seen some free-falls but never from Mike Anderson's basketball teams.

In his previous seven years, Anderson never suffered a losing streak longer than three games. Until now.

His 10-7 Razorbacks' 1-4 SEC start includes losing the last four. If they don't win tonight at Walton over Missouri, 10-6, 1-3 in the SEC, chances weigh heavy the skid extends to six when visiting nationally No. 14 Texas Tech in Saturday's SEC/Big 12 Challenge game in Lubbock, Texas.

Anderson appears handling his young Hogs' plight much like Van Horn did when the 2016 wheels fell off his team. Stay resolved to win and distasteful of defeat but don't lose your program's immediate future because you overreacted and lose your team.

Many of those floundering baseball Hogs of 2016 rose Arkansas again in 2017 and 2018.

"You don't panic," Anderson said. "I think that's the biggest key. You don't panic. If they don't see you panic, they're going to be OK."

In 17 Arkansas seasons assisting Nolan Richardson, Anderson experienced losing seasons only the first year and the last year.

As a head coach starting in 2002-03 at Alabama-Birmingham for four years and the next five at Missouri and into his eighth at Arkansas, he's never experienced a losing season.

So like Van Horn in 2016, Anderson isn't abandoning ship on his core principles just because the current currently runs troubled waters.

"What we do works," Anderson said. "Now we've just got to be able to put it together here, continuing to work and to believe in each other. We'll eventually get over the hump. It's nothing that some good winning wouldn't take care of."

Naturally, far better for him and his Hogs for that winning to start tonight.

Sports on 01/23/2019