[00:00:01] Speaker A: You're listening to the Hog Sports Network daily podcast.
Now here's your host, Matt Jones.
[00:00:09] Speaker B: Happy Tuesday, everybody. Arkansas basketball in action tonight against Vanderbilt over in Nashville. It's gonna be a 9 o'clock tip off on SEC Network. The Razorbacks obviously in dire need of a win to help their NCAA tournament chances. Arkansas baseball also scheduled to play this afternoon against Ulmo at Baum Walker Stadium. It's storming in Fayetteville this morning as we record our podcast. But the expectation is that those storms will probably be out of here by the afternoon. So we think we'll have baseball and basketball for you today. We'll talk about both of those sports. Christina Long going to join me in studio a little bit later, but we start off today with Anthony Christensen who is en route to Nashville for tonight's game between the Razorbacks and the Commodores. And Anthony, the, the big news for Arkansas, not really surprising, but that do Thiero also out for this game tonight?
[00:01:02] Speaker C: Yeah, like you said, not necessarily a big surprise just because obviously he missed the Texas game, he missed the South Carolina game. And I think, I don't, I don't necessarily think there are many people out there expecting him to play tonight. But I mean it just going back to the Texas and South Carolina games, it's going to have to be, I mean obviously it's going to have to be better than South Carolina and frankly maybe it has to be better performance than they had against Texas. Right. I mean that's a Texas team that's really spiraling at the moment and has played pretty, pretty poorly. And yeah, so that's, that's, that and I mean it's a Vanderbilt team that is very good.
So that's, yeah, that's just kind of where, where that stands. That means Vanderbilt team that plays really fast and it's a Vanderbilt team that, I mean it's very entertaining to watch. I love watching them, but they're very good. They're in my mind a lock for the NCAA tournament. So they're going to need to play well. They're going to have to play really well to have a chance tonight. And it'll be interesting to see how they, how they do that.
[00:02:20] Speaker B: It's weird how in the sec, you know, I mean, the teams are so good that, you know, it can go, your feeling about a team can change pretty drastically from one game to the next. I mean like Arkansas, you were feeling pretty good about the Razorbacks after they beat Missouri and Texas back to back and then they have the game against South Carolina that's just a total stinker. And, and now you think that with a seven man rotation, this thing's never going to work out and they go on the road again to play a good Vanderbilt team who I guess we were a little down on Vanderbilt maybe a week and a half, two weeks ago, but they've turned it around here recently and they're one of the SEC's better teams as of late.
[00:03:00] Speaker C: Yeah, it is kind of fun to just see how, how quickly, you know, narratives and things can change. I mean, I've seen a lot of tweets just from the, the Vanderbilt, Missouri game about Missouri fans just being upset about, about how that game went and maybe how it's going to affect their seating and everything. And it's like it's one, it's one game on the road against a really good Vanderbilt team. So I don't think it's going to affect all that much. I mean, plus it went to overtime. It's not like they got blown out or anything. So it is kind of interesting. It's a little fun to see just how, how everything can change from one game to the next. But I, I think with regard to Arkansas and that, that South Carolina game, I think everybody kind, you know, saw that, you know, that was, you know, just, quite frankly, the performance that you couldn't have in that space and the, the worst performance at the worst time, I think is probably the best way to, to put it, just because of who it came against and you know, when it came, just because Arkansas kind of worked its way into the last four buys in a lot of projections and now is back into the, you know, the last four in or even the first four out, depending on where you look. So I guess it's not just the narrative that can change from game to game, it's also the bubble standing, which kind of makes following along with this stuff a lot of fun.
[00:04:23] Speaker B: You know, it wasn't long ago that Vanderbilt was being mentioned on the bubble. They're off the bubble now. I mean, Joe Linardi's got them as a nine seed playing UConn in the first round of the NCAA tournament. Arkansas, you felt better about their, their bubble standing after they beat Texas and then they lose to South Carolina and they're right back in this last four in conversation. In Lenardi's latest bracketology, he says Arkansas would be playing in Dayton along with Ohio State, Nebraska and Boise State. And you know, you think about a couple of these other teams like Texas, I mean, Arkansas, they like their two wins over Texas And I think they're going to be wins that, that certainly look okay on their postseason resume. But Texas has done so poorly here of late that they have basically kind of played their way out of the tournament right now. So Arkansas needs to find a win, preferably to this week over Vanderbilt there tonight in Nashville and then when they get Mississippi State to come back in here at Bud Walton arena this week.
[00:05:27] Speaker C: Yeah, I think, I mean at worst to have, you know, a pretty good feeling for the tournament, I think you have to at least split these games if you're Arkansas just because I mean these are two teams that are solidly in the tournament and you gotta do something to make up for that South Carolina loss. And yeah, they've got wins over the field. I mean obviously Missouri, Kentucky, Michigan, you know, those are, those are big wins. Georgia, that win has started to age a little bit better with Georgia kind of playing this way back into the field. But then you get the, the Texas wins maybe aren't going to age, you know, as, as well as maybe you would have hoped just with how frankly poorly Texas has played, you know, recently. And just kind of that situation and everything with the potential hot seat implications with Rodney Terry and you know, everything kind of goes along with, with those lines. But not to get too far into the weeds, but yeah, it's like they, they certainly you would think need to split these games. I'm not sure what there's 17 and 12 right now. Are they gonna take a 17 and 14 team that or a team that finishes 17 and 14 in the regular season? I'm not, I'm not sure.
So that it's an interesting dynamic just because of how, how close everything is. I mean Arkansas is big time benefiting just from the bubble kind of being in my eyes, in the eyes of a lot of other people, pretty weak.
So that, that helps. But I mean you got to win your games, right? So that's kind of where where things stand, I guess.
[00:06:58] Speaker B: So tell us about Vanderbilt. They were terrible last year under Jerry Stackhouse. They've got. Mark Byington has come in from, from James Madison and really turned things around.
What's been the key to their, their success this year?
