Believe it or not, the North Texas game wasn’t televised in California. So, I asked my dad – Little Rock resident, Razorback fan and former freshman sensation on the Vanderbilt University basketball team – to share his observations from having attended the tussle at Alltel. Here’s his report:

In their first game since the season-changing victory over 4th-ranked Oklahoma, the Hogs took on North Texas at Alltel Arena in Little Rock. This site has not seen stellar play by the Hogs of late, as they lost at Alltel last year to Appalachian State and to Bobby Knight’s Texas Tech Red Raiders the year before.

Fans outside were holding up fingers looking for tickets as we entered, and the inside of the arena was packed to the hilt. The Hogs seemed cocky as the game got underway and they jumped out to an early 9-3 lead, but North Texas was calm and ran their patterns with patience. They always seemed to get open looks for their shots, most of which they hit. They were small, but athletic and disciplined.

Meanwhile, the Razorbacks looked sloppy and were forcing shots on offense, missing most of them. After playing all-world in the Oklahoma game, Courtney Fortson turned the ball over several times and missed all but one of his patented spinning off-balance shots in the paint in the first half. North Texas scored 15 unanswered points during this stretch to take a 35-27 lead, much to the dismay of the fans.

Coach Pelphrey and crew then turned up the defensive intensity a full notch with half-court traps and full-court pressing and, by halftime, the Hogs were only down 42-40. THE MAN for the Hogs in this half was Michael Washington, who had 20 points, many boards and was hitting his charity stripe shots.

In the second half, things remained tight for awhile as the game progressed to 53-53 but then the Hogs caught on fire and the place became bedlam as the Razorbacks went on a run to take a 16 point lead. Again, Washington was the finisher and had scored 30 points just eight minutes into the second half. Fortson settled down and his assists were flowing along with several incredible double-pumping drives for scores.

The play of the game: Courtney drove into the paint and spun 90 degrees in the air to his right. While looking at two Razorbacks on the right whom everyone thought one would receive the pass, he blindly flipped the ball backward over his shoulder to Washington on the left who delivered a thunderous jam. The house came down and the decibel level was as wild as during the Hogs’ heyday.

We coasted from there to the victory. Courtney missed a lot of free throws in this game….we’ll need those in games down the line when the competition gets bigger and tougher, especially since he’s the man who’ll be handling the ball. Stefan Welsh continued his accurate marksmanship from 3-point land and from the free throw line as well. Rotnei Clarke hit some nice treys and played hardnosed hustling ball. Marcus Monk’s output wasn’t as amazing today as in the Oklahoma game but he was solid and continues to hit his free throws. Michael Sanchez had a quiet game, getting outrebounded by the smaller but quicker opposition.

All in all, the Hogs are improving and doing way better than most of us thought they would at this stage. They’re playing hard, tough and scrappy (though not always smart). Hog hoops is on the rise again!

Being expats, we were unable to attend Friday night’s Red-White basketball game. However, like last year, we were able to persuade CharlieHog, proprietor of the excellent HogNation site and the terrific new RazorbackNine baseball blog (and perhaps most importantly, our very first commenter), to file an eyewitness report. Many thanks, Charlie. The floor is now yours:

Here are my quick thoughts on the Red/White scrimmage. Obviously there isn’t much to report from 20 minutes of play.

• The arena is weird, sort of jarringly different. Press row is behind the home basket, the student seating now consists of benches, and the new luxury seats are in. Of course the mid-court logo is now the “helmet” Hog. The ribbon boards have not been installed yet. The “bone/popcorn” Hog logo has been removed from the scoreboard. Only helmet Hogs to be seen everywhere.

• The band is under new direction. It’s the guy that always led the band at women’s events. Sorry I don’t know his name. They sounded great, though.

• Courtney Fortson wasn’t there. I don’t know why.

• Rotnei Clarke can definitely shoot the three. He made 12 in the 3-point contest held between the women’s and men’s scrimmages and hit his first four three-pointers in the scrimmage itself.

• Stefan Welsh is noticeably bigger, and Michael Washington also looks to be in great shape.

• Physically, Brandon Moore looks exactly like Sonny Weems to me.

• Overall, the team seems to be very long and athletic, even if they do lack height.

• Michael Sanchez is very physical.

• Montrell McDonald played well and stood out.

Overall that’s about it. The defense looked pretty tight. The guys played hard. I’m not sure how many games we’ll win (since it’s October I’ll say all of them – ha) but the potential is there, and I believe in Coach Pelphrey’s ability to get them playing as a team and improving over the course of the season.

