If you’re looking for a scapegoat for today’s miserable loss to Georgia, I’m your guy.

That’s right: I’m to blame. I attended the game, and clearly my presence messed with the Hogs’ mojo. They played so well in the two tournament games that I was unable to go to. The connection is obvious, and I’m now wearing my horsehair shirt.

First things first: Congratulations to the Georgia Bulldogs. That was an incredible tournament run. What a story. They certainly deserve all of the attention and praise they are getting tonight. (And being surrounded by Georgia fans here in Atlanta, that’s not the easiest thing for me to say.)

Many people have probably already made this comment, but Arkansas looked like it was the team that had played two games on Saturday. For most of the afternoon, the Hogs looked a step or two slow, and they just got manhandled on the offensive boards (Georgia pulled down 12 to the Hogs’ 6). I don’t know if they were just spent after Saturday’s victory or if they didn’t take Georgia seriously enough, but they were the (bi)polar opposite of the team that upset UT.

I’m ready to forget about this game, but before I do a few observations:

* A Pressing Matter. Like most of the Razorback fans that I sat with at the game, I was kind of puzzled that the Hogs didn’t press in the first half. They are clearly the deeper team, plus they were the better rested team. Georgia is on such an insane roll right now that it might not have made a difference, but I don’t think the Hogs did a good job early on of maximizing their advantages.

* 15-8. The former is the number of Razorback turnovers today, the latter the number of assists. Ugh.

* Asleep at the Switch. How many times have you seen the opposing team inbound the ball under its own basket and get a dunk or an easy lay-up off the inbounds pass? That seems to occur with alarming frequency in Razorback games and happened several times today. It’s not good for the blood pressure.

* What if They Gave a War and Nobody Came? The legions of 1960s anti-war activists who read this blog will recognize that saying. It’s one that popped into my mind while at today’s game. It was surreal to be at the SEC Tournament championship game, one that was being beamed to a national television audience, and see so few people in the stands (the official attendance was listed at 3,700). In a way, though, it was pretty cool.

And the small crowd made plenty of noise. If you closed your eyes, you would have thought the arena was packed.

* Overall, Though, Not a Bad Weekend. Don’t let the sheer ugliness of today’s loss obscure the fact that the Hogs had a pretty nice weekend, all things considered. They arrived in Atlanta uncertain of an NCAA bid, proceeded to beat two Top 20 teams one of which was the No. 4 team in the country) and now find themselves with a No. 9 seed. We’ve all grown accustomed to this team’s bipolar quality. Obviously, we’d all love for them to be capable of longer stretches of excellence, but they are what they are.

The good Hogs left Atlanta one day too soon. Let’s just hope they headed up to Raleigh.   

Absolutely electrifying. 

After enduring several strokes and a half dozen heart attacks, we can say that was the most thrilling Razorback basketball game - and the biggest victory - we’ve seen in a long, long time. That felt like the good ‘ole days.

The Hogs just beat the No. 4 team in the country, a team that annihilated them a month ago, on - of all things - a Steven Hill turnaround jumper! A surreal day in Atlanta just got even crazier.

We couldn’t be prouder of the team. So many heroes. They showed tons of poise out there today. On the several occasions when it looked like UT was on the verge of putting the game away, the Razorbacks came roaring back.

A few random thoughts:

* Charles Thomas Likes the SEC Tournament Semifinals. In last year’s semifinal victory over Mississippi State, he scored 18 points and hauled in 18 rebounds. Today, he was even better, in our humble opinion, leading the team with 24 points and grabbing 10 rebounds. He’s looked out of it for much of the year, but today his focus and energy were off the charts.

* It Was a Good Day for the Razorbacks’ Frontcourt. In addition to Hill’s last-second heroics and Charles Thomas’ dominance, Darian Townes continued his recent top-notch play, totaling 16 points. For much of the last few weeks, he has looked almost unstoppable in the post. OK, maybe that’s something of an overstatement, but the point is this: he’s been damn good. If Thomas and Townes keep this up, next week just may bring the Hogs their first NCAA Tournament win since 1999.

* Battle of the Boards. If you look at the box score, you’re struck by how even the teams were: the Hogs shot 55 percent from the floor, the Vols 54. The Hogs made eight three-pointers for a 44 percent clip from behind the arc, the Vols 11 three-pointers for a 45 percent success rate.  Additionally, the teams had an identical free-throw line: 20 of 29.

The one big difference: rebounds. Overall, the Hogs grabbed 32 of them, the Vols 21. Dig a little deeper, and you’ll see that the Razorbacks had 12 offensive rebounds to the Vols’ six. That may have been the difference in the game right there.

* Just in the Nick of Time. Just when we were about to file a missing persons report on Sonny Weems, he hit three huge field goals down the stretch. Stick around for a while, Sonny: Chances are we’re gonna need you again.

* Kudos, Again, Steven Hill. We still can’t believe that you made that shot, but we couldn’t be happier for you. You’ve always struck us as a helluva guy (and your post-game interview was hilarious). Enjoy your time in the sun. You deserve it.

Now it’s onto the championship game. Here’s hoping for a repeat of 2000!