[00:07:11] Speaker C: I think it's a lot, a lot has to do with, you know, the portal editions really fitting in with know what Mark Byington did at James Madison last season. I mean if you watch, you know, James Madison last season and J. And Vanderbilt, excuse me, this season, you know, it's not a carbon copy, but they look pretty similar. I mean they're Both teams that like to play fast, get up and down the floor and can also kind of play that slow, slower pace as well, they can adjust on the fly and do things like that. Jason Edwards coming in from North Texas, I mean he's been. Been, you know, a phenomenal addition for, for Vanderbilt, their leading scorer. And then you got, they've got the complimentary pieces around him like Manon and you know, all, all those guys. I mean, it's a team that's really well oiled despite, you know, not really having played together all that much just because of, you know, the nature of the portal and everything that that comes with that. But I think they just really fit into what Mark Barrington wants them to do, which, I mean you, like I said, you mean that that James Madison team last year won 32 games, beat Wisconsin in the NCAA tournament and you know, just looked really good and in my mind should have been in that large team had they. Had they not won the A Sun tournament. But you know, would they have been? I'm not so sure. But I mean that's, that team was spectacular as evidenced by their performance in the postseason. And I mean Mark Byington is kind of, like I said, not carbon copied it over to, to Vanderbilt, but it's a very similar style that, you know, a lot of teams struggle with. It's hard to defend, it's hard to scout. And I think that's the biggest thing that you're, you're seeing with Vanderbilt, especially with the offense kind of being built around Jason Edwards.
[00:08:50] Speaker B: So for Arkansas, you know, I said this before they went to South Carolina. I was worried about fatigue for them. The late game against Texas, obviously, you know, had to play five extra minutes, short bench, long trip, quick turnaround. And it was a fairly quick turnaround again. And you go from, you travel to South Carolina, you travel back to Fayetteville, now you travel to Nashville. I wonder how much you think the fatigue might play a factor for the Razorbacks tonight.
[00:09:16] Speaker C: I think it's certainly a factor. I mean, you look at like you just mentioned, I mean the fatigue factor maybe played into the performance against South Carolina. I mean an overtime game against Texas just a few nights before that I think was, if I remember correctly, that was also an 8pm tip. So I mean, it's not like it was, you know, a noon game or anything. So I mean, maybe, maybe that's a instance and where the 9pm tip tonight's gonna help them. I don't know. It's not going to help me. But yeah, I think it's certainly a factor. I mean, you play, you know, a hard 40 minutes. I think you saw it to a certain degree, you know, with just how poorly they shot against South Carolina. I mean, they were. I don't think anybody's going to find it controversial for me to say they were just downright terrible shooting in that game. I mean, the numbers back that up and it's. I. It's certainly a factor, I think. And the travel, I'm sure, isn't, you know, the most helpful part of it. I know. You know, obviously it's not like they're hopping on a bus this morning and driving over to Vanderbilt, but still, I mean, it's still, you know, travel. I mean, I've been on the road a lot this season and I'm. I'm always feeling a little tired and I'm not. I'm not having to go run around for 40 minutes trying to play it, you know, you know, defend against, you know, SEC and even NBA caliber athletes. So I can only imagine that it's tough on those guys. But, you know, that's just, you know, part of it. I mean, if they get into the first four and win that game, I mean, they're going to have to go to Dayton to, you know, Seattle or somewhere like that. So, I mean, it's going to be something that they're going to have to deal with if they get into the tournament. So I. Yeah, I mean, that's just maybe it's experience for them if they. If they do end up getting in there. But yeah, that. It certainly is a factor in my mind.
[00:10:58] Speaker B: Yeah, I was interested to hear John Calipari say at the end of the South Carolina game that he told him not to foul. Let's just get out of here. And I think a lot of it had to do with just, you know, just get this thing over with. But maybe saving some legs too at the end of the. That game, knowing that they were going to have this quick turnaround coming against Vanderbilt. Let's get you out of here on this. You know, Jonas, how you do. I've mentioned him a lot here in the last week or so. I've been impressed with how he's been playing and it feels like now with Theo out and we don't know if or when he's going to come back, that they're going to have to have somebody step up. And it feels like Adu is potentially the guy who's going to step up. He has stepped up in recent games. Had a good game against Texas at A double double the other day against South Carolina.
How much more do you think is in the tank for him?
[00:11:48] Speaker C: I mean, it's, you look at Jonas Adu, he was the second team all SEC guy last season, right? So I mean, I think there's a lot more in the tank. I think, you know, that potential is still there. I mean, you've seen it and in bursts at different points of the season. And I know obviously the, the South Carolina game, I don't think anybody really wants to look back at that. You know, if you're, if you're an Arkansas fan, player, coach, whoever, with a positive light. But I mean it did have a double double. It was an inefficient shooting night, but I mean, still a double double. So maybe that can give him some confidence just on a personal level to, to go out there and perform. And they're going to need him tonight, I think, just because, I mean, I think Vanderbilt is a very good defensive team that can kind of clog the lane and kind of make things difficult on the glass and stuff like that. So they're going to need him, they're going to need Trevin Brazil, they're going to need Zavonimir Vicic, those guys to really step up and perform to their, to their ability. So that's, that's one thing about, about them. But with, with Jonas, they do. I think, I think you're correct in the assertion that, you know, he has played pretty well in recent games and you know, he's, he's certainly a guy that they're going to need to, to continue playing. Well, frankly, if they're going to get into the NCAA tournament. That's something Jonas, Jonas himself has talked a little bit about just in post game interviews and everything. It's just like, yeah, we, you know, our goal is to make the NCAA tournament. That's what we're looking at. That's, that's just kind of what it is. And you know, I, I, he, he's a guy who has played at that level and is, has seen what it takes to get there. So I think if, if they're going to get there, they're going to need him and not just him but everybody else to step up as well. But you know, he's certainly somebody who, you know, can and maybe will, you know, be that guy to, to help, you know, shepherd them along.
[00:13:32] Speaker B: Larkins are going to Nashville back to back weeks, of course, the SEC tournaments there next week. They got to have some wins in Nashville. You go Owen, two in Nashville tonight next week. You're not making the NCAA tournament. Razorbacks with a chance to get back into a bit more positive thinking tonight against Commodores. Anthony, appreciate it. Enjoy Nashville.
[00:13:51] Speaker C: Of course. I'll do my best. Get that.
What do you think over under 1:30 that I'll be leaving Memorial Gymnasium tonight?
[00:14:01] Speaker B: I think it'll be after.
Yeah, yeah. 9:00 it's going to be.
Yeah, it'll be a rough one tonight.
[00:14:09] Speaker C: They might still be playing by then.
[00:14:11] Speaker B: They might be. Who knows.
Appreciate it.
[00:14:15] Speaker C: Of course. Thanks.
[00:14:16] Speaker B: All right. Want to tell you you can find our podcast by searching Whole Hog Sports on Apple Podcast. You can also find a video version on YouTube. Our YouTube page is whole Hog Sports and we post it each day to our Twitter and Facebook accounts. Whole Hog Sports on both of those platforms as well. When we come back, Christina Long will be in studio with me. We'll talk Razorback baseball and what Dave Van Horn had to say yesterday at Swatter's Club. But first, a word from our sponsors At Kindle King.
