Sunday--

[Hogz87]

And we didn't play our best game either time (and don't get me started on the officiating). So if everyone plays to their highest potential we have a chance to win.

How do you guys live your lives with constant negativity? If you don't think the Hogs have a shot don't watch and maybe consider not posting. 

Hogville, where objective, sound analysis = being a negative Debbie Downer.  Every time.


Like I said in another thread, once the ball goes up for the opening tip on Sunday, I'll be sitting here watching and hoping and expecting a win (until proven otherwise) like most other Hog fans.  I've already said tonight (not in this thread) that Arkansas winning Sunday wouldn't be some out of this world result.  Many and much crazier things have happened in the NCAA tournament.  But if you really start looking at the matchup on paper, and do just a tiny little bit of thinking, then you realize that UNC is a nightmare matchup for us and we're going to need a lot of things to go right to have a puncher's chance of winning this one.

Can it happen?  Absolutely.  We've got four very talented players of our own and Dustin Thomas seems to be coming into his own a little bit.  UNC has flaws.  They aren't an unbeatable juggernaut.  I never said they were.

[mhsbc59]

I'm still waiting on you to provide anything that just resembles semi-intelligent basketball discussion.

You want get it from me. I don't make myself out to be an everlasting know-it-all.  But I do expect hog fans to have some ray of hope. Not some want to be handy capper getting off because they can't see any way hog fan should expect there team to win a b-ball game.

[mhsbc59]

Hogville, where objective, sound analysis = being a negative Debbie Downer.  Every time.


Like I said in another thread, once the ball goes up for the opening tip on Sunday, I'll be sitting here watching and hoping and expecting a win (until proven otherwise) like most other Hog fans.  I've already said tonight (not in this thread) that Arkansas winning Sunday wouldn't be some out of this world result.  Many and much crazier things have happened in the NCAA tournament.  But if you really start looking at the matchup on paper, and do just a tiny little bit of thinking, then you realize that UNC is a nightmare matchup for us and we're going to need a lot of things to go right to have a puncher's chance of winning this one.

Can it happen?  Absolutely.  We've got four very talented players of our own and Dustin Thomas seems to be coming into his own a little bit.  UNC has flaws.  They aren't an unbeatable juggernaut.  I never said they were.

It a message board bub no one wants to hear objective here.

Plus your not very objective since it seems to be that the only way you think we can win is that if Jesus comes down from heaven and suits up from the hogs

[Hogz87]

Plus your not very objective since it seems to be that the only way you think we can win is that if Jesus comes down from heaven and suits up from the hogs

Eh, even then I think we'd need a small miracle to win.  Then again, we'd have the guy on our team who could perform the miracle, so yeah, I guess that'd get us over the top.

[mhsbc59]

Eh, even then I think we'd need a small miracle to win.  Then again, we'd have the guy on our team who could perform the miracle, so yeah, I guess that'd get us over the top.

You saying Jesus can't hit a curve?!

[HossHog]

And we didn't play our best game either time (and don't get me started on the officiating). So if everyone plays to their highest potential we have a chance to win.

How do you guys live your lives with constant negativity? If you don't think the Hogs have a shot don't watch and maybe consider not posting.

You do realize we will be getting screwed by the refs in this game too right? UNC is just as much if not more a blue blood than Kentucky who can do no wrong in the refs eyes... I predict the refs will make this a very frustrating game for me to watch. But if we lose it will not be because of the refs it will be because we will get out rebounded. I think if we can just hold our own on the boards for just one game we have a shot to keep it close/win

[hogfanny]

Rebounding is overated. Possessions are bigger.

[RagingHawgOn]

21 offensive rebounds by Seton Hall tells me all I need to know.

UNC should beat our ass by 15-20.

However, there once was a boy named David.

WPS

[logic]

Why is this a go-to response/reaction by so many on here when Arkansas fans are trying to be objective and realistic?  It's immediately, "you're a wimp!" by some and it makes no sense. 

I'm not saying we should pack up and go home and not play the game.  Stranger things have happened in the NCAA tournament than Arkansas beating UNC this year.  If all three of Barford, Hannahs, and Macon show up and Moses stays out of foul trouble and plays well, then we have a good shot at winning.