Attendance was OK. I’d guess around 5,000 to 6,000.

We here at RazorbackExpats are open-minded sorts, and believe in exposing ourselves to new and exotic viewpoints every now and then. So, in honor of this weekend’s big game against Alabama we reached out to one of our favorite Bama bloggers, the Tide Druid, and offered him a free post (no, we didn’t lose a bet).

So, we’ll now turn the floor over to Mr. Druid…remember he’s a guest here, so be polite (and we apologize in advance for the references to the 2007 game…that part is difficult for us to read, too).

The fine people that operate this blog have asked me if I was interested in a guest blog post. Being the friendly guy that I am, I decided it would be fun to write something for a different U of A crowd.

So what to discuss? We’ve all seen some amazing things since this rivalry started in the early 90’s, so everyone has their favorite memories. I noticed the post asking the readers about their most memorable highs and lows, so I thought I would offer an Alabama fan’s point of view.

One of the lowest lows came in 2003, where I waited in the rain for the game to start. I had received a pair of tickets for attending a VERY boring seminar, and I was pumped to see Alabama take on an SEC opponent with new coach Mike Shula. I called up my buddy Joel, and we headed out to Bryant-Denny, unaware of the weather forecast. Needless to say, it poured rain for a good 30 minutes, and I could not get back to shelter. So we just sat there, listening to the PA system play “Purple Rain” by Prince. It cleared, and the game started as scheduled.

Things started out great, with Alabama taking a 21 point lead. Not knowing Alabama to blow such leads, I proceeded to party in the stands, only to notice a comeback when Arkansas was within a TD of tying the game. 3 OTs and a somewhat questionable celebration penalty on Bama soon followed, leaving Arkansas with the victory. I was wet, tired, and depressed, so it would only make sense that my car was blocked in my parking spot that cost $15. They had given me their word they wouldn’t block me in, but life has a funny way of kicking you when you’re down.

4 years later, I again got to Bryant-Denny Stadium to watch Alabama play the Razorbacks. This time, I had my girlfriend with me, who was born in Conway, Arkansas. Yes…. she has Hog fans in her family, although she’s a Bama fan since they gave her a full scholarship. The first time I met her Uncle was the night of the Tiffin meltdown. His first words were “WOOO! PIG SOOIE!”

So, with tickets in hand, we proceeded to watch Alabama take a 21-0 lead. Everyone around me was jumping for joy, but I had old memories in my head. “There’s still a half to go. They could come back.” They did, and soon Arkansas had the lead with close to 2 minutes to go. I was down, because Alabama had not made a 4th quarter comeback in close to 6 years since Franchione’s 2001 team against Iowa State.

But low and behold, John Parker Wilson showed signs of Joe Namath or Jay Barker, leading Alabama down the field within scoring range. As you can imagine, I was extremely tense, as were the 92,000+ in Tuscaloosa that night. Suddenly, the ball is snaped, and Matt Caddell gets just enough space to signal he’s open. JPW throws a pass that appears to be too high, but Caddell makes the catch, saving the victory Alabama almost gave away once againt in Bryant-Denny Stadium!

We kick off, Houston Nutt gives EDSBS a great picture, and I go horse in a matter of seconds screaming for joy.

Some are expecting an upset, while others a blowout for the ranked team. I don’t know what to expect, because this series always seems so close. Whatever will happen, somebody is bound to have their heart broken. Thanks for your time, and Roll Tide!

With our fleet of corporate jets undergoing some much-needed maintenance work, we were unable to attend last night’s hair-raising, blood-pressure-spiking win over mighty Louisiana-Monroe. However, frequent commenter KevinHog was there, and, after his heartbeat returned to normal, he filed the following report detailing exactly 28 observations on the evening. Take it away, Kev:

1. Under a clear, blue (and bannerless) sky, the Hogs took on ULM and their own youthful selves. And as everyone now knows, they nearly got beat by both!

2. My mother joined me for the game as she is the most rabid Hog fan in the family outside of myself. My father stayed home asleep on the couch with the basset hound. Obsessing over the Hogs’ triumphs and travails follows more the maternal line in my family. My grandmother is mainly responsible for my interests in sports and the Hogs. The loss in the SEC Championship game is proof enough that her pull in Heaven is not what it should be. But give her time! I think she might have actually pulled a few strings last night.

