June 19, 2013

A Winning Perspective

February 20, 2012 by

It was a historic beatdown on Saturday evening in Bud Walton Arena.  The worst loss in the 6,656 days since the “Basketball Palace of Mid-America” opened its doors.

But the loss to Florida also ended another streak:  276 days since a Razorback men’s major sport team had lost in Fayetteville.  Nearly nine months and 26 games (4 baseball, 5 football and 17 basketball) since Ole Miss defeated the Razorback baseball team, 2-1, on May 19, 2011.

If you count just football and men’s basketball, it had been 354 days and 22 consecutive wins in Fayetteville since Mississippi State won 88-78 in Bud Walton on March 2, 2011.  In other words…nearly an entire year of winning at home.

Of course, the Hogs don’t play every game at home.  And we all certainly remember more than a few of the other beatdowns on the road from the past year.

In football, 24-point losses to eventual national champion Alabama and national runner-up LSU still sting.  A lot.

And in basketball this season, a 23-point loss at Kentucky, a 22-point loss at Georgia and a 19-point loss at Tennessee were all just as painful to watch as Saturday’s game.  But none happened on home turf or home court.  (Yes…we do remember the basketball Hogs lost to Houston at “neutral site” Little Rock back in November.)

Ultimately, we throw out all these statistics to try to give a greater perspective on what has likely been one of the longest combined major sport home winning streaks in school history.

It doesn’t make the ugly loss on Saturday (or any of the other losses) any easier to take.  But it does help us take a step back and appreciate how much fun it’s been to go watch a Razorback game in Fayetteville over most of the last 12 months.

Filed Under: Arkansas Razorbacks, Baseball, Basketball, Football
  • manwithnodawg

    YES,,they did get smoked,,,but Those Hogs never quit,,,they did fight the entire game,,I see MUCH hope for the future here!! YES they are young,,and make foolish mistakes,,but I see a change in them,,,for the better.

  • Roadhog

    I don’t know whether the Hogs were slacking on defense, but it seemed as if we caught GA, TN and FL when they were sky high. They shot phenomenal FG% against us. The games seemed perhaps anomalous because everything seemed to fall right for our opponents. I don’t know about the KY game: maybe they were just that good.

    I think Hogfans have a good attitude, not expecting too much and not getting down on the players and coaches when we lose. Most of us are optimistic about the future of Hawgball.

  • Jeff Edgmon

    That’s a bunch of nonsense, the game plan simply sucked, if you don’t cover Florida’s guards, they will score a lot of pts, end of story! They were out coached, out motivated, out played, and basically humiliated in history making fashion. You don’t need to be an NBA all star to figure out how to beat Florida, which is why they will lose against good coached teams, before the season is out. #1. You have to have an inside game, they try and force you to take shots, and they simply out shoot you. #2. You have to play very tight on their guards, and adjust well to their many screens, and drives to the basket and kick outs. #3. They don’t like you, they have an entitlement complex, and they feel like you’re a threat to that, so they amp up their intensity against Arkansas. They hear all of the fan support, and that motivates them. They have a crappy gym, and that motivates them. They think they’re entitled to the SEC, and they know they’re corrupt, and they feel like we will be filled with hate, like they’re, when other than occasionally when we play them, we never even think of them. So to summarize that rant, they hate you mostly because they’re bigoted idiots, so you have to play with a lot of intensity, to match their’s! The End!! And they’re more talented also, let’s be honest, their 3 guards are great, not good, great! We’ve never had 3 guards like they got, if you leave them open for a second, and do not adjust well on defense, they will knock down shots all night long. With that being said, the game plan did suck also!!

    • Walking on Sunshine

      “We’ve never had 3 guards like they got”….really?

      Jeff, I wouldn’t read as much into the loss as you did. I don’t think Mike was outcoached. I think Florida had better, more experienced players, and I think our guys have hit the physical wall after being shorthanded all season.

      Better days ahead.

  • Jeff Edgmon

    Oh yeah, need I even mention the officials?? LOL.. They might as well had a sign on saying, the SEC has told us to make sure Arkansas doesn’t win, or we will not get to officiate any big games anymore..LOL..

    • Swineomite

      Try drawing up a winning game plan when your players are simply not as talented, as mature, or as physical as your opponent. Mike hasn’t done a bad job of coaching and bless his heart for keeping a cool and collected attitude that has stayed positive and consistently level whether his team is winning or losing. That shows a lot of maturity from the head coaching position. Our current players need to hit the weights VERY hard before next season. They still look like high school players from a physical standpoint and that won’t always work against equally talented players with a college build. Mike also inherited these guys from our former coach. In all honestly this last recruiting class was a good one but probably overrated by a pretty good margin. They will be a good class upon which to build a foundation for the future. Mix in some good recruits in the next couple of classes and things like a 30 point loss at home don’t happen anymore. Remember when #1 UNLV came to town and spanked our #2 Razorbacks? UNLV player, Larry Johnson, told coach Richardson “coach you need to get you some men.” That’s still good advice. Mike needs to get some bodies out there that look like men.