Look, it's not being unrealistic or being a "poo nanny" to point out that UNC is an awful nightmare for Arkansas.  They are maybe the best uptempo team in the country and we've shown that when we try to play uptempo with teams that are better at it and have more talent than us, it usually doesn't end well.  They're also the number one rebounding team in the nation and routinely beat their opponent's into submission on the offensive glass; we're a bad rebounding team.  Moses is playing the best on our team right now and, when he's at the top of his game, he's our best player, but UNC starts two bigs who are better than Moses and bring a third off the bench who's just a true freshman but has more talent and potential than UNC's two starting bigs.  We could have an overall advantage with our guards, but Joel Berry is the best guard between the two teams and UNC has two other players who are F/G types, or wings; one was ACC POY and the third is a very good, very athletic 6'6" do-it-all glue guy in Theo Pinson. 


Things can and do happen.  A win isn't out the realm of possibility.  I'll be watching with a lot of hope and excitement and, once the ball is tipped, I'll think/hope we can win.  Right now, though, I can't really come up with a scenario that leads to an Arkansas win other than inordinate number of things going right/well for us on top of an inordinate number of things going wrong/poorly for UNC.

You are telling it like it is.  And, being realistic is reasonable and better than foolishly expecting the near impossible.   NC is a 10 point favorite and based on the money-line, Arkansas has slightly less than a 20% chance of winning or about 1 in 6.  Therefore, it  is  possible for Arkansas to win and while I hope  Arkansas will win, I expect that  NC (the much better team) will win. I will be overjoyed if Arkansas wins but not too disappointed if they lose.

[Rawker]

They will dominate the offensive glass. Most good defensive possessions we have will be negated by no rebounding. Expect a 25+ point blowout.

Did you get a lobotomy AFTER the game today?  If so, let me report to you what happened.  The Hogs lost the RB battle against Seton Hall, 46-32, including 21-8 on the offensive glass.  Seton Hall is the 21st best rebounding team in the nation.  Oh....most importantly, the Hogs won.  I will grant you that the Tarheels are actually the No.1 team in rebounding, but I definitely do not expect a 25 point blowout, unless the Hogs simply can't get the ball in the hole, which has happened.  Point is, you can't single out a statistic like that and predict that the disparity will result in exact outcome.  The main reason the Hogs get blown out has never been because of rebounds - they lose that battle even in most of their 26 wins.  It has always been the scoring drought that dooms them, but that has become less of a problem as the year has gone on and players have stepped it up.  I predict a result that is in doubt towards the final minutes of the game.   

[Rawker]

You saying Jesus can't hit a curve?!

I threw a baseball to Jesus once, and it hit him right in the face.  I mean, I felt bad, but dude can't catch.

[Cinco de Hogo]

What will it take for us to win?

Something like 12-3 pointers(according to Pondering)  The best game if every players life(according to someone). Trey Thompson playing like a first round draft choice to go along with Kingsley playing like the first overall draft choice(according to me).   Also I'll add, three refs that hate UNC.

[12247]

I believe the majority of us would have been totally happy with making the tourney and winning a game, preseason.  Most of us believed that was the max limit for this team.  Also the majority of us didn't care for the way we got here, i.e., losing games we shouldn't, playing without effort, poor coaching decisions, etc.

OK, so we got here, even with a weird and somewhat blemished record, but a very decent record, overall.  Nice bunch of wins, finals of SEC tourney, won an NCAA game so bucket list is fairly complete.

Now its stackup time.  How do we stack up against a really good team when it counts the most.  I want to win, just like I want and demand we win every game, every year.  But reality is that we are not likely to win.  This is a powerhouse team we face.  One that we used to accept and have a likely chance of beating.  We need UNC to tub out for us to have a chance on Sunday. 

A win on Sunday is what I hope for but good and complete effort is what I fully expect.  Mike is laying the foundation for the future.  No superstars, just sound players who refuse to be denied and a coach who coaches every trip, either direction, up and down the floor.  Effort by EVERYONE will win a team a lot of games and beat teams the shouldn't.

[mhsbc59]

Still a bunch of poo nannies round hear. You don't have to be all doom and gloom to be realistic and objective. My Lord some of y'all need to man up and stop soiling your pants. I guess it's the times we live in not very many real men left in the world.

[Razorod]

I believe the majority of us would have been totally happy with making the tourney and winning a game, preseason.  Most of us believed that was the max limit for this team.  Also the majority of us didn't care for the way we got here, i.e., losing games we shouldn't, playing without effort, poor coaching decisions, etc.