3. Gustav’s journey through Arkansas was apparent on the golf course, where we encountered some downed trees. I think another visitor from Louisiana left their own mark: some downed expectations for this season’s team.

4. The sheer diversity of Razorback wear! Teams of Indonesian and Chinese kids must stay up late at night working on yet another variation of Razorback wear. I rarely saw two shirts that looked alike. It is strange (but a good strange) for an expat who lives in Oklahoma to no longer be the only one wearing something with a hog on it.

5. Nobody looks cuter than little girls dressed up in Razorback cheerleading outfits. One of them sitting next to us was so cute that for a moment she took my mind off the disaster that was unfolding on the field. If the AP has a poll in ranking little girls in cheerleading outfits, I expect to see the Hogs at the top.

6. Tusk wasn’t all that impressed with anyone’s outfit, but we did take a picture of him in his cage. As we left, I think we saw him eating those red pants! 

7. The Hogs themselves were back in white pants (the red stripes were missing though), but in action they still didn’t look like the team that beat LSU last November. They were the team that struggled to beat ULM.

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We’re very excited to announce a new addition to our team of expert correspondents: the Hog Blogger. After more than a year of writing pretty much our favorite Razorback blog out there, the sorely missed thehogblogger.com, he abruptly dropped out of the public eye. Rumors abounded that he had moved to Oxford to become Houston Nutt’s personal biographer, but we were able to lure him back into the fold with a generous benefits package, including stock options and a full health plan. At any rate, the Razorback blogosphere has sorely missed his sharp wit, so without further ado, here’s his eyewitness report on Saturday’s Red-White game:

The guys at the Expats are terrible, lazy Razorback fans, so for your Spring Game coverage, they’ve foolishly outsourced, employing me — the now-defunct Hog Blogger — to give my take on what I witnessed at Razorback Stadium Saturday night.

I had been unable to see much of the Hogs’ new offense before Saturday, but after the first two series, I realized something.

I’m pretty sure I could have thrown for 300 yards in that game.

That’s not a knock on Casey Dick. I mean no disrespect to the mustachioed Willy Robinson’s defense, either.

That statement is a testament to the offensive genius that is Bobby Petrino. All the highlights, all the hype — believe what you’ve seen and heard. It’s going to happen in Fayetteville for as long as he’s here. Sure, this team will lose it’s fair share of games this year, maybe next year, and who knows after that.

For all of his past failures, I noticed something different about Dick on Saturday. He was having fun, perhaps for the first time since high school. He was making playing quarterback look easy. Tight window over the middle? Dick hit it. Quick nine-yard out? Dick hit it. Streaking receiver over the top? Dick hit him. Running back in the flat? Dick hit him too, in stride, no less.

The thing is, playing quarterback for Bobby Petrino maybe is just that easy. Something tells me Stefan LeFors might agree. (You may have to look that one up.)

Could the Hogs turn into a signature Big East, “Score 40, give up 50” team? It’s possible. Maybe it’s just me, but I’d rather watch the Hogs lose like that than do it by scoring three points at home against Auburn (twice in four years, I might add.)

I don’t know if these Hogs will be terrible, mediocre, or dominant this year. It’s too early to think about guessing. There’s one thing I’m sure of, though. Whatever they do, it’s going to be fun to watch.

Of course winning is “important,” but honestly, that’s all I really want when I watch the Hogs.

In honor of this week’s official start of the national holiday known as March Madness, we’ve asked some of our regular contributors to weigh in with their takes on the tournament. When we last heard from Grandma Susan, she was giving us an eyewitness account of the Hogs’ rout of Florida early last month (we hope she brings that same good mojo to the IU game). Today she starts with the Arkansas-Indiana matchup and then breaks down the entire tournament from there. Read on:

One of these days a #16 seed is going to beat a #1 seed. No, I’m not going out on that limb this year to predict it, but it will happen sometime. Just saying.

So although I don’t see the upset occurring in those games, the first round generally does hold an upset or two. The interesting games I see here are between the #8 and #9 seeds, which are the most evenly matched in terms of stats. Naturally, the most compelling is in the East, where Indiana meets Arkansas. I’m calling it for the Hogs, although we all know that is just out of loyalty. To be fair, the Indiana fans are calling it out of loyalty as well. These teams are very much alike in all respects, including their up and down season, shooting percentage, and record. Certainly, the Hoosiers were hard hit with Kelvin Sampson’s resignation, but they seem to be holding their own. And Arkansas, without Indiana’s excuse, has had about the same kind of season. Seems as though both of them have a tough time showing up for all their games. When they do turn up, both teams defend well and shoot pretty fair, not great. This one could be decided by free throws.