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[00:15:15] Speaker B: Hey, welcome back. I want to tell you about our friends at Bentonville Glass. They've been serving their community since 1971. Committed, professional, versatile. If you're looking for a quality leader in northwest Arkansas or looking for skilled craftsmanship, look no further than Bentonville Glass for all your glass market needs with the highest quality products. You can come by and see them right now at 507 South Main in Bentonville or online at Bentonville glass.com Arkansas baseball is scheduled to be in action this afternoon. 3:00 first pitch at Balm Walker Stadium against Louisiana Monroe. We'll see if they can play the game. It's we look out the window right now. It's pretty dark and raining pretty hard outside, but I think it's supposed to move out of here by the afternoon or at least the heavy stuff and the expectation is that these teams will get to play. Arkansas 10 and 1 moved to number three in the baseball coaches poll yesterday. Texas A and M had had previously been in the top three and they fell like a rock after losing several games last week. Ulm comes into the series with a 5 and 5 record. The Warhawks spent last weekend at Missouri State and lost the series finale 11 to 9 to lose the series 2 to 1. Christina Long is in here with me now. You think we'll get baseball today?
[00:16:32] Speaker D: I don't know. I. It is supposed to get out of here here in a little bit, but I don't know.
[00:16:36] Speaker B: Yeah, well, I mean there's. There's this first line of storms.
[00:16:40] Speaker D: Yeah.
[00:16:40] Speaker B: And then there's a chance for more storms.
[00:16:43] Speaker D: It's like later tonight. Yeah.
[00:16:44] Speaker B: Right.
[00:16:45] Speaker D: So was what I saw last night.
[00:16:46] Speaker B: And I sent you the forecast. Did you, did you see the text I sent you last night?
[00:16:49] Speaker D: Okay. Yes, but I didn't like look at it looking.
[00:16:51] Speaker B: Well, that's your problem.
It was the National Weather Service forecast yesterday and in this forecast, I wish I had this that we could play. They mentioned over the next like 36 hours, chance for tornadoes, chance for floods, a fire risk and potentially some snow tonight in Fayetteville. It's like a James Taylor.
[00:17:13] Speaker D: So I had been hearing about. That's good. I mean, I'd heard about there possibly being snow and I was like, it's going to be 60 degrees like all week. What are you talking about? So I don't know what I have. No. Yeah, it makes no sense.
[00:17:24] Speaker B: So we could see fire and rain and snow and maybe a tornado today.
[00:17:30] Speaker D: Amazing.
[00:17:30] Speaker B: I don't know if we'll see sunny days that'll never end. But this is the weather in Fayetteville. You know, they say this about this area. You just stick around for a few hours.
You'll get to the next season. That's kind of what we're seeing here. Dave and Horn spoke at the Swatters Club yesterday. These are always, and I've mentioned this every time I talk about Swatters Club. These Swatters Club luncheons are just gold mines of information about Arkansas baseball. Because what you get is Van Horn up there at the mic just unfiltered and he tells you everything you would possibly want to know about his baseball team. He goes over players position by position, basically player by player, goes over injuries. He goes over game by game the games that they played since the last time the Swatters Club met and much, much more. Yesterday was a 50 minute speech and then there's a media breakout afterward as well. So it's basically an hour with Dave almost on the Swatters Club days. I was interested to hear what he had to say about the start to the Razorback season. Of course, the ranked number three. They're 10 and one. And he thinks they can play a lot better.
[00:18:41] Speaker E: You know why we, we as a staff think that we have a chance to be pretty good because we're not even playing that good right now, to be honest with you. And I think we're right where we need to be.
I'm kind of GLAD we're not hitting.400 as a team and have the lowest ERA in the country.
I would rather have those days ahead of us. So like where we're at and we're learning how to play one run games and so are you.
We played 11 games and five of them been one run and extra inning games and nerve wracking and.
But we've done a good job because we've won four out of five. And if you win those one run games, you know, you look back at the end of the season and say, well we played 17 one run games and we won 12 of them.
It can flip the other way and it can ruin your season. So great job by our guys.
[00:19:38] Speaker B: But that Video courtesy of Hogs Plus Dave and Horn @ the Swatters Club yesterday. We'll talk about what he, what he said here in just a second. I just want to mention they've moved the Swatters Club this year to the Fayetteville Public Library. One of the, they've built an event center downstairs at the library within the last five, seven years, something like that. And it's really, really nice. And the Swatters Club last couple of years had been over at Mermaids Restaurant in college and then they closed down their opening up a new location from what I understand. You know, I've covered the team. This is my 17th year now. First year that we had or the first year that I covered the team, they had the Swatters Club at the old Clarion Inn which has been demolished and turned into an emergency room over off of mlk. They had a little club in there called Bobby Socks. But it's amazing to see how far it's come and what's happened at the library is that the event center is so big that they've really been able to expand the number of people that can come to this. And I mean there's probably 2, 300 people at least in there. And it's just kind of remarkable to think about where Swatters Club used to be and what it looks like now.
[00:20:48] Speaker D: I was going to say the laugh he got there was a big crowd laugh.
[00:20:53] Speaker B: And you can see there too the video on the hugs plus.
[00:20:57] Speaker D: I mean it's, it's a big stage.
[00:20:59] Speaker B: Yeah, well, and it's Wide and it shows you because they've got that camera back at the very back of the room. It kind of gives you an idea.
[00:21:05] Speaker D: Yeah.
[00:21:05] Speaker B: Of the depth of that room. But, you know, they're 10 and 1. I don't know how good the teams they played are. I think Kansas State is pretty good. I think TCU is pretty good. Washington State, we'll see. It's going to be one of those deals. Where are they good in their conference? Same thing with Charlotte. I think Charlotte can hit.
[00:21:23] Speaker D: Yeah.
[00:21:24] Speaker B: I don't know how well they can pitch and you know, so we'll have to see how that translate into the American Conference, which has. East Carolina has some other good baseball programs in there as well. But, but when you hear him say that, I wonder what your thoughts are.
