Freshman Anthony Davis scored a career-high 27 points and blocked seven shots to set a season school record in No. 2 Kentucky’s 86-63 victory over Arkansas on Tuesday night.

Also:

• ArkansasRazorbacks.com: Razorbacks fall to Kentucky on the road, Game Stats (PDF)
• ESPN.com (Video): Davis’ Career Night Carries Kentucky

Want to know how embarrassingly bad that is?  For those of you who may not follow SEC Baseball closely, this would be tantamount to losing to Vanderbilt in football.

Coming into the weekend, the Wildcats had been swept in each of their last four conference series.  After starting the SEC slate by taking two of three from Tennessee, Big Blue had gone 0-12.  And then the Hogs came to town.

Kentucky, whose RPI going into the weekend was 151st nationally, outplayed and out-hit the Razorbacks (11th in RPI).  The Hogs managed only eight hits in the first two games (both losses) of the series — eight.

Pitching hasn’t been the problem for the Hogs, although Nolan Sanburn’s blown save in the first game was costly.  As for Kentucky, game 2 starter Corey Littrell came into the weekend with a 7.23 ERA.  He then proceeded to hold the Hogs to one run on three hits in six innings.

Dave Van Horn is a master at manufacturing runs.  Bunting, stealing, hitting and running — there’s nobody better.  But when you can’t even get guys on base, none of that matters.  You just can’t win if you can’t hit the ball.  Three or four hits per game is a huge disappointment, especially considering Kentucky came into the weekend 10th in the SEC with a 4.51 ERA.

When championship-level teams get a chance, they win at home and beat up on the weaker teams no matter where they play.  By losing the series, the Hogs basically gave two games back to the rest of the league.  You can’t squander away those kind of opportunities and have hopes of winning the Western Division.

By some miracle, Florida’s sweep of Alabama and Auburn’s 2-1 series win over Ole Miss leaves the Hogs still tied atop the Western Division at 9-9.  But the road gets tougher from here on out.  Back-to-back series versus top 5 nationally ranked South Carolina and Florida loom large after the Hogs visit Georgia this weekend.

So what could’ve been a series to give some cushion going into a tough stretch turns out to be a disaster and an opportunity lost.  We’ll likely remember this weekend when looking back at the end of the season.

Arkansas and Kentucky closed its three-game series by splitting a Sunday doubleheader. After Kentucky won the first game 3-1, Arkansas picked up a win in the series finale, claiming a 5-1 victory.

Also:

• ArkansasRazorbacks.com: Box Score – Game 1, Box Score – Game 2 (PDF)

After Arkansas took the lead with a run in the top of the ninth, Kentucky rallied for two runs in the bottom of the ninth to defeat the Razorbacks 3-2 in the first game of a doubleheader on Saturday afternoon at Cliff Hagan Stadium.

Also:

• ArkansasRazorbacks.com: Game Stats (PDF)

Marcus Britt’s layup in the final minute of overtime lifted Arkansas to a 77-76 win over No. 22 Kentucky on Wednesday night.

Also:

• ArkansasRazorbacks.com: Clarke and Powell take down Wildcats, Game Stats (PDF), Game Highlights (Video), Post-game Press Conference (Video)
• Matt Jones: Hogs Roll Back the Clock
• Robbie Neiswanger: Arkansas Enjoys Overtime Win Against Kentucky
• Chris Bahn: Razorbacks Showed Grit In ‘Overachieving’ Against No. 22 Wildcats

Down to his final strike, and the team’s last out, Collin Kuhn hit his first career grand slam off Kentucky closer Matt Little to send the No. 10 University of Arkansas baseball team to a 17-16 win over the Wildcats Sunday afternoon at Baum Stadium.