OK, so we got here, even with a weird and somewhat blemished record, but a very decent record, overall.  Nice bunch of wins, finals of SEC tourney, won an NCAA game so bucket list is fairly complete.

Now its stackup time.  How do we stack up against a really good team when it counts the most.  I want to win, just like I want and demand we win every game, every year.  But reality is that we are not likely to win.  This is a powerhouse team we face.  One that we used to accept and have a likely chance of beating.  We need UNC to tub out for us to have a chance on Sunday. 

A win on Sunday is what I hope for but good and complete effort is what I fully expect.  Mike is laying the foundation for the future.  No superstars, just sound players who refuse to be denied and a coach who coaches every trip, either direction, up and down the floor.  Effort by EVERYONE will win a team a lot of games and beat teams the shouldn't.

Well put. Moving forward, I'm hoping that our recruiting efforts improve to the point that we can step onto the court with anybody, anywhere and have a shot--even win our share of UK, UNC, Duke type games.

I do think Arkansas basketball is capable of that if the program is managed properly and supported by administration and fans. We may not ever be a "blue-blood," but we can be one of those programs at the next level--Zona, Cuse, Mich St. types. It takes the right coach (hopefully Anderson is that coach) and a supportive and wise AD to make it happen.

I guess, these are my "goal posts" for the program. Not necessarily top 5, but we can (and in my opinion should) aspire to be in the top 6-15 programs on a consistent basis.

I hope/think we may be getting closer, but not there yet.

[lynbug]

What will it take for us to win?

Something like 12-3 pointers(according to Pondering)  The best game if every players life(according to someone). Trey Thompson playing like a first round draft choice to go along with Kingsley playing like the first overall draft choice(according to me).   Also I'll add, three refs that hate UNC.

All of our players hot on the same day.  Has that happened yet this year?  Don't think so....but miracles do happen.  What was going on with Macon yesterday?  If he had been his typical self we'd won by double digits.

[k.c.hawg]

All of our players hot on the same day.  Has that happened yet this year?  Don't think so....but miracles do happen.  What was going on with Macon yesterday?  If he had been his typical self we'd won by double digits.

Macon did what a good player does on a bad shooting day. He went 1-7 but only shot one 3. He attacked the basket, got to the line and went 5 of 8 (not typical for him but still getting points on a bad shooting day). Added 5 boards an assist and 2 steals. He was off but still contributed and didn't shoot us out of the game.

[joeyself]

"The race is not always to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, but that's the way to bet." Attributed to Damon Runyon. 

Me, I'm not a gambler, and am going to watch hoping the Hogs will win.  But losing to NC is not going to upset me as much as losing to Missouri and Miss St did--those two may have wound us up on the 8 line instead of the 6 or 7--bottom half of the bracket and an easier time to get to the next weekend.

JcS

[lynbug]

I just don't know why we have to get placed in, arguably, the toughest region and play one of the top five teams the second game.  Isn't this exactly what happened in 2015? 

[Inhogswetrust]

Hogville, where objective, sound analysis = being a negative Debbie Downer.  Every time.


Like I said in another thread, once the ball goes up for the opening tip on Sunday, I'll be sitting here watching and hoping and expecting a win (until proven otherwise) like most other Hog fans.  I've already said tonight (not in this thread) that Arkansas winning Sunday wouldn't be some out of this world result.  Many and much crazier things have happened in the NCAA tournament.  But if you really start looking at the matchup on paper, and do just a tiny little bit of thinking, then you realize that UNC is a nightmare matchup for us and we're going to need a lot of things to go right to have a puncher's chance of winning this one.

Can it happen?  Absolutely.  We've got four very talented players of our own and Dustin Thomas seems to be coming into his own a little bit.  UNC has flaws.  They aren't an unbeatable juggernaut.  I never said they were.

There are good reasons they are the higher seed and are favored against the Hogs. However if there is one thing I've learned over 59 years is the best team on paper doesn't always win. That doesn't mean people should expect that before the game starts. They can hope for it though. Winning as an underdog just makes the win sweeter and losing as the favorite just makes the loss more sour.

[Porkys Revenge]

We had a guy named Balentine that hit a shot against a pretty good UNC team one time. It can happen again.