[00:21:37] Speaker D: Yeah, I mean, I think, I think it's a good point. You know, we, we always get to this early season. You know, there's some results that are maybe, you know, not bad, but just when the offense doesn't look the way you're expecting it to look. Right. That's, that's been the big topic of conversation among fans is, you know, the offense isn't doing enough. And I, I do feel like I agree with him. As far as, you know, we talk about it in almost every sport, especially basketball and baseball that have long post seasons that are really hard to win in, about how you don't want to peak too early, you know, you want to be building all season long. And so I understand what he's saying and I, and I believe him when he says, you know, I'm, you know, obviously you want to be doing as well as you can. But he's like, I'm okay with the fact that we're not the best hitting and best pitching team in the country right now because we want to be that later and sustaining that all year is not really something that happens. And so, you know, I understand where he's coming from, from that. I think it's funny that he mentions, you know, fans are also learning about one run games, you know, and I think you, you see a lot of the frustration as with the offense. And I guess to me, you know, I was, my dad called me the other day and was asking me like, do you think the team's good? I was like, I mean, I think they're. Yeah, like, I think they're going to be, you know, I, I think you want to see some more production out of this offense, but I think you will. And I think what he's saying about them Finding ways to win these games now is going to help them long term. I mean, maybe I'm being too optimistic, but I just, I don't, I haven't seen any reason to like panic and say this team doesn't have it.
[00:23:02] Speaker B: I think they've got hitters who are going to improve maybe as the season basically. I think they've got hitters who are more capable than what they're showing right now. Now, can they improve their batting average when they get into SEC play? That's going to be hard. But you know, like Brent Iredale, he didn't really have that great of a week last week. But we've also seen him have, you know, some really good games this year. And even, even when he was struggling last week, he still had a couple of big doubles in that series against Charlotte. I think Cam Kozel, I think there's potentially a lot more there for him offensively. Kendall Diggs. Dave mentioned yesterday that with Kendall they're kind of easing him back into the lineup, that he expects Kendall to be an everyday player and that's probably going to take somebody out of the outfield over time. But Diggs, I think that what you've seen from him over the last couple of weeks when he has played, I think the at bats have been like, there have been some quality at bats there. That should give you some encouragement about him. So. And then you think about Charlotte again. I don't know how well they can pitch, but what I saw this last weekend, Arkansas averaged eight runs a game. They averaged over 11 hits per game. And you know, they got the job done. I mean, they, you need a high scoring game, they got it done. You need to score enough runs in a low scoring game and they got it done. I see a couple of things. Number one, I thought the approach against Charlotte was really good. Charlotte and Dave mentioned this yesterday and I wrote about it on our website. But basically Charlotte was really extreme in some of its shifts. But what was interesting was that they were pitching Arkansas away. And so it was like they didn't think that Arkansas could go to the opposite field. We saw like five or six shift beaters in that series. And not to mention, I think I wrote yesterday, 23 hits out of 34 in the Charlotte series were to. Were either up the middle or to the opposite field. That's a good approach. And so I think those are encouraging things that you can build on as, as they go into the ULM series over the next two days and then playing Portland this weekend.
[00:25:06] Speaker D: Yeah, one thing I'M curious about too is, you know, we're all talking about Kuhio Aloy because he's you know, just having these ridiculous stats and everything and, and we expect that to even out. I mean we know he's not going.
[00:25:15] Speaker B: To, he will come back to earth, right.
[00:25:16] Speaker D: He's not going to hit.500 plus all year. I will be interested where, like how, what level he finds, you know, where he actually ends up. Because it's not going to be, you know, is it going to be some of these SEC teams start to figure him out and find a recipe to kind of cause some problems for him. And I guess what I'm interested once we get into some, some tougher opponents, some better pitching where he actually shakes out, you know, and what his numbers look like, then I'm interested to see.
[00:25:46] Speaker B: How the right handers in the SEC pitch him because right now they're not having to platoon the D8s because he's just destroying right handed pitching. But I don't think that the right handers they're seeing have the type of off speed stuff that you're going to see once again into the sec. And I think that was some of the stuff in the fall with him facing SEC pitchers that he was having trouble laying off of. And so, you know, we'll see. Maybe he's totally turned the corner in the five, six months since fall baseball ended. But yeah, I mean the, the expectation is that he's going to come back down to earth. It's just how, how, you know, how.
[00:26:20] Speaker D: Far down exactly and then how, you know, to your point earlier, how much do as they keep getting more experience, how much before SEC play starts can some of these other guys kind of find a higher level? And I think those are the big questions right now. Offensively, I think pitching wise, it's all, it's, it's gone. About how I, you know, how we kind of thought, we came in thinking that they had a lot of depth.
[00:26:41] Speaker B: Yeah, I think pitching, I've been, I figured their pitching numbers would be better at this point. And I think if you took Gabe Gackel out of the equation because he's had a couple of starts that and obviously a bad start last week. Most runs given up by an Arkansas pitcher in 10 years.
[00:27:00] Speaker D: Wow.
[00:27:00] Speaker B: I didn't realize that Trey Killian against Texas A and M in 2015 was the last time a pitcher gave up nine or more runs in a game for Arkansas. So I mean it was an incredibly poor start for him. He didn't have a great Start against Kansas State, if you were to take him out of the equation, which is crazy to think about that you're talking about your best pitcher. You take him out of the equation and the pitching numbers would. Would be much better right now. But, you know, it is what it is. And Dave talked about Gabe Gankel yesterday. He said that they. They watched a lot of video on him. And they also talked to Phil Sibahar, who was Charlotte's coach.
[00:27:35] Speaker D: Interesting.
[00:27:36] Speaker B: And got some insights. You know, it's like, hey, what were you doing?
[00:27:39] Speaker D: What did you do? Yeah.
[00:27:41] Speaker B: And basically the conclusion they came to, and it was really through video study, he said, was that Gackel. About 70% of his pitches ended up in the same location. And so Charlotte had studied and they knew where the location was, and they were just teeing off on him. And Dave said, you know, he said it felt in real time like Charlotte knew the location. Well, it turns out they did.
[00:28:05] Speaker D: That's so interesting. And I think it's. It's interesting that they were able to kind of get that information afterward. I always find it, you know, funny in different sports. And, you know, football does it sometimes where they'll ask about a neck, you know, their next opponent from somebody that's already played that. You know, it's interesting how coaches share information like that. But especially a guy like, you know, Steve Har, who was here and, you know, got a big weekend of homecoming. But, yeah, I mean, I think hopefully that allows them to. I'd be interested to hear, you know, next time we get to talk together, Gabe, about, you know, I'm assuming he'll start on. On Friday this week and, you know, talk to him about, you know, how do you work on that? How do you change that? You know, what have they talked to you about with that? Because, you know, once it's. It's great to learn that now before you get into. Yeah. Some of these SEC teams that are going to take advantage of things like.