Also:

• ArkansasRazorbacks.com: Game Stats, Game Highlights (Video)
• Razorback Nation (Video): Kuhn’s grand slam lifts Hogs to 17-16 victory
• Matt Jones: Kuhn’s Grand Slam Wins Wild Game

Drew Smyly quieted the Kentucky bats as the No. 10 University of Arkansas baseball team came away with a 10-1 win Saturday afternoon at Baum Stadium.

Also:

• ArkansasRazorbacks.com: Game Stats, Game Highlights (Video)
• Razorback Nation (Video): Smyly, Razorback bats even series with 10-1 win
• Robbie Neiswanger: Smyly Leads Hogs to Win; Wilkins Pulls Hamstring

The No. 10 University of Arkansas baseball team dropped a 12-8 decision to Kentucky Friday night at Baum Stadium.

Also:

• ArkansasRazorbacks.com: Game Stats, Game Highlights (Video)
• Robbie Neiswanger: Kentucky Ends Arkansas Win Streak
• ArkansasSports360.com: Kentucky Jumps Out Fast, Stops Arkansas Streak in 12-8 Win

The 101-70 ass-whuppin’ (embarrassment…whatever…you fill in the blank) in Rupp Arena hurts — really hurts — on so many levels.

It hurts to think we have fallen that far.  It hurts to think Kentucky could recover that quickly from the Billy Clyde fiasco and beat us like that with mainly freshmen.

It hurts to lose to a snake like Calipari.  Although I will say he was nice to us, letting off the gas with 14 minutes left to play when Kentucky led 75-29.

It hurts for those of us who think John Pelphrey is a good guy.  Someone who is passionate about basketball.  It hurts to think that these last two tough, back-to-back losses could start a slide reminiscent of last year’s 2-14 debacle.  A more than half-empty Bud Walton Arena is a certainty for the rest of the way.

It hurts to see us put a team on the floor with so little basketball talent.  It hurts to see our team unable to press and run — play Hawg Ball — because we are not well-conditioned.

More than anything else, though, it hurts because Arkansas — the school, the state, the fans — truly care about basketball.  Besides Kentucky, Arkansas is really the only school that gives a rip about basketball in the SEC.  The others really only consider it a distraction between football and spring football.

A few years back, Tipster and I went to the SEC Basketball Tournament in Atlanta.  Many of the Kentucky faithful (when they weren’t trying to buy our tickets after we lost) made it a point to tell us that the most fun they ever had was when Nolan had the Hogs rolling in the early 90′s after we joined the SEC. 

They loved it that somebody else in the league finally cared like they did and, in some cases, were as arrogant and brash as they were.  Finally they had somebody to challenge them and be a true rival.  And that team was the Arkansas Razorbacks.      

Those days are gone for now…and it hurts.

ESPN.com: No. 2 Kentucky cruises to keep perfect record

Darius Miller had a career-high 18 points and DeMarcus Cousins got his 10th double-double as No. 2 Kentucky coasted by Arkansas 101-70 Saturday.

Also:

• ArkansasRazorbacks.com: Hogs fall at Rupp, Game Stats
• ESPN.com (Video): No. 2 Kentucky Throttles Arkansas, 101-70
• Razorback Nation (Video): Hogs Fall to Kentucky, 101-70
• Robbie Neiswanger: Arkansas Runs Into Kentucky ‘Buzz saw’, Summers Settling in at UK, Pelphrey’s Return Ruined

Jodie Meeks scored a Bud Walton Arena-record 45 points to lead Kentucky past Arkansas 79-63 on Saturday.

Also:

• ArkansasRazorbacks.com: Game Stats (PDF), Post-game Quotes, Razorbacks fall to the Wildcats (Video)
• ESPN.com: Kentucky 79, Arkansas 63
• Chris Bahn: Meeks, Kentucky Dominate Razorbacks In 79-63 Victory

Razorback Central

• Ryan Malashock: Meeks Makes History As Kentucky Drills Arkansas
• Robbie Neiswanger: Hogs Struggle Without Fortson, Three-Point Shooting Stings Hogs
• Harry King: Pelphrey Disciplines One And All

WholeHogSports.com

• Bob Holt: Sunk from the start
• Tom Murphy: In the lane
• Rob Keys: Meeks too strong, sets arena record
• Wally Hall: Wildcats star too much for short-handed Hogs
• Nate Allen: Too much Meeks
• Brandon Marcello: Meeks burns the Walton Arena nets

Updated 2/15/09 9:30 a.m.