[Inhogswetrust]

We had a guy named Balentine that hit a shot against a pretty good UNC team one time. It can happen again.

That was a good one. Charles is a really nice guy and done well. However my favorite non-tourney shot is Hastings over Olajuwon in the Barn.

[Hogz87]

I just don't know why we have to get placed in, arguably, the toughest region and play one of the top five teams the second game.  Isn't this exactly what happened in 2015? 

Well, unless you disagree with our seeding (and it's fine if you do because an argument can be made that we deserved a 7-seed) then every 8/9 seed that wins their first round game has to play one of the top five teams in their second game.  Or at least a top 6-8 team if you believe some of the 2-seeds are better than one of the 1-seeds.  Regardless, you can't really make an argument that we deserved higher than a 7-seed, and based on that we'd have been playing one of the top 5-8 teams in the second round anyway.

[joeyself]

21 offensive rebounds by Seton Hall tells me all I need to know.

UNC should beat our ass by 15-20.

However, there once was a boy named David.

WPS

Every time I hear the David vs. Goliath comparison, I have to wonder if those using it have read the story.  David couldn't lose--God was on his side.

(Yeah, yeah, I know, small against big, looks like a mismatch on paper, etc.etc.)

JcS

[hawgfan4life]

I don't believe that hog team was better than this one two years ago.  It was a different makeup than this one.  This one is better offensively and has more grit.  Portis had some points that game but shot poorly overall.  Bell shot well but not enough.  Madden had a good game.   The rest of the team produced little offense.  We had six players that scored 2 buckets of 15 shots.  This team may get beat badly, but they have more toughness and determination IMO.

[Hootiethehog]

Kentucky beat UNC because Monk had the individual performance of the season and Kentucky still needed a last second three by Monk to pull out a narrow victory.  Not that that means anything, because Kentucky can beat them again if they meet up in the Sweet 16.  I'm just not sure how that's supposed to make us feel better as Arkansas fans?  Kentucky beat us convincingly both times we played them this year.

It would be an exceptionally special year if North Carolina and Kentucky squared off in the Sweet 16, since UNC is a 1 seed and Kentucky is a 2. They can't meet until the Elite Eight unless they change the rules this year, which would make this an exceptional tournament.

[Hollywood870]

I feel we have a 20-25% chance to beat UNC after watching them play. That's me being logical. Stranger things have happened.

[Hollywood870]

What the hell??  It says we play UNC tomorrow??  Why would they not give every team a 2 day break?

Surely that is just a mistake on the ESPN bracket right?

You serious Clark?

[Hogz87]

It would be an exceptionally special year if North Carolina and Kentucky squared off in the Sweet 16, since UNC is a 1 seed and Kentucky is a 2. They can't meet until the Elite Eight unless they change the rules this year, which would make this an exceptional tournament.

Thank you for being a smart *** about it.  I know that they can't meet up until the Elite Eight.  I had a brain fart when I was typing that post.

I never understood the people that posted something to solely point out a grammatical or spelling error or any other typo where the person just either had a brain art or was typing faster than they could think or got distracted while typing.  At the very least you could've provided something worthwhile to the conversation instead of posting solely to point out an obvious mistake I made.

[Dr. Starcs]

Thank you for being a smart *** about it.  I know that they can't meet up until the Elite Eight.  I had a brain fart when I was typing that post.

I never understood the people that posted something to solely point out a grammatical or spelling error or any other typo where the person just either had a brain art or was typing faster than they could think or got distracted while typing.  At the very least you could've provided something worthwhile to the conversation instead of posting solely to point out an obvious mistake I made.

What's that? 

[rtr]

They'll smoke us. Best rebounding team in the country, 2nd best in assists, tons of length, and tons of offense everywhere.

Frustrating to play UNC yet again who always seems to be the perfect kryptonite for us. We never catch a lucky break.

Good season, though. Happy with where we wound up.

Used to beat them pretty regularly in the 90's.

[Hogz87]

What's that? 

That's on me.  I deserve this one. 

[Dr. Starcs]

That's on me.  I deserve this one. 

I'm really sorry. I just couldn't help myself.

[Hogz87]

I'm really sorry. I just couldn't help myself.

No worries.  It was low hanging fruit.  Someone had to do it.

I would think less of you if you didn't point it out.

[Dr. Starcs]

Lol. 'Your' a good sport.