Basketball

Ricardo Ratliffe Visiting

Ratliffe is generally considered to be the #1 JUCO prospect in the country and he’s coming to Arkansas for his first official visit.  At 6′9″-240 pounds, he would definitely fill the physical void left by the departing Michael Washington.  His current list of offers are Arkansas, Alabama, Cincinnati, Clemson, Florida, Missouri, and South Carolina.  Those are programs that we can compete with for his services.

Some of the bigger programs are interested but haven’t extended an offer.  One really big thing we have going for us is he has said that as an incoming junior, he doesn’t have time to sit on the bench and he’s going to go somewhere that he can play immediately.   As a high profile recruit, he will get the chance to do that.

Ratliffe is currently averaging 27 points and 12 rebounds a game. He’s not just another player that dominates underneath the boards.  “He’s extremely effective around the basket. Really strong and really skilled,” said Central Florida Community College Tim Ryan, noting that Ratliffe can also step outside and hit the three at a 40 percent clip.

Ratliffe is a good friend of and a former teammate of Marshawn Powell.  Seeing what Powell has done this year as a true freshman should drive home the point that he has a great shot at a significant amount of playing time. Think about two of them on the floor at the same time.

So if you’re going to the Ole Miss game on Saturday, make a sign with his name on it and show him some love.  The Hogs could really use him.

LSU 65, Arkansas 54

BATON ROUGE, La. – Tasmin Mitchell scored 16 points and LSU avoided going winless in the Southeastern Conference for the first time since the second World War with a 65-54 victory over Arkansas on Wednesday night.

LSU (10-17, 1-12 SEC) raced to an early double-digit lead and went up by as much as 22 when Zach Kinsley’s fast-break dunk made it 50-28 with 9:06 to go. Courtney Fortson scored 18 points for Arkansas (14-14, 7-6), which played without 6-foot-9 senior forward Mike Washington. Washington did not make the trip because of an apparent ankle injury.Without him, Arkansas settled for outside shots and made only 34 percent from the field (18 of 53), including 9 of 28 from 3-point range (32 percent).

Auburn 92, Arkansas 83

Associated Press

AUBURN, Ala. – Tay Waller scored 29 points and made seven 3-pointers to lead Auburn to a 92-83 win over Arkansas on Saturday night.

The Tigers (13-14, 4-8 Southeastern Conference) shot 61 percent, made 11 of 19 3-pointers and put five players in double figures.The Razorbacks (14-13, 7-5) dropped into a first-place tie with Mississippi State in the SEC West after making only one basket in the final 3 minutes.Waller made 7 of 10 3s and hit four in the game’s opening 7 minutes. His jump shot from the free throw line with 2:45 left broke a 79-79 tie and started a 7-0 run.Auburn made 13 of its last 18 shots and was 28-of-46 in the game. Frankie Sullivan hit four straight free throws in the final 34 seconds to seal the win. DeWayne Reed added 17 points and Lucas Hargrove had 13 points, eight rebounds and five assists for the Tigers.

Arkansas 92, South Carolina 79

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Arkansas responded to its only loss in the last 25 days by getting back into the win column.

Freshman Marshawn Powell scored 16 of his game-high 26 points in the first half as the Razorbacks defeated South Carolina 92-79 on Wednesday night. Courtney Fortson added 19 points, nine rebounds and eight assists. Sam Muldrow scored a career-high 23 points and grabbed eight rebounds for South Carolina, which lost for the third time in four games. Devan Downey scored 28 points for the Gamecocks (14-11, 5-6 Southeastern Conference), but the 5-foot-9 senior needed 28 shots to get them.The Razorbacks (14-12, 7-4) led 40-33 at halftime after shooting 52.8 percent and used a 17-1 run early in the second half to pull away. The Razorbacks have scored more points in a game only once this season — in a 97-94 home loss to Morgan State on Nov. 24.

Razorback streak ends in Alabama

The Arkansas Razorback basketball team used a five-game winning streak to ascend to the top of the Southeastern Conference West Division Standings, but the streak came to an end on Saturday when the Hogs fell to the Alabama Crimson Tide 73-68. The Tide held Razorback guard Courtney Fortson to one field goal in the second half, and that was made with 6.9 seconds left in the game. It was Fortson who was instrumental in the Razorback streak, and the Crimson Tide found a way to shut down the shifty guard.

The Razorbacks jumped out to a quick lead which they held throughout the first half including a 24-17 and 34-23 leads. Fortson started quickly too, hitting three three-pointers before the ten minute mark. Fortson had 12 points at half, but the Crimson Tide made adjustments at halftime.

