Arkansas bounces back to beat the Tide

The Razorbacks got their first conference win of the season and put an end to a four game losing streak, beating the Crimson Tide of Alabama 89-80.

Freshman Guard Rotnei Clarke also bounced back in a big way tonight, scoring 26 points on 6-10 shooting from 3 point range, and Michael Washington added 17 points to give the Razorbacks a much needed victory.

The Hogs had been reeling after four straight conference losses, but they came out tonight more focused than we’ve seen them since the conference season started. Courtney Fortson set the tone for the Razorbacks, returning to his pre-conference form and leading the Razorbacks with 9 assists, and committing just 3 turnovers. The Razorbacks also shot better than they have since conference play started, shooting 49% from the field, 42.9% from the 3 point line, and 80% from the free throw line.

Player of the game:
Rotnei Clarke. He finally got his stroke back, and also made some great drives to the basket, and some really nice passes tonight.

Step-up Player of the Game:
Michael Sanchez. The Freshman big man contributed 13 points and grabbed 5 rebounds, and more importantly, his ability to score helped stop Alabama’s ability to double team Michael Washington.

Next:
The Razorbacks travel to LSU to face the Tigers that are currently tied for the lead in the SEC West.

Comments

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By sg on January 30th, 2009

This was a great game for the Hogs. We needed the win and to gain some confidence going into a stretch of some winnable games. LSU should be tough, but we can beat anyone in the conference, it all starts at the PG position.

Look at some of the numbers. Arkansas only out-rebounds ‘Bama by one and Mike Wash had only 5 boards. Jason Henry stepped up and grabbed 8 from off the bench — that’s big.

Fortson scored 8 points. ALL FROM THE FREE-THROW LINE. Better yet, he was 8 for 10. The Razorbacks shot 35 free throws compared to the Tide’s 10. We were clearly the more aggressive team and it paid off (and usually will when you hit 80%).

My concern from this game is that we’re still starting our offense through Mike Wash first and wherever else second. It worked out tonight because Clarke has a really good bball IQ and knows where to be when Fortson drives. But Mike Wash isn’t a typical big man with typical big man moves. He’s a good athlete, but looks a bit awkward down low. If we continue to shoot lights out from three (Welsh, that means you have to shoot it better than you have been), teams will HAVE to go man-to-man and then the Fortson/Washington pick-and-roll game will blossom.

Great win. Let’s keep it going.