[00:28:48] Speaker B: That, for sure, just be less predictable. I think that's what that was kind of the bottom line. He also talked about Christian Fouts. You know, obviously Fouts didn't pitch great over the weekend. Hit a couple of batters on Friday, was able to get out of it and still get the save. And then Sunday blew the save because he gave up a couple of singles, hit a batter, threw a wild pitch. It was a really bad outing for him. Van Horn said he thinks that Fouts will be fine, but, you know, you're at that point with him now where if you have one more bad outing from him in a save opportunity. You got a lot more pitchers at the back end who might get a look, right?
[00:29:21] Speaker D: When you have a staff that is as deep as Arkansas feels that it's is, you have to figure out how long of a leash you're going to have with some of these guys, you know, and how, how much you want to try to give them that opportunity to improve and how much, like when you just say, all right, we got to try something else, you know, and, and that was something that Dave said after the game the other day was he was saying, you know, I don't, at that point he said, I don't know what's going on with Fouch. Like I don't, I don't know what the deal is. It's, you know, we can't have that.
So I think it's something that he'll be aware of. You know, it. We'll see what happens the next time out. I think Matt Hobbs, I think will have an interesting approach to that. I, I. Have you talked to him about Fouch at all? Have you been able to talk to him about it?
[00:30:03] Speaker B: Not, not since the season started.
[00:30:04] Speaker D: So I'd be curious, you know, because it didn't seem like there was any real concern about him coming into this year. It seemed like it was pretty straightforward. Like he's kind of the, he's the closer guy, he's the, you know, the fastball thrower. And I, I guess I don't know what they're going to do to solve that problem.
[00:30:20] Speaker B: I thought Bubba made a good point yesterday when he was in here. He said on Fouch that the off speed pitch that he hit a batter with on 12 in the Sunday game said it only had about a 2000 RPM. He doesn't throw a pitch that has a 2000 RPM. So he thinks it probably slipped and that's what resulted in that pitch hitting a batter.
[00:30:40] Speaker D: But does that happen three times?
[00:30:42] Speaker B: Well, no. The first on Friday it was back to back fastballs.
[00:30:45] Speaker D: Oh yeah, yeah, you're right.
[00:30:45] Speaker B: So on Sunday it was a breaking pitch that, that I think Bubba's probably right about this. It just slipped out of his hands.
[00:30:51] Speaker D: And, and that's going to happen sometimes.
[00:30:54] Speaker B: But what I was going to say is on Friday it's funny that Bubba mentioned that on Friday I was watching the, the trackman and there was a pitch that had a, Some sort of cutter. 3253 RPM. Wow, that's a huge Number.
[00:31:10] Speaker D: Yeah.
[00:31:10] Speaker B: I mean, you don't see that very often. And I mean, that ball is just. Yeah, it's moving when it comes in there. Dave also talked yesterday, gave an update on a couple of pitchers who are injured for the Razorbacks and on their prognosis. The first was on Gage Wood.
[00:31:29] Speaker E: I think he's kind of relieved. I think he was really scared at first and I really. And I told him right after he started feeling pain, he came out of the game, he didn't try to pitch through it. I think that was a really smart move. And I told him that, that I appreciated him telling us and that was, you know, that was good for him. I think it's going to be good for us down the road, but it's looking like to us that he's farther along than we thought. He's already playing catch with the football. He likes to do that a little bit. It's some drill work. And then the other day he actually threw a baseball and he's not feeling any pain. And so we got to bring him back slow. Obviously, there's no tear or anything like that. That's what the MRI told us. And now with no pain, that's what we see as well. But he was off to a really good start. He had 13 strikeouts and seven innings. He was pitching really good down there when that occurred. He's ERA is like just over one. So we'll get him back. We'll slow play it. Hopefully we can have him back.
I don't know, maybe somewhere after conference starts or before or a week after two weeks.
We're going to let him show us what to do.
[00:32:39] Speaker B: Great news for Arkansas on Gagewood. And I've said this a couple of times. Whenever you see a picture come off with the medical staff like that, your. Your mind goes to worst case scenario.
He really dodged a bullet here.
[00:32:52] Speaker D: Yeah. This really is the best that they could have hoped for after seeing, you know, having the trainers come out. You know, if you. If you had to script how you wanted it to go, this is about it. So, yeah, I mean, I think we'll see how fast they can actually get him back. You know, we've talked about how you gotta actually, you know, get the confidence back a little bit. But it sounds like he's already kind.
[00:33:09] Speaker B: Of there and can he get back into the starting rotation after what Landon pedal she's did the other day. Vital seas hadn't mattered if he was starting or if he's been out of the bullpen. He has been really, really good this Year for Arkansas, the longest outing of the year for a Razorback. The other day against Charlotte. Dave also gave an update on Hunter Dietz, the left handed sophomore pitcher for Arkansas. Hunter Dietz, if you don't know about him and no one would blame you if you don't because he hadn't pitched a whole lot. But this was a guy who was maybe the one of the highest rated prospects they've ever gotten in here from a pitching standpoint. But he's been dealing with a bone injury in his arm and just has not been able to pitch very much. For the Racebacks. Only two outings last year and then they shut him down in April. It's taken him a little bit of time to get back into, you know, the fray here this year. Has not pitched yet this season for the Razorbacks. This is what Dave Van Horn had to say about his timeline.
[00:34:07] Speaker E: You know, Hunter Dietz 2 years ago is one of our top prospect, maybe our number one lefty we thought we had in here. And I always say this, in the fall of his freshman year, we didn't hit him at all. He was really good and he came in with a little injury that might have kept him from getting selected in the draft. Plus he wanted a lot of money. Then he heard it, tried to get it back, hurt it again. Then we said, let's just go fix it. And it has to do with it's more bone. It was a bone issue, went in there and they put a couple of screws in there. We've had a lot of pitchers have had that. There's pitchers all over the big leagues. Drew Smiley had that when he was here. He ended up being a pretty good big leaguer. And it's just the way it is. Kind of a stress fracture type thing that keeps happening. So they put, they put some, some screws in there. Well, he is actually going to throw to live hitters. So his last jump the last couple weeks has been big, where he's starting to throw the ball in the, in the 90s again and maybe 92, 93 and you're going, oh, that's, that's not all the way there. No, that's not all the way there.
But he had good secondary stuff as well. But he's going to throw live two hitters trying to hit him this week. So that's a big step. I want our hitters to hit him, but I don't want him to hit him, if you know what I'm saying. I want him to be that good. And he won't face the guys that are playing every day. He'll face some of the guys that, you know, that don't get to play.