But then what game can’t? Makes me really surly when a fine team shoots itself in the foot rather than in the bucket. Too many of them are too eager to shoot three-pointers and neglect the freebies. They are just kids, after all, and want to go for the drama!

(Read on …)

In honor of this week’s official start of the national holiday known as March Madness, we’ve asked some of our regular contributors to weigh in with their takes on the tournament. Today’s post is written by frequent commenter J. Hawg 3, whose description of listening to the radio broadcast of the Tennessee game in the parking lot outside a wedding reception is still cracking us up a bit. So, sit back and enjoy J. Hawg’s breakdown of the various tourney scenarios:

I was already depressed Sunday afternoon, watching this group of Hogs choke away their last chance at a ring. But when the first set of seeds were announced during the selection show, my heart sank. The Hogs drew about as bad a seed as was possible for them.

In the first place, there’s Indiana. Two bona fide All-Big Ten selections in Eric Gordon and D. J. White, and a team that was ranked No. 7 in the country shortly before the Kelvin Sampson debacle. Yes, they have been inconsistent, even suicidally depressive since then under Dan Dakich. But, uh, so have the Hogs. I would submit Indiana, if they decide to play, is the toughest No. 8 seed in the tournament. I’d like our chances better with Mississippi State (we beat them once; should have beat them twice), even better with BYU or especially UNLV. Gordon will give our weak guards fits; White, when he’s on, is a monster inside. And we have problems with really mobile and aggressive post players, despite our size.

The Hogs can certainly win against the Hoosiers, but only if the “good” Hogs show up. You know, the ones that can actually make a jump shot, don’t fall asleep on in-bounds plays, pass the ball and rebound. Which is to say, the Hogs we saw Friday and Saturday and not the ones we saw Sunday. It would help immensely if the “bad” Hoosiers showed up as well. If the “good” Hoosiers and “good” Hogs both show up, it will be a whale of a ball game, too close to call. If the “bad” Hogs show up, they will lose, and lose badly if the “good” Hoosiers show. I just don’t know how likely the Hoosiers are to play well for Dakich (they sure look like they are laying down), but the chances of the good Hogs showing are only about 70 percent (and I’m being charitable given our recent NCAA performances).

Let’s have some fun and assume a win in the first round, which is a classic 8-9 toss up. The second round is, well, let’s be frank: the Hogs have about as much chance of beating North Carolina as will Coppin State or Mt. St. Mary’s. (An Indiana playing their best stands a lot better chance of beating North Carolina, by the way.) Again, almost any of the other No. 1 seeds would have been more favorable.

(Read on …)

In honor of this week’s official start of the national holiday known as March Madness, we’ve asked some of our regular contributors to weigh in with their takes on the tournament. First up is the inimitable Tab Prewett, who has previously shared his thoughts on a variety of topics, including the Cotton Bowl and the epic win over LSU last fall. Now, join Tab on a trip down memory lane that begins at Maxine’s Bar in 1978 and winds up (potentially) in Hawg Heaven this weekend:

While reading the brilliant series on the 1978 Razorbacks’ journey to the Final Four by Whit E. Knight, and now with March Madness upon us, thoughts about that magnificent season came back, like the beer often does from the night before. As a dual blurred vision of Maxine’s Bar and Sidney Moncrief dunking in UCLA’s All-American David Greenwood’s face returned to me, like little Marcel Proust chomping on a Madeleine, I recalled that transcendent night when we beat UCLA to move on to the Elite Eight. Several of us so-called students (athletes we were not) descended on Maxine’s and drank pitcher after pitcher while chanting in not-so-perfect harmony and unison: “We beat UCLA. We beat UCLA. We beat UCLA.”

It must say something about my academic interests that my most Proustian memories of my days at Arkansas revolve around March Madness and not scholarly research, but, hey, we’re Hawg fans, not uptight, snooty Dukies, or those holier-than-thou Chapel Hill UNC bluebloods that we may face this year in the second round. In 1995 Corliss put a pounding on Rasheed Wallace and Jerry Stackhouse in the semi-finals and Arkansas took out another Basketball Hallowed Almighty, even with the Dean of the Four Corners Smith coaching. Beating UCLA, Duke, North Carolina, Michigan, Georgetown, Louisville, and, yes, Indiana – that’s why March Madness is so thrilling, because the chance of the upset always exists.

