Live Game Blog: No. 4 Oklahoma vs. Arkansas
ARKANSAS 96, No. 4 OKLAHOMA 88 (final)
I’m sure the news is all over ESPN SportsCenter by now. But, as you can see, the Razorbacks did upset the No. 4 team in the country, Oklahoma.
Marcus Monk scores over Oklahoma star Blake Griffin (23) in Arkansas' 96-88 win over No. 4 OU Tuesday night in Bud Walton Arena. (TIMES Photo/Brooke McNeely)
Arkansas had to get production from a lot of people tonight to make it possible. Six Razorbacks finished in double figures. Michael Washington had yet another double-double with 24 points and 11 rebounds to lead the Hogs.
And then there was another player that stood out with 12 points and 6 rebounds.
“Marcus Monk, my goodness,” Arkansas coach John Pelphrey said before pausing for 4 seconds to collect his thoughts. “There’s just no words that can describe what we saw tonight. That’s one of the best performances I’ve ever seen. Yeah, I know, he probably didn’t get 20 to 25 points and I don’t know how many rebounds he had but, boy, he got in there and competed. That jersey means something to him.”
Arkansas’ players were visibily exhausted after this one. Fifty-six fouls were called tonight and four Hogs finished with four fouls. Lucky for them, no one fouled out. Blake Griffin, for the most part, was held in check despite his 21 points and 13 rebounds. He was almost a non-factor in the first half and didn’t hit a basket until there was 5:37 remaining.
So, can Arkansas keep the momentum going and beat North Texas in Little Rock on Saturday and, perhaps, enter the Top 25?
“I feel very fortunate and humbled to play this game and be a Razorback,” Pelphrey said. “This was an awesome environment tonight. Oklahoma is an unbelievable team. To compete with them, we needed performances from guys we haven’t seen this season and tonight we did. This is only one game and it goes away at midnight, but today we’re very happy.”
Check out the Northwest Arkansas Times for more from tonight’s upset win for the Razorbacks.
ARKANSAS 84, No. 4 OKLAHOMA 79 (second half)
9:09 p.m.: OU is firmly back in this one. There’s 3:33 remaining. The Hogs just won a jumpball on their own side of the court after three misses under the basket.
I’ll update later tonight after the press conference and stories are filed.
ARKANSAS 74, No. 4 OKLAHOMA 63 (second half)
8:54 p.m.: Oklahoma went on a 16-0 run to cut it to single digits after Tony Crocker’s fourth 3-pointer of the run. Arkansas has jumped back out in front by 11 with 7:52 remaining. Marcus Monk is at the foul line to shoot two shots right now.
Can Arkansas hold on in the last few minutes of this one? Again, OU has proven it can come back with some huge runs. Both teams are foul weary right now as well. Four players total have four fouls.
ARKANSAS 66, No. 4 OKLAHOMA 46 (second half)
8:41 p.m.: Arkansas has re-built a 20-point lead, but this one has been back and forth in the second half. Courtney Fortson’s lay-up with 14:20 remaining gave Arkansas a 66-46 lead.
The Hogs have the ball right now. But the Hogs are in foul trouble in their frontcourt. In fact, Michael Washington just fouled on an offensive board attempt with (lucky) 13 minutes remaining. He has four fouls now and is on the bench. Blake Griffin is at the line shooting 1-and-1.
ARKANSAS 53, No. 4 OKLAHOMA 38 (halftime)
8:05 p.m.: OU got on an 11-0 run to get within 41-31 after building a 21-point lead. But the Hogs got back into the mix, even if OU started getting shots to go down and plenty of and-one opportunities after fouls.
Arkansas ended the half emphatically with a Courtney Fortson assist to a cutting Michael Washington under the basket for a dunk with 10 seconds remaining. OU missed a trey to end the half.
Arkansas has hit 63.3 percent of its field goal attempts. OU is connecting on 40.5 percent. Freshman Willie Warren is amazing for the Sooners. he’s got 20 points on the break on 8-of-12 shooting, including 4-of-6 three-pointers.
Again, can the Hogs keep up their shooting pace? Oklahoma has proven they can get back in this game quickly with that 11-0 run and they’ve got the size and foul advantage right now in the paint. Michael Washington, Michael Sanchez and Brandon Moore all have two fouls apiece in the frontcourt for Arkansas. Blake Griffin for OU also has two.
OU picked up two technical fouls in the first half, the last of which came after a Washington bucket with 3:16 remaining. Apparently, from what I can tell, OU coach Jeff Capel thought Washington winged Blake Griffin a little bit as he ducked past the OU All-American.
ARKANSAS 37, No. 4 OKLAHOMA 17
7:37 p.m.: You’re reading the score right. Oh, and Arkansas has a 20-2 advantage in points in the paint right now. OU’s Blake Griffin is 0-for-4 from the floor right now and has his only points on two free throws.
Arkansas has hit 5-of-8 three-pointers. Stefan Welsh has 11 points and has hit 3-of-4 beyond the arc. Rotnei Clarke has connected on both of his attempts in 3-point land and Michael Washington is perfect from the floor (5-for-5) for 11 points.
Of note, Michael Sanchez is on the bench right now because of two fouls. He was really doing a good job underneath the basket. We’ll see if that keeps up with him out.
Also, can Arkansas keep this defensive intensity and hot-shooting going? The Razorbacks are hitting 68.2 percent of their shots.
ARKANSAS 21, No. 4 OKLAHOMA 8
7:24 p.m.: Arkansas has a 10-2 advantage in the paint early on. The Hogs have also hit 3 of 5 three-pointers, including a nice one by Stefan Welsh as he dribbled toward the middle of the arc with 15:29 remaining.
Check that, Welsh just hit his second of 3 attempts and Michael Sanchez just got a layup off a turnover with 14:18 showing. The Hogs are up 13 early. Can the maintain this edge. They’ve forced 3 turnovers so far. There’s 14:15 remaining.
PRE-GAME
6:58 p.m.: The loudest Hog Call of the season just occurred. The Bud is packed.
6:47 p.m.: I spoke too soon. The starting lineups are now available. Just one change from the projected lineup I posted this afternoon. Stefan Welsh will get the start in place of Marcus Britt. Not too unexpected. Tip-off is less than 15 minutes away.
6:41 p.m.: Settled now here on press row. Oklahoma and Arkansas are on the court for the final time in pre-game warmups. The arena is starting to fill up nicely. The idea that this one will be near a sellout can almost be a given now, just with a glance at the upperdeck filling out a bit. The media in attendance is also at a season-high.
No set starting lineup has been announced yet. Does Stefan Welsh get a start or does Marcus Britt? We’ll see.
5:52 p.m.: Plenty of people standing outside looking for tickets when I walked up and there was two long lines outside the box office looking to buy tickets. This could be close to a sell-out crowd tonight.
The new LED ribbon board on the upper deck of Bud Walton Arena is operational.
5:40 p.m.: Got to Bud Walton Arena a few minutes ago. The new LED ribbon board that adorns the upper deck facade is operational for the first time this season. It gives the arena an NBA feel. Athletic Director Jeff Long had hoped the UA could debut the new board tonight, a few games before the original deadline of Arkansas’ first SEC game, a Jan. 10 date with Mississippi State.
– Brandon Marcello
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