The Good

• Michael Smith is just a flat-out warrior.  But unfortunately, when we rhetorically asked a few weeks ago where this team would be without Michael Smith, we found out the hard way on Saturday night.  There’s only so much rubber on that tire, and we’ve used it.
• For the second consecutive week, the defense played good enough to win.  The four turnovers they secured gave the offense good field position and numerous scoring opportunities.

The Bad

• There’s a lot of satisfaction in seeing young players ‘grow up’ right before our eyes.  Guys like Joe Adams, Zach Stadther, Jerry Franklin and Jerico Nelson come to mind.  But as we all knew, there would be days when some of that youth and inexperience would cause Hog fans to grimace.  Still…that didn’t make it any easier to watch the train wreck that was the last five minutes of that game.
• As Paul Petrino and others said after the game, it was “a team loss.”  And that includes the coaching staff.  Someone pointed out that we would be skewering the previous coaching regime here for a loss like that one.  And they’re probably right.
• One of the obvious issues this coaching staff needs to improve is red zone efficiency.  Or as Bobby Petrino calls it…the “critical zone.”  Treating the diminutive Michael Smith like he’s a hulking Michael Bush in goal line situations is simply a mistake we’ve made too many times this year.  It appeared the coaches had figured that out at Auburn after scoring two touchdowns in the critical zone using misdirection plays.  But unfortunately, the one time a similar misdirection worked on Saturday, the Hogs took points off the board with a penalty.  Which leads us to the ‘Ugly’…

The Ugly

• Four turnovers (two inside the Kentucky 5-yard line) and 102 yards in penalties will get you beat in most of the games you play.  It’s hard to feel sorry for a team who loses a close game when they make that many mistakes.
• Finally, a big ole ‘Ugly’ thrown out to Kentucky fans.  Now…I’m not talking about the ones who left after Ramon Broadway’s interception with five minutes to go in the game.  I’m talking about the ‘fans’ who abandoned ‘their team’ before that…when they were only down by 10 points!  Several Kentucky newspaper columnists chided the fans for leaving early and noted that the stadium was less than half full to see one of the best comebacks in school history.

Walking on Sunshine also contributed to this post.

ArkansasRazorbacks.com: Smith rolls through Blue Grass but Razorbacks fall

Mike Hartline’s two touchdown passes in the final five minutes rallied Kentucky to a 21-20 victory over Arkansas in Southeastern Conference action on Saturday.

Also:

• ArkansasRazorbacks.com: Game Stats (PDF), Post-game Notes
• ESPN.com: Kentucky’s wild rally leads to first win over Petrino
• ArkansasSports360.com: Kentucky Rallies Past Reeling Razorbacks, Secures 21-20 Victory, Two-Minute Drill

Razorback Central

• Alex Abrams: Bluegrass Madness
• Robbie Neiswanger: Defensive Collapse Dooms Razorbacks
• Nathan Allen: Without Smith, Hogs Can’t Finish
• Kurt Voigt: Wildcats Complete Improbable Comeback
• Harry King: Too Much Time For Hogs

WholeHogSports.com

• Tom Murphy: Lexington letdown
• Bob Holt: Arkansas’ defense gets its signals crossed late, Instant replay
• Rob Keys: Without Smith, wheels fall off
• Wally Hall: Hogs run out of Smith just before finish line
• Nate Allen: Self-inflicted wounds

Other Sites and Blogs

• Lexington Herald-Leader: Wildcats show some Hartline, Story: Hartline picked fine time to step up, Clay: Cats scratch ‘back
• The Courier-Journal: Cats pig out late, stuff Hogs, Crawford: Cats’ season is salvaged in a few minutes

Updated 10/19/08 11:30 a.m.