[00:35:31] Speaker B: So Dave van horn on 100 deets and that again, think about how good their left handed pitching is right now. Vital seas root coil out of the bullpen. They've been really good this year. Now you could potentially add this big time and this is something that Bubba and I've talked about. This may be the most pro or the biggest pro prospect on this team who you haven't even seen yet.
[00:35:57] Speaker D: What do you think is a realistic role for him when he gets back?
[00:36:00] Speaker B: Probably out of the bullpen.
[00:36:02] Speaker D: Yeah, but I mean, and how, you know, I guess the question is how much do you like, how much of a workload do you expect them to give him?
[00:36:08] Speaker B: Well, not much early on.
[00:36:09] Speaker D: Right.
[00:36:09] Speaker B: But by the end of the season he could potentially be, you know, unlimited.
[00:36:14] Speaker D: Yeah. When you have a guy that's yeah, been out for this long and you know, and they've taken their time rightfully with trying to get him back and obviously, you know, it's still a process and they're gonna do everything they can to get him game ready before they actually throw him out there. But yeah, I guess the question would be once he actually gets in a game situation, what it looks like then and is he going to be the.
[00:36:31] Speaker B: Guy he was before one of the left handers? I just omitted Colin Fisher, another one who's played well for Arkansas. He's going to start today's game assuming they're able to play. And then Ben Bybee will get the start tomorrow for the Razorbacks. Both of these games, 3:00 at Baum Walker Stadium. Games are going to be streamed on SEC network. Plus Brett Dolan is going to be on play by play Sean Mernan this afternoon. He's the voice of the Northwest Arkansas naturals. He'll be with Brett on the TV call and then Nick Batters, who is the voice of the Royals Triple A team up in Omaha is going to be on the play by play radio with Bubba Carpenter. Phil Elson is out at the SEC women's basketball tournament. When we come back, we've got some football conversation to have. But first a word from our sponsors.
[00:37:16] Speaker A: At Kendall King, we're proud of over four decades of design. We're continuing the legacy of great creative design by combining our brands of Kendall King soapbox and Shopcart. Together these brands represent a new focus in marketing design with individual attention to specific areas through our design expertise supported by a team of talented professionals. We showcase our best. We are Kendall King. We are soapbox. We are shop cart. We are design.
[00:37:48] Speaker B: Hey, welcome back. One day you can get the latest breaking news on a razorback
[email protected] most end up source for all Arkansas sports analysis, lacing recruiting, unique stories on all your favorite teams. Subscribe today at whole hog sports.com spring football right around the corner for the Razorbacks. They're going to begin their spring practice next week on Monday, March 10. They'll practice six times before spring break, which is a little bit later this year. I think spring break is March 24th through the 28th. They'll come back, get going again right around end of March, early April and then they'll have their spring game on April 19th at Razorback Stadium. It was just announced the other day that will start at 1:00 in the afternoon. Arkansas not eliminating its spring game unlike a lot of other teams that are getting rid of this this year. And Christina, the the spring game for Arkansas is never like under Pittman. It really hasn't been a game. It's been more of kind of like an like kind of an open scrimmage, hybrid practice type deal.
[00:38:53] Speaker D: Yeah, it's the spring games are always, you know, it's always hard to tell how much you can really get out of it. Partly now because some of the roster isn't here because there's the spring portal window and guys are going to leave and guys are going to come in. You know, a lot of your movements already done, but sometimes you're going to see some, some different additions. I mean last year Arkansas got a lot of guys after spring that ended up being difference makers and impact players that weren't there for the spring game last year. And then also, you know, you have a lot of coaches bringing up the conversation now about we don't want other teams to see how good our guys are and then come get them in that spring portal window or we don't want it. You know, there's always the conversation about coaches not wanting to give too much away play wise and things like that. They're always trying to hide as much as they can to, to not give any kind of competitive advantage. But now you're seeing coaches actually act to get rid of the spring game. A lot of times they turn into more of just kind of like a fun fan fest, which is fine. You know, when I covered Clemson dabo like narrates the whole game like he's like and then like he'll pull a Player over and they'll like, do like a silly interview. Like he's like, on the PA and like on ACC network. Like, basically he's the PA announcer for the spring game. It's very. It's very strange. It was kind of fun, though. I mean, fans loved it. And so I think the spring game has, for a long time now, not been a particularly serious endeavor in terms of, you know, it being a game. It being something that is meant to really give the team that much. I think it's tends to be more for fan benefit, which is fine.
[00:40:15] Speaker B: I've never enjoyed a spring game.
[00:40:17] Speaker D: I don't like them either, because I. Here's. I was talking to somebody about this the other day. I feel like the way that we. And I don't mean, like us specifically, I mean, like college sports media, the way that we cover spring games, has not caught up to what spring games are like. We still have to, like. We still feel like we have to treat them like they're important, so we cover them as if they're important, even though we all kind of feel like they're not that important, and coaches and fans feel like they're not that important, but we're all still kind of pretending that they are.
[00:40:44] Speaker B: Well, and the thing with practices that gets confusing is that, you know, again, it's a practice. And so if you're just. If you're just throwing out stats, it may not be an accurate representation of what actually happened. You know, like a guy might catch four touchdowns in red zone work.
[00:41:03] Speaker D: Yeah.
[00:41:03] Speaker B: And all of a sudden now you're saying, okay, he had four touchdowns on Saturday when really it was, you know, I mean, it's. And so you see what I'm saying. I think a lot of times spring games have a tendency of setting expectations too high for what reality might be.
[00:41:22] Speaker D: Right. Because you'll also see players, you know, sometimes you'll have some spring practice injuries. And so some of the guys you're expecting to start go out or even if it's just precautionary, you know, they just. They held. They hold them out of, you know, doing a lot in spring or in these scrimmage situations. And then you'll, you know, like, we saw C.J. brown had a great spring game last year, and he didn't really get to do that much in the season, but.
[00:41:39] Speaker B: It was a great one.
[00:41:40] Speaker D: Yeah. And it looked like they were going to be like, you know, the greatest guys on the team, and then that didn't end up really happening. And so, you know, I think There can be, there's a lot of overreaction that tends to happen. And I, you know, everybody just. People get excited about football. People want to learn something new about the team. I don't think it's wrong to pay attention to the spring game or to pay attention to practice. It does matter. But I think sometimes it does set the expectation differently. I mean, what was it a couple years ago? The offensive line looked like it was going to be fine and then it was horrendous. You know, it was, it was different in practices, kind of informed, a different view than what actually happened.
