Vote for me, cuz I’m runnin for my life! from “Business as Usual” by Dumpstaphunk
I was over the moon about Razorback basketball this season. I truly thought this was coach Muss’s most talented team (on paper) to date, and that surely he would figure out who to play when and where and have this quality collection of cagers poised and ready to make another deep run into March Madness.
How quickly he was able to restore pride in a program that completely lost its identity and swagger and was at its lowest point in decades. Bama’s coach, Nate Oats, told reporters earlier this month after beating the Hogs – “The Alabama basketball program has only advanced to the Elite Eight one time in its entire history, while coach Musselman delivered that in his first season here and backed it up with two appearances in the Sweet Sixteen. It’s not like he doesn’t know what he’s doing.” Amen brother. Amen.
Others also thought highly of this Razorbacks team and had them ranked in the top 10 of all the preseason polls, and they stayed ranked through December. So, it wasn’t just me, or the cardinal-red-Kool-Aid-slurping, irrational Razorback Nation, who were Hogwild about this team’s chances come March, there were plenty of other people around the country who felt the same way.
True to form, this season began like the previous three – lotsa new faces, thanks to the portal, and loads of talent, thanks to coach Muss. Understandably, there were consistency issues early on, due to all the fresh faces. But the talent, athleticism and competitiveness were clearly evident from the jump, and it seemed like business as usual. Holy cow, we beat the almighty Blue Devils of Duke and Boilermakers of Purdue in December. But once SEC play began, just like three-day-old fish and visitors, the team started to stink. How and why they plummeted so quickly remains a mystery.
So since the only forms of madness Arkansas basketball fans will experience this month are fanaticism and hysteria, the time has come to fully turn the page and our attentions to Spring sports, particularly baseball.
Dave Van Horn’s squad brought their 15-game winning streak to Plainsmen Park in Auburn, Ala., over the weekend and ran it to 17 as they took the first two games from the three-nicknamed, schizophrenic Auburn Tigers, War Eagles and/or Plainsmen, 1-0 and 6-5, before falling 8-6 on Saturday afternoon.
I traveled to the Airport Road Razorback rendezvous and dart barn on Thursday night to watch the ace, Hagen Smith, deal. And deal he did, tossing six innings of three-hit, shutout ball while fanning an even dozen Tigers and winning a 1-0, jewel of a game.
Hawaiian Wehiwa Aloy, a transfer shortstop from Sacramento State, gave the Hogs the lead with a first inning solo homer, his fourth of the year, that held up the rest of the game. Will McEntire and Gabe Gaeckle relieved Smith and continued to perplex the Plainsmen batters to preserve the shutout.
The one person noticeably absent from Thursdaze game was Van Horn, who returned to NWA to be present when his daughter gave birth to triplets. When asked about the grandbabies before Fridaze game, he lit up like the Fayetteville square during Xmas.
Not to worry, the loss to Auburn should not have much of an effect on the Razorbacks’ ranking, since their ascent to #1 was unanimous, as every voter who cast a vote last week placed the Hogs in their top spot. And unlike hoops, Coach Van Horn will keep this team locked and loaded and focused on one pitch, one at bat, and one game at a time, until they arrive in Omaha.
WPS!