BlindHog now has a closet full of RBN t-shirts from Carpenter Clothing, Co. after winning his third prediction contest in the last two seasons.  And that includes predicting last year’s Auburn game, as well.  It just goes to show that reading this site regularly helps increase your psychic powers!

As for the competition amongst the RazorBloggers, kudos to Mr. Positivity (a.k.a. HogBaller) for being the only one of us brave enough to predict the Hogs’ upset win over Auburn.  Of course, HogBaller also predicted a Texas and an Alabama upset, too.  At the halfway point, it’s TipsterHog 3; Sunshine, HogBlogger, and HogBaller all tied at 1.

So here we go:

Walking on Sunshine: Hogs match up nicely with Kentucky this week as the Wildcats offense is probably worse than Auburn.  Last week’s win was the confidence boost this young team needed.  Hogs fly…Ashley Judd cries.  Arkansas 24, Kentucky 20.

HogBaller: This Razorback team is finding their way and are close to turning the corner.  Kentucky worries enough about stopping Michael Smith that it opens up the passing game.  The Hogs win a close one and show that they are ready to make a run at the remainder of the schedule.  Arkansas 31, Kentucky 21.

HogBlogger: Now that the Hogs have tasted success, they will be even more hungry.  Arkansas 28, Kentucky 17.

TipsterHog: Another SEC Saturday…another opponent with a strong defense and a less than stellar offense.  Will the outcome be the same?  Unfortunately…no.  Hogs lose in a bluegrass heartbreaker.  Kentucky 17, Arkansas 14.

Leave a comment with your name, e-mail address and pick.  And feel free to add your own take like “Rich Brooks wears Billy Gillispie pajamas” or “This time in Lexington…we don’t need seven overtimes.  Hogs roll.”

Hogwired.com: Arkansas Can’t Hold Off Kentucky In Road Loss

Joe Crawford and Ramel Bradley had 18 points apiece as Kentucky spoiled the homecoming of Arkansas coach and former Wildcats standout John Pelphrey with a 63-58 victory over the Razorbacks.

Also:

• Hogwired.com: Game Stats (PDF)
• ESPN.com: Kentucky 63, Arkansas 58
• YouTube (Video): Arkansas vs. Kentucky Highlights, Arkansas vs. Kentucky Recap
• Chris Bahn: Wildcats Hold Off Pelphrey, Razorbacks, Poor Rebounding Does Razorbacks In
• Ryan Malashock: Razorbacks Leave Kentucky Disappointed Again
• Robbie Neiswanger: Wildcats Bully Razorbacks on Boards, Big Blue Nation Embraces Pelphrey
• Harry King: Arkansas fails on road, again
• Bob Holt: Luckless in Lexington, Cats’ rebounding the difference, In the lane
• Wally Hall: Guys in stripes help prepare feast for Wildcats
• Nate Allen: Sour reunion
• Matt Jones: Arkansas seniors remain winless against Kentucky
• Lexington Herald-Leader: UK’s ‘backbone’ repels Razorbacks, Clay: Two plays by two seniors are too much for Arkansas
• The Courier-Journal: Kentucky grinds out win over Arkansas

Updated 2/24/08 8:30 a.m.

Arkansas and Kentucky will meet for the fifth time in school history on Saturday night.  The Hogs and Cats are tied at two games apiece with Kentucky holding a 1-0 edge in games played in Fayetteville.

