For the third season in a row, the Arkansas Razorbacks’ NCAA Tournament hopes had been counted as good as dead.

But on cue, the Hogs revived their chance at the Big Dance like Lazarus from the tomb.

In 2006, it took a six-game run to earn a bid. Last year it was five games. This season, it’s probably going to take four or maybe five victories in a row to make it.

The Hogs, perhaps, got the hardest one Saturday with in an intense 78-73 victory over the No. 18 Vanderbilt Commodores.

Coming off their 72-69 upset of No. 1 Tennessee last Tuesday at Nashville, the Commodores didn’t have enough in their tank to match the Razorbacks’ desire. The Hogs needed some redemption after fumbling and stumbling their way to an ugly, ugly loss to Alabama on Wednesday.

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Throughout the second half Saturday, the Razorbacks had plenty of opportunities to let the game slip away but, unlike at Alabama, each Hog called upon rose to the occasion.

It was certainly good to see Patrick Beverley, Charles Thomas and Gary Ervin make big plays down the stretch to hold Vanderbilt at bay.

Beverley, who had struggled of late shooting, canned three of his five 3-pointers in the final four minutes of the game. He also led all players in rebounding with 7 boards.

Thomas, who had a nightmare of a game at Alabama, chipped in a big jumper and made a great assist to Darian Townes when the contest was a back-and-forth affair.

And Gary Ervin may have played the best game of his career at Arkansas with 13 points, 7 assists and 4 rebounds, including a huge defensive board late when no other Hog could get their hand on the ball.

It was a much-needed victory that keeps hope alive once again, but the question is can the Razorbacks play this well again against Ole Miss at Oxford, Miss., on Tuesday ?

Since joining the SEC, Oxford has been extremely unkind to the Razorbacks, but somehow the Hogs need to find a way to feel like they are at home there or a least play like they are.

The Black Hat One of the many unwritten duties of an athletics director that Frank Broyles intimately understood is that sometimes for the good of the program, he would have to wear the black hat. This was never more evident than in 1999 and 2000 when the Great Stadium Debate threatened to divide the fan base. While Houston Nutt and his staff were firm proponents of playing the bulk of Razorbacks games in Fayetteville in 1999 for recruiting purposes, Broyles kept Nutt out of the fray and carried the banner of moving one to two Razorbacks games a season to Fayetteville. The move allowed Broyles to absorb all the heat, while Nutt stayed neutral and popular, at least for the moment. Nutt’s popularity didn’t really begin to decline until the 2000 and 2001 seasons.

Now, to be totally fair, Nutt began to appreciate the home field advantage that War Memorial Stadium provided his teams the longer he was at Arkansas.

A season-turning victory there in 2001 over South Carolina and the Miracle on Markham upset of LSU the following year sealed the deal.

While there is no doubt the renovation and additions to Reynolds Razorback Stadium and the other improvements in and around the stadium were necessary for recruiting purposes, for whatever reason, the additional fans who now fill a 72, 000-seat Razorback Stadium have never quite translated into the game-day advantage that Broyles and Nutt sought.

Maybe it will take Jeff Long’s guidance in the head office and Bobby Petrino’s coaching on the field to truly stoke the flames of Hog fans.

Either way, enjoying a Razorbacks game is going to be more expensive this season. Long wore Broyles’ figurative black hat Monday when he announced regular tickets are going from $ 35 to $ 45 for 2008.

He also acknowledged that there is a possibility that Texas may not return this season’s Razorbacks visit to Austin in 2009 because the Hogs will be overbooked for opponents that season if the neutral site series with Texas A & M begins that year.

The word is that Arkansas and A & M both would make about $ 5 million a year on the game to be played in the stadium Jerry Jones is building for his Dallas Cowboys franchise.

The Razorbacks make around $ 2 million in ticket revenue on a soldout Razorbacks game in Fayetteville, so it’s easy to see why the Hogs would be willing to surrender a home game against their historic rival to face the Aggies in Dallas.

If the Steers’ trip to Fayetteville is put off in 2009, one hopes the UA will get Texas to sign some sort of binding contract to return the game in the future.

It goes against the grain to give the Longhorns something for nothing even if the result is big payday.

Making the Rounds Even though spring football practices are just over a month away, new Razorbacks head football coach Petrino has been getting to know the state and more than a few Razorbacks fans at Razorback Club meetings around the state. In recent days, Petrino has spoken at Texarkana, Wynne and Pine Bluff, and on Monday he will speak at the Razorback Club meeting in Little Rock and on Thursday in Fort Smith. The rest of Petrino’s Razorback Club speaking dates are as follows: April 21 in Bentonville / Bella Vista, April 28 at The Delta, May 1 at West Memphis, May 5 in Dallas, May 13 and 14 a golf outing at Hot Springs Village, May 19 Fort Smith for golf, June 6 Little Rock for golf, June 12 Saline County.

For more information, contact the local Razorback Club for each corresponding date.

Terry J. Wood is the sports editor of the Northwest Arkansas Times.