Live Game Blog: Arkansas vs. Missouri State
Missouri State 62, Arkansas 57 (final)
9:51 p.m.: That'll be a tough one for the Razorbacks to swallow. The Hogs took a 1-point lead with 1:41 remaining on two Stefan Welsh free throws, but fell apart mentally late.
Arkansas stiffened later on defense, but with 1 second remaining on the shot clock and 19 seconds remaining, the Bears in-bounded the ball to Chris Cooks off a backscreen for a layup and 60-57 advantage.
Courtney Fortson caused a turnover on a bad loose pass to Rotnei Clarke near press row after Missouri State got up 58-57. Down 60-57, the Hogs did get the ball back with a chance to tie the game but Fortson drove underneath the basket and forced a jumpball when Spencer Laurie, who garnered the assist on Cooks' bucket earlier, grabbed the basketball as Fortson turned toward the Arkansas bench with 12 seconds remaining.
The Bears hit a couple more free throws to go up 62-57, Clarke missed a 3-pointer and that was the ball game.
Missouri State 53, Arkansas 50 (second half)
8:07 p.m.: It was going to take guard play to get back in this one for Arkansas, and that's what the UA has done -- at least so far. Rotnei Clarke and Courtney Fortson have got the Hogs back in this one after being down by as many as 13.
Clarke has 19 points and Fortson has 10 points to lead the Hogs.
Arkansas took a 48-46 lead with 6:32 remaining off a Clarke bucket off his own miss. Missouri State bounced back to take a 53-50 lead. There's 3:58 remaining.
I'll see you after the game.
Missouri State 40, Arkansas 34 (second half)
8:34 p.m.: Rotnei Clarke has got the Hogs back in this one. Arkansas has hit 6 of its first 8 shots and Clarke has eight points in the first 4:51 of this half. Courtney Fortson hit a contested layup on a bounce pass with 14:24 remaining to get Arkansas within 37-34 after trailing by as much as 33-20.
I'll try to update one more time before post-game interviews
Missouri State 28, Arkansas 20 (halftime)
8:07 p.m.: Arkansas got a couple of buckets in the final 1:20 to make the score a bit closer, but the Bears did go up 28-16 after back-to-back baskets by Isaiah Rhine underneath.
Here's what tells the story here. After a timeout with under 2 minutes remaining, Montrell McDonald was forced to call a SECOND timeout on the in-bounds because all four Razorbacks were on the other end of the court. No one was on the Razorbacks side to take the in-bounds pass.
The Hogs are flustered to say the least.
Here are some numbers to entertain you... and liven up the discussion:
Arkansas has hit just 6 of 20 shot attempts, and had connected on just 4 of 18 until the final 1:20. Meanwhile, Missouri State, which hasn't been that hot either, started warming up a bit late in its run toward a 12-point lead and is shooting at a 34.5 percent clip.
Arkansas needs a few plays from its guards in the second half to have a chance. Rotnei Clarke showed a flash late with an over-the-head pass as he ran parallel to the basket to an open Michael Sanchez underneath the basket with 38.6 seconds remaining.
Missouri State 24, Arkansas 16 (first quarter)
7:55 p.m.: This game is pretty sloppy. Arkansas has hit just 23.5 percent of its shots and Missouri State isn't faring much better, shooting at a 32 percent clip. There's 2:29 remaining in the first half.
Courtney Fortson and Stefan Welsh have been unable to handle double teams on the perimeter and the simplest of passes underneath the basket are bouncing off feet and hands.
Arkansas doesn't have an identity right now, and although Michael Sanchez has four points, he and forward Michael Washington are getting handled underneath the basket. The Bears have four blocks.
Arkansas needs to find something offensively to get going, otherwise it might be a long night. Missouri State has missed its fair share of open shots and it seems like every Razorback shot is being challenged by a Bears defender.
I'll be back at halftime.