Also:

• Hogwired.com: Game Notes (PDF), RazorZone
• CBSSports.com (Video): Kentucky vs. Arkansas Preview
• Alex Abrams: UA Defense Has Resembled Dr. Jekyll And Mr. Hyde
• The Morning News: Keys For A Hogs Victory
• Harry King: Kentucky Is On A Roll
• Bob Holt: Hogs catch Wildcats on way up — again
• Tom Murphy: Position-by-position matchups
• Nate Allen: UA-Kentucky has all the makings for a high-scoring game
• Rainer Sabin: Arkansas secondary working overtime to improve
• Heath Allen: Felix Jones: I just want to win
• David Showers: Kentucky envigorated after last week’s win
• Terry Wood: Kentucky game bigger than Alabama

For those who are now joining our program already in progress, we’ve partnered up with our friends at Carpenter Clothing Co. to create the very first run of RazorBloggers Network t-shirts.  The reader who picks the winning team and has the smallest combined difference in each team’s final score wins a t-shirt.  You can see the official rules here.

As for the RazorBloggers little contest, both HogBaller and I tied for the closest pick last week.  In our crazy little scoring system, that means both of us get a point.  So after two games:  TipsterHog, Sunshine and HogBaller tied at 1; HogBlogger 0.

So here we go:

Walking on Sunshine: If you thought Alabama could execute the forward pass, just wait till you see the Wildcats.  If Coach Herring continues to play man and blitz every down, QB Andre Woodson will make this one to remember.  Kentucky is scoring 48.7 points per game and Hogs are giving up 33.5 points per game…not a good combination.  I don’t think they can stop us either, so take the ‘over’ and be happy win or lose.  Arkansas 43, Kentucky 40 (OT).

HogBaller: Believe it or not, the Wildcats have a pretty good running game to go along with red hot QB Andre Woodson.  The Hog ‘D’ was exposed by ‘Bama, and Herring won’t get it all fixed in one week.  And since Kentucky won’t be able to stop the Hog running game, this one will be a shootout.  I’m giving the edge to Kentucky in a close one.  “Wildcats” – 45, “WildHogs” – 38.

HogBlogger: Can we stop these guys?  The ‘two in a row trend‘ continues if we don’t.  Kentucky 35, Arkansas 28.

TipsterHog: It’s a good thing they moved up the kickoff time, because this game may take a while.  This Kentucky team reminds me of the Vanderbilt team that Jay Cutler brought to The Hill in 2005.  (Woodson might even be more talented than Cutler.)  McFadden had one carry in that game and the Hogs lost.  He’ll have more than one carry in this game.  Arkansas 40, Kentucky 34.

Leave a comment with your name, e-mail address and pick.  And feel free to add your own take like “Gillispie promises he’ll come here if we fire Houston” or “Kentucky enters and leaves Top 25 so fast…it just messes you up.  Hogs roll.”

Danny Hamblin connected for two home runs as No. 9 Arkansas captured the rubber game of the first Southeastern Conference series of the season on Sunday with a 14-5 win at Cliff Hagan Stadium.

Also:

• Hogwired.com: Box Score (PDF)
• Vernon Tarver: Razorbacks Rout Kentucky, Hamblin Hammers Wildcats, Inside Pitch
• Rick Fires: Welker helps Arkansas take series

Updated 3/19/07 8:15 a.m.

Nothing seemed to go right for No. 9 Arkansas on Saturday as Kentucky evened the series with a 7-5 win at Cliff Hagan Stadium as the Razorbacks committed five errors and left a season-high 17 runners on base.

Also:

• Hogwired.com: Box Score (PDF) 
• Vernon Tarver: Hogs Give, Don’t Take In Loss To Wildcats, Todd Struggles In Second Start
• Rick Fires: Arkansas can’t walk past UK

Updated 3/18/07 11:20 a.m.

No. 9 Arkansas handed No. 12 Kentucky its first loss of the 2007 season on Friday night with a 10-2 win in the SEC opener at Cliff Hagan Stadium.

Also:

• Hogwired.com: Box Score (PDF)
• Vernon Tarver: Keuchel To The Rescue For Razorbacks, Seibert Out For The Season
• Rick Fires: Razorbacks cool off Wildcats

Updated 3/17/07 7:25 a.m.