It was Alabama who came out swinging at the start of the second half. The Tide went on a 16-3 run in the first five minutes taking the lead with 12:57 left in the game 48-47. The Tide pushed the lead to five points at the ten minute mark, but the Razorbacks began to fight their way back into the game.

With Alabama leading 64-41, Senior Michael Washington drew a charge giving the Hogs possession for another run at the lead. Freshman Marshawn Powell responded when he took a dish from Fortson to the pull the Hogs within one point with 2:29 left in the game. [Read More]

Arkansas 87, LSU 52

Associated Press

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Starting guards Courtney Fortson and Rotnei Clarke combined for 33 points Wednesday night as Arkansas defeated LSU, 87-52.

The Razorbacks posted the largest margin of victory over the Tigers in the 49-game history of their series. The 35-point win also represented the school’s third-largest conference victory since entering the Southeastern Conference.

Fortson led the way with 17 points and Clarke added 16.

Arkansas (13-11, 6-3) tallied the first 10 points of the contest and led 43-21 at halftime.

Tasmin Mitchell scored 15 points to lead LSU (9-15, 0-10), which has lost 10 straight games. That’s the longest losing streak for the Tigers since a 12-game slide to end the 1997-98 season.

Arkansas has now won five-consecutive SEC games for the first time since 2006.

Arkansas took a one-game lead over Ole Miss in the SEC Western Division with the victory.

Fortson named SEC Player of the Week

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Sophomore point guard Courtney Fortson was named the Southeastern Conference Player of the Week on Monday afternoon by the league office in Birmingham, Ala., after leading the Razorbacks to a pair of SEC victories and averaging more than 25 points per game.

Fortson tallied 27 points on the road against Georgia on Wednesday night and returned to Bud Walton Arena to score 24 including 10 in overtime to lead the Hogs past Auburn.  On the year, Fortson is averaging 20.2 points, 5.2 rebounds, 6.1 assists and 1.3 steals per game.  He has three double-doubles and five 20-point games.

“Courtney is playing very well for us right now and is a big part of our success of late,” Arkansas head coach John Pelphrey said.  “He has a knack for scoring and getting fouled and his hard work practicing his shot in the off season has really paid off.”

This is the second Player of the Week award and third SEC honor for Fortson in his career.  He was named the SEC Player of the Week on Dec. 15, 2008 and the SEC Freshman of the Week on Dec. 22, 2008.  Fortson becomes just the fifth Arkansas player to earn two SEC Player of the Week honors in his career and the first since Jonathan Modica earned one in each of the 2005 and 2006 seasons.

With Marshawn Powell’s SEC Freshman of the Week honor just seven days ago, this is just the third time in Arkansas history that Razorback players have earned SEC weekly honors in consecutive weeks.  Along with the Powell-Fortson tandem, Fortson earned freshman and player of the week honors during the 2008-09 season and Corliss Williamson and Scotty Thurman each earned player of the week honors in Feb. of 1995.

The Razorbacks host the LSU Tigers at Bud Walton Arena on Wednesday night at 7 p.m.  For more information regarding Razorback men’s basketball or University of Arkansas athletics, please visit ArkansasRazorbacks.com.

Arkansas Razorbacks: Two Hogs coaches lead list of top paid state employees

LITTLE ROCK, Ark.–He’s atop a list all too familiar to Arkansans.

University of Arkansas football coach Bobby Petrino ranks as the highest paid state employee for 2010.

Petrino earned $2.7 million dollars.

Razorbacks basketball coach John Pelphrey is the second highest paid employee at $1.245 million a year.

However, both report incomes of much more because of coaches shows and endorsements.

Arkansas reported a jump of workers earning more than a $100,000, mostly from higher education.

The University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences accounts for 925 of the $100,000-or-more employees. That’s up by 56 from a year ago.

Hogs Beat Auburn 82-79, Lead SEC West

Associated Press

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark.
Courtney Fortson scored 24 points — including nine in a row late in overtime — to lead Arkansas over Auburn 82-79 on Saturday.

Fortson’s 3-pointer broke a 71-71 tie, and he later hit from the perimeter and made two free throws with 40.6 seconds left to make it 78-73.  After an Auburn miss, Fortson made a layup for a seven-point lead.Auburn (11-12, 2-6 Southeastern Conference) had forced overtime with Andre Malone’s layup on wild play in the final seconds of regulation. The Tigers nearly tied it again on the final play of overtime, but Frankie Sullivan’s midcourt shot hit the back of the rim. Arkansas (12-11, 5-3) has won four straight.

ARKANSAS 80, OLE MISS 73: Hogs snap 15-game SEC road skid

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