Arkansas 9, Missouri State 8 (first quarter)
7:27 p.m.: Arkansas leads early, 9-8, with 15:53 remaining. The arena is hopping for the Bears. Ten Razorbacks are dressed out and, from the best I can tell up here on press row, forward Jason Henry is not on the bench.
6:50 p.m.: A video dedicating the arena, narrated by Missouri State alum and actor John Goodman, is being played before tip off. The 11,000-seat JQH arena is starting to fill up. They're showing a bunch of highlights from the men's and women's basketball program over the last several decades in the video.
Roseanne does not appear in the video.
6:20 p.m.: Arkansas and Missouri State will tip off here in about an hour here in Springfield, Mo. The Bears' new digs, the $67 million JQH Arena, has its grand opening tonight. This place is pretty nice. The seats look very comfy and the scoreboard above midcourt is two large screens on four sides. Looks hi-def.
They're expecting more than 11,000 fans here tonight.
As for the game, it'll be interesting to see if guard Rotnei Clarke can bounce back from his 2-of-8 shooting performance from Thursday against UC Davis. Here are the probable starting lineups.
Missouri State (1-1)
G - Spencer Laurie (6-1, 182), 14.5 points per game, 3.5 rebounds per game, 2.5 assists per game
G - Cardell McFarland (6-2, 160), 14 ppg, 2 rpg
F - Chris Cooks (6-4, 220), 16 ppg, 6 rpg
F - Kyle Weems (6-6, 220), 7.5 ppg, 3.5 rpg
C - Wade Knapp (6-8, 221), 4.5 ppg, 3.5 rpg
Arkansas (2-0)
G - Courtney Fortson (5-11, 180), 17 ppg, 4 rpg, 4.5 apg
G - Rotnei Clarke (6-0, 184), 13 ppg, 2 rpg
G - Stefan Welsh (6-3, 185), 11.5 ppg, 2.5 rpg, 3 apg
F - Michael Washington (6-9, 239), 20.5 ppg, 10 rpg
F - Michael Sanchez (6-8, 236), 8.5 ppg, 12 rpg
– Brandon Marcello
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Another season of STUPID players.. Jesus somebody in a Arkansas uniform PLEASE grow a brain and make some free throws
The guards we have right now can be better than the guards we have had here in a while, but they will have to gain experience. Experience is something that is far more important than most people realize. These young players will become better with experience. Even though this was the first time I've been able to see this year's team play (on the internet), Courtney Fortson appears to have the potential to be one of the best point guards we've had here in a while. And Rotnei Clarke looks to be more than just a spot-up shooter, so that's good, too. Michael Washington doesn't look like much of a player to me; Michael Sanchez looks to be a hustler, but not much of a skilled scorer. I didn't see much in the way of skilled inside players last night. I like Coach Pelphrey's style and coaching ability. Yes, the free throw shooting must improve, but that's up to the player to get better. When I was in school, our coach told us a winning percentage as a team from the free throw line was 70%. I think today that benchmark should be raised to at least 75% team percentage, and I think everybody, bigs included, should shoot at least 70% individually.
This team will mature and get better. There is a huge difference between playing high school and college basketball. Put some whiskers on these guys and they will be making deep runs in the NCAAs.
afrazrback: there is a big difference between stupid and inexperienced. Only 2 players on this team have any measurable experience in a college game, cut these guys some slack, they'll get better.
Free throws... that is a personal thing, the guys need to put in the time, shoot hundreds of free-throws every week.
Go Hogs Go!!!
Let's hold these guys to a higher standard than just making an excuse every year about inexperience. Not being able to rebound off a missed shot in the final seconds is not inexperience but no smarts. Not being able to defend with 1 sec on the shot clock is not inexperience but no smarts. Not being able to make free throws is not inexperience, but no smarts because they don't want to work on their free throws.
I seem to remember we had a LOT of experience the last 3 years and that did us a lot of good. Plus a good player that can't even stay academically eligible is STUPID not inexperience.