[00:42:16] Speaker B: The most eye opening spring game for me was in 2018. They had it in Little Rock because Razorback Stadium was being renovated so like half the field was torn up. And I didn't go to that because there was a, they were playing Auburn in baseball here that night. So I watched the spring game at War Memorial on TV and they went from Arkansas and then like Arkansas was like at 1 o'clock and then they went to Auburn spring game at three. I was like, oh my God, the, the difference in athletes between those teams. And then of course, you know, that's Chad Morris's first team that didn't do squat here. And so that was, that was probably the most eye opening spring football experience I've ever had. And that was just from watching it on tv. Transitioning right from one game to another. Sam Pittman is going to speak to reporters this week to preview spring football. That's going to be Thursday afternoon is when we'll hear from Sam Pittman. First time we've heard from him since the bowl game. Is that right?
[00:43:15] Speaker D: I think so, yeah.
[00:43:16] Speaker B: Yeah, I think it is. So I want to talk here about some of these football role proposals that came out within the last few days. And the big one is on the fake injuries.
And you know, I mean, I give them credit for trying to do something, but I just don't know how much.
[00:43:35] Speaker D: There's no perfect solution to it at all because, you know, the, the coaches association had proposed the idea of having, you know, a player that requires medical attention to have to sit out the rest of the possession rather than just, you know, right now it's, you gotta play the idea. The reason the rules committee kind of went away from that is the concern that it would force players that are actually injured to play through it and to not like reveal that they are injured and to worsen an injury or something like that. They, they don't want to like incentivize players to basically tough it out when it might be in their best interest to come out. Um, so that was kind of the idea behind what the rules.
[00:44:13] Speaker B: You think today's players actually going to tough it out though?
[00:44:16] Speaker D: I think some.
[00:44:18] Speaker B: Not like they used to.
[00:44:19] Speaker D: Not like they used to necessarily. But I also think there's. There's so much on the line for them now that they might, you know, I think it depends. I think there's so much on the line for them that if they feel like they need to prove something or they need to, you know, I think they might.
[00:44:36] Speaker B: Okay, so here's what the rule says or the proposed rule. And this would potentially be confirmed later in the spring. But basically it says that if a player is injured and has to leave the field or if medical personnel has to come out to see a player after the ball is spotted, then the player's team would be charged a timeout. If there are no timeouts remaining, then a five yard delay of game penalty would be assessed. Again, they're trying to do something. I just don't know that this is really going to be that strong of a deterrent.
[00:45:09] Speaker D: Yeah. How effective is this actually going to be? I think it's just. It's such a hard thing to enforce and to police and, you know, I. I wonder how much of this is to say, look, we're trying to do something about it after everything that happened with like Ole Miss, for example, and all the uproar about it.
[00:45:24] Speaker B: I mean, the SEC actually put financial.
[00:45:26] Speaker D: Yeah.
[00:45:26] Speaker B: You know, penalties on the coaches if they were found to be doing this. So I think that's more of a deterrent. Even if it's. I don't remember what the number was, maybe $50,000 on the first offense or something. And I don't know how much of a deterrent that is to a coach that's making $9 million a year. But, you know, at least that feels like a lot more than what the playing rules committee is trying to do here. Again, you give them credit for trying to do something about this. I just, I don't know that this is a huge deterrent.
[00:45:59] Speaker D: Yeah, I think we'll just have to see it play out and you know, it'll be interesting to see the first times it gets used. But yeah, I don't know that it's going to be an. And it's, you know, it's peak ncaa. They try, but there's just only so much they can do.
[00:46:10] Speaker B: Kirby Smart is the co chair of this committee and this is what he said about it. He said, quote, the committee identified the time period after the ball has been spotted as the most egregious violations of the injury timeout rule and is addressing the issue this way. Having a set time frame of when the game is stopped for an injured player should hopefully help curtail the strategy of having players fake injuries.
[00:46:33] Speaker D: We'll see. We'll see.
[00:46:35] Speaker B: I just, you know, again, you don't see this at the NFL level and it's because they act like professionals. Like instead of, you know, and I mean, great, you put penalties and whatnot and you try to do it this way. But like, let's just have, let's, let's expect our coaches to act professionally and teach their players to do the same.
[00:46:59] Speaker D: Oh, that is way too much to ask.
[00:47:01] Speaker B: Yeah, but I mean that, that, that ought to be, that ought to be the, you know, because like in the NFL, if you faked an injury in the NFL, what do you think would happen?
[00:47:08] Speaker D: I think you could. Yeah, there'd be some kind of big penalty.
[00:47:12] Speaker B: Well, I mean, you suspended and you lose your game checks when, when you're out for the suspension. So, you know, and probably some sort of organizational fine, you know too, you know, that's why you don't see this crap in the NFL. And again, I guess give them credit for trying to do something. I just don't know that this is going to be what is. What's going to fix this issue. A few more that stood out to me and I think this is kind of funny that Kirby Smart's the co chair of the committee because one of them is overtime timeouts. And if you remember that Georgia, Georgia Tech game at the end of the season that went into eight overtimes, Kirby Smart took a timeout every single overtime. And you know, I mean, to his credit, George ended up winning that game. But the new proposed rule says at the start of the third overtime, teams alternate running two point plays until a winner is decided. And they.
What's the same?
[00:48:02] Speaker D: They have one time after the third. From the third overtime on, you would have one until the game is over. So if you go to eight overtimes, you only have the one timeout from three to eight.
[00:48:11] Speaker B: Yes.
[00:48:12] Speaker D: So it is different.
[00:48:13] Speaker B: You would still have one for the first overtime, one for the second overtime and then one for everything else.
[00:48:19] Speaker C: Yes.
[00:48:19] Speaker D: Yeah. Which I think is Smart. I mean. Yeah, that game was crazy.
[00:48:22] Speaker B: Well, it took forever to run.
[00:48:25] Speaker D: And then you're. What, you're changing ends of the field too? It's a whole, you know, it takes so long.
[00:48:29] Speaker B: They basically ran. I would like to go back and look at how long this took to play overtimes three through eight, but that was basically 12 plays. And I bet it took over 20 minutes to play that. And that's Mickey Mouse football, by the way. The whole two point thing, it's ridiculous. It's like if we got to the end of double overtime in basketball and said we're going to play knockout until somebody wins, is it not?
[00:48:54] Speaker D: Yeah.
[00:48:55] Speaker B: I mean, you can't determine a winner based on this.
[00:48:58] Speaker D: The game.
[00:48:58] Speaker B: No, this is not football.
[00:49:00] Speaker D: Yeah.
[00:49:00] Speaker B: There's got to be a much better way to do this. But so there's that. The Kirby Smart rule when it comes to.