Of course, one has to assess the team with the chance to pull the upset, and that brings us to this year’s team, which by unanimous consent has been committed to the Arkansas State Hospital for the Insane for instant and intense psychotherapy. I watched the Georgia game and was as demoralized and as disappointed and yet totally unsurprised as everybody else. Now, it’s Monday afternoon and believe me, by Friday night I’ll be frothing with hatred of Indiana (doesn’t hurt that my ex-wife grew up in Indianapolis, otherwise a nice city) and high with anticipation of our victory. But do I realistically expect a win? No. Again, can we win? Of course.

The question is how, and I have five keys that within five minutes of the game Friday night will determine whether we win or lose. If Arkansas fails in any one of these five areas in the first five minutes, turn off your television, go to the internet, and start making flight reservations for some island to take your mind off your troubles.

(Read on …)

Greetings Razorback Expats readers. Hopefully by now you’ve seen the truly excellent series of posts about the 1978 Razorback basketball team that were meticulously researched and written by our contributor Whit E. Knight. (If not, you can check them out here: part 1, part 2, part 3)

The unusual request referred to in the title of this post is that we’d like to ask your help in spreading the word about these posts. We hope this doesn’t come across as crass or overly self-promoting, but we think Whit’s posts are so good and so interesting that Hog fans who don’t usually stumble across this corner of the Web (and let’s be realistic…that’s most of them) would really enjoy reading them. Specifically, if you happen to frequent any of the various Razorback message boards (we don’t), perhaps you could put up a quick link?

We promise not to do this often, but in this case definitely appreciate your help in spreading the word about Whit’s work. Thanks!

Now back to our regularly scheduled ranting about the current state of Razorback basketball…

Awhile back, it dawned on us here at RazorbackExpats.com that the Arkansas basketball program has a very special anniversary coming up this spring. Thirty years ago this March, Eddie Sutton led the Hogs to the Final Four, marking the school’s first modern-era appearance in college basketball’s showcase event. Whit E. Knight, one of our favorite commenters and an occasional contributor, has commemorated this seminal event with a three-part series. In this final installment (click here for the first and here for the second), he recounts the Hogs’ five games in the 1978 NCAA Tournament. Many, many thanks, Whit. Once again, the stage is now yours:

Arkansas’s first-round game in the NCAA tournament was in Eugene, Ore., against unranked Weber State, which had finished the season with an impressive winning streak and its conference tournament title. Weber State kept it close early, but Brewer finally began penetrating the Wildcats’ zone, and with U.S. Reed and little-used Alan Zhan getting extended playing time while Moncrief and Schall were on the bench in foul trouble, the Hogs pulled away to a 73-52 victory. Delph finished with 20 points, Brewer 19 and Moncrief 16. The Arkansas Gazette noted that the game was remarkable for one thing: an almost total lack of intensity. That would soon change.

Next up was 10-time NCAA champion and No. 2-ranked UCLA in Albuquerque, N.M. It is hard to realize today just how daunting the game must have seemed to the Hogs and their fans. As Counce said, “From the time I was 7 until I was 17, UCLA was the national champion every year but one.”

The deck headline in the Gazette sports section the day after the game said it all: “Hogs Display Courage, Poise in Record Win.” Arkansas led by 10 at the half, but was down by two with 7:34 to go. The Razorbacks shook off the memory of their collapse against Wake Forest the previous year, steadied themselves, regained the lead and answered every UCLA threat the rest of the way to prevail, 74-70.

Delph, who had been snubbed out of high school by UCLA, which had no interest in a 6-4 center from Conway, was 10 of 11 from the field in the first half and finished with 23 points. He and Brewer, who scored 18, played the entire 40 minutes. Moncrief, who tallied 21, played all but the last few seconds. He had to leave the game after he suffered a mild concussion, jammed finger on his left hand and considerable bruises on his shoulder and neck when a hard foul from 6-9 All-American David Greenwood sent him crashing to the floor. Counce played 39 minutes. With Schall again on the bench with four fouls, Zahn contributed a solid 21 minutes.

It was the most physical game the Hogs had played all year, but even though they were a finesse team, they were clearly the better squad and deserved to advance. This game announced to the world that Arkansas now belonged among the elite in college basketball.

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