[00:49:07] Speaker D: I would love to. I would love to have heard, like, what he said when they were doing that, when they were talking about that one.
[00:49:13] Speaker B: A couple of others that stood out to me, that on an instant replay, the referee will only say that the call on the field is upheld or overturned. Won't use words like confirmed or call stance.
[00:49:26] Speaker D: Sure.
[00:49:28] Speaker B: I don't know. I kind of like it when they say it's confirmed or it stands because.
[00:49:31] Speaker D: I think it tells you something about the review process.
[00:49:34] Speaker B: It tells you, yes, we saw something that confirmed what we thought or, you know, it's just. It's inconclusive.
[00:49:40] Speaker D: Yeah. Yeah, I think it's useful. But, yeah, I'll be interested. I think that'll be hard for some officials to adopt. It'll probably get some catching themselves using the old phrasing sometimes.
[00:49:48] Speaker B: All right, here's a Brett Bielema rule that if a kickoff return team makes the T signal. You saw this during the bowl game against South Carolina during a kick, the play will be whistled dead. This is the thing that caused the blow up between he and Shane Beamer.
[00:50:03] Speaker D: Yeah. Which. That was crazy. I.
That was kind of fun. That was pretty funny that. That drama during that game. But no, I mean, this is interesting. I'm curious, has Bielema, like, tweeted anything about this?
He likes.
[00:50:15] Speaker B: He wouldn't be surprised.
[00:50:16] Speaker D: He's been on some Twitter stuff recently which isn't really necessarily new. But I'd be curious if he has, like, said anything, if he's alluded to it in any way about the rule change that happened because of their game.
[00:50:29] Speaker B: But here's something interesting because, you know, the disconcerting signals you hear about that all the time, they've actually, they've designated some words that defensive teams can use that offensive teams cannot use that would, you know, potentially cause that to happen. Because I think a lot of people think that it's the defense that is the most egregious, you know, in terms of these signals and they may be, but I think sometimes the offense probably catches on to the words that are being said on the other side too, which causes the defense to move.
[00:51:06] Speaker D: Right. So yeah, that's an interesting rule. That's one that kind of, I feel like will fly under the radar as we kind of get into, you know, when we get to the season and we're reviewing all of these different things and things that are going to be changed. I think that's one that'll probably will matter a lot on the field, but is not going to be something that we hear about that much.
[00:51:22] Speaker B: And then the Oregon Ohio State regular season game, remember the defensive 12 players on the field. It's interesting how these rules are always a reaction to something very high profile that has happened. This rule recommended that after the two minute timeout in either half, if the defense has a foul of 12 or more players on the field, the officials would administer a five yard penalty and the offensive team would have the option to reset the game clock back to the time of the start of the play.
[00:51:52] Speaker D: Yeah, I mean this is a really interesting one. It is funny how a lot of these rules are reactionary and I think sometimes then you see them backfire some. But no, I think this one is, this one's definitely interesting. And that game was, that game was crazy. And for, for this reason specifically, and I think, I think coaches, this is something that coaches will be glad to see. But yeah, I mean I, I'll be curious to see this one kind of.
[00:52:14] Speaker B: In play real quick. Track and field Arkansas women win the SEC over the weekend. They're 11th in a row. Men finished second to Texas A&M. I think there were five points back.
[00:52:25] Speaker D: Yeah, five and a half.
[00:52:26] Speaker B: And that broke a streak of five in a row indoor titles for them. The Coaches association index ratings basically this is a projection of how each team would score at the national meet based on where their times or their heights or whatever the event might be, where that ranks nationally right now. It came out this morning after the conference meets and it still projects that Arkansas's men and women would win national championships in Virginia beach in a couple of weeks. I know you talked to the coaches yesterday. I'm most interested to hear what Chris Bucknham had to say because it was a disappointing outcome for them at College Station. Track is one of those deals where it's so weird. You can be the best of the best, but if you just have one bad Day, all of a sudden, you know, I mean, you go from being the best in the high jump to not even being one of the 10 best in your conference, you know, based on the conference meet. So what did he have to say?
[00:53:26] Speaker D: Yeah, I mean, there were a lot of. They did have a bad day. You know, they got some good performances, and it's, you know, you don't want to lose those. But at the same time, they. They were. There were events they expected to get points in big. A lot of points that they did not get any in or that they got very few. And he talked a lot about the reasons for that. And one of them, one of the big ones is they did not go on the road all regular season. All of their meets were at home.
So. And he mentioned, too, that, you know, they bring 20. You can bring up to 27 athletes to the conference meet. 17 of the 27 they brought were competing at the SEC championships for the first time, whether they were freshmen or transfers from. From other leagues or lower divisions. Um, and he said he felt like that was. Those two things kind of combined was a big deal, because he was talking about how, you know, in a sport like this, where, you know, hundreds of a second matter, where centimeters matter, you know, how you prepare, your approach, your routine, there's so much that can. That can little. The little details of your. Your preparation and your approach matter so much. And so when you have people that are kind of thrown off by, you know, it's super new. Their first road meet is a huge stage. You know, it's. It's not unusual for there to be kind of surprises at these conference meetings, meets, because it is the big stage and it's. It's a big deal to them, but, you know, for it to happen several times, for it to happen to some of these, you know, newcomers repeatedly, you know, he said we could easily find 20 more points if it had gone the way we expected it to, and it would have been an easy win. And. And they did score a lot. I mean, they scored, what, 100, 105, 102. 102. So, I mean, that's a. That's a winning score for. For some years. For a lot of years. So, I mean, I think it seems like, you know, with hindsight, they. They would have rather have gone on the road earlier in the year, and now it's about kind of moving on from that and trying to get ready for NCAAs and A M won the men's title, and they were the host, which. Another thing, Coach Bucknham said. Yeah, is that's, that is definitely something, you know, every home team, because they're familiar with the, with the facility. It's a brand new facility, too. I mean, this is the first time they've held championships there. This was Arkansas's first time going there. So most teams first time there. So he mentioned that too. You know, when you're not familiar with it, it does make it different because it does change how you actually go about, you know, performing the athletic feats that they are doing.
[00:55:42] Speaker B: NCAA championships are in Virginia beach on March 14th 15th. The women trying to win for the third year in a row. The men trying to win a national championship for the second time in three seasons indoors. We appreciate you being with us. Hope you'll visit us@whole hogsports.com this evening. We think we'll have baseball coverage from Arkansas Ulm and at some point overnight we'll have Arkansas Vanderbilt coverage from that late tip off tonight in Nashville. Appreciate you being here. Hope to see you on our podcast tomorrow. Have a great day, everyone.
