Arkansas

Just received word that Jeff Long, the current athletics director at Pittsburgh, is expected to replace Frank Broyles at Arkansas. Had a chance to work with Long when he was AD at Eastern Kentucky in my previous job and can say he is one of the finest people I've dealt with when it comes to college athletics. He is a good fit for the Razorbacks and has been known to make some good moves in prominent coaching positions. Long brought Travis Ford to Eastern to resurrect its program from the depths of despair in the Ohio Valley Conference and was responsible for bringing Dave Wanstsedt to Pitt as the school's football coach.

When Arkansas plays at home, the Razorbacks are almost unbeatable. Sixteen of their 17 wins this season have been at home where the Razorbacks have lost only to Syracuse. Now Kentucky will put its three-game Southeastern Conference win streak on the line Saturday when it plays in Fayetteville, Ark. The Wildcats are tied for second in the SEC with at Alabama at 11-4 and trail Florida (12-3) by one game with three games left. One of Florida's losses - and its first in SEC play - came at Arkansas.

Arkansas is the hottest team in college basketball and the talk of the Southeastern Conference. "They've got everybody's attention all across the nation," Alabama coach Mark Gottfried said during the SEC teleconference Thursday morning. In addition to Tuesday's 67-61 upset over No. 7 Texas, John Pelphrey's team has won 10 in a row heading into Saturday's conference opener against Mississippi State. Arkansas (12-1) also has beaten Oklahoma, giving Pelphrey two signature wins heading into conference play.

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (AP) - Bria Goss scored 16 of her 17 points after halftime as No. 10   Kentucky   rallied and held on for a 79-74 overtime win over Arkansas on Thursday night. The Wildcats (20-3, 8-2 Southeastern Conference) trailed by eight points with 6:51 remaining in regulation, but they tied the game late and avoided losing for the third time in four games. Samarie Walker added 16 points and A'dia Mathies finished with 15. DeNesha Stallworth added 12 points for   Kentucky , which had its school-record 34-game home winning streak snapped in its last game by Georgia.

Arkansas is the hottest team in college basketball and the talk of the Southeastern Conference. "They've got everybody's attention all across the nation," Alabama coach Mark Gottfried said during the SEC teleconference Thursday. In addition to Tuesday's 67-61 upset over No. 7 Texas, John Pelphrey's team has won 10 in a row heading into Saturday's Southeastern Conference opener against Mississippi State. Arkansas (12-1) also has beaten Oklahoma, giving Pelphrey two signature wins heading into conference play.

LEXINGTON - Kentucky has no reason to even think about being overconfident going into Saturday's Southeastern Conference opener at Arkansas. Or at least that is what junior linebacker Johnny Williams thinks. "We didn't come close to playing a perfect game against Louisville. So it is not that hard to prepare for Arkansas. We don't need a pep talk or anything like that. We know we have to go out and play as well, or maybe better, if we want to beat Arkansas. We want to make our mark this year and the only way to do that is by winning," said Williams on Monday.

Kentucky's first three Southeastern Conference opponents have tried to control the tempo, play physical inside with Kentucky and make it a lower-scoring game than the No. 2 Wildcats prefer. Arkansas coach Mike Anderson, a former assistant under Nolan Richardson with the Razorbacks, says that won't be the case for tonight's game at Rupp Arena. “We are going to attack. That's how we play. We play up tempo, attack basketball. They play the same way in terms of getting up and down the floor,” said Anderson, who is in his first year as Arkansas' head coach after a successful stint at Missouri.  “I think for the fans (who are there)

LEXINGTON - In a game that was played at a faster pace than most teams were willing to go against Kentucky, freshman point guard Marquis Teague somehow managed to slow down and play perhaps his best game for the No. 2 Wildcats. Teague only had seven points in Tuesday's 86-63 victory over Arkansas, but that's what was best about his game. He didn't think about scoring like previous UK¿point guards John Wall and Brandon Knight had to do for coach John Calipari. Instead, Teague was content to distribute the ball, run the offense and continue to play defense.

LEXINGTON - He was the home-state star out of Little Rock, Ark., that many Arkansas basketball fans - and probably coach Mike Anderson - envisioned would be playing for the Razorbacks. Instead, Archie Goodwin opted to follow his dream and play for John Calipari at Kentucky. Now the freshman guard will finally be playing at Arkansas - but it will be as a starter for Kentucky in Saturday afternoon's Southeastern Conference game. “We are really excited. This will be a chance that we get to bring everybody to the game,” said Datron Humphrey, Goodwin's stepfather.

LEXINGTON - Kentucky has lost senior receiver Dicky Lyons for the season with a knee injury and sophomore receiver Kyrus Lanxter is now doubtful for Saturday's game with Arkansas after spraining his knee in practice Tuesday. However, UK coach Rich Brooks does expect junior receiver DeMoreo Ford to be able to play in Saturday's game. Ford returned to practice Tuesday after missing last week's game with a shoulder injury suffered on his touchdown catch against Alabama Ford injured his sternum/clavicle joint while being tackled in the end zone on a 48-yard touchdown reception at Alabama.

John Calipari did not mince words about his team after Kentucky lost 73-60 Saturday at Arkansas in a game where a win likely would all but have solidified UK's spot in the NCAA Tournament. Instead, Kentucky again finds itself on the NCAA bubble with a road game left at Georgia Thursday and home game with Florida Saturday before the start of Southeastern Conference Tournament play in Nashville. Kentucky got a taste at Arkansas of what Missouri felt when it came to UK a week earlier and a desperate Kentucky played with more passion, toughness and energy than it had been showing and won in overtime.At Arkansas, it was the Razorbacks who out-everythinged Kentucky from rebounding to intensity to defense to hustle to toughness.

When Arkansas plays at home, the Razorbacks are almost unbeatable. Sixteen of their 17 wins this season have been at home where the Razorbacks have lost only to Syracuse. Now Kentucky will put its three-game Southeastern Conference win streak on the line Saturday when it plays in Fayetteville, Ark. The Wildcats are tied for second in the SEC with at Alabama at 11-4 and trail Florida (12-3) by one game with three games left. One of Florida's losses - and its first in SEC play - came at Arkansas.

LEXINGTON - He was the home-state star out of Little Rock, Ark., that many Arkansas basketball fans - and probably coach Mike Anderson - envisioned would be playing for the Razorbacks. Instead, Archie Goodwin opted to follow his dream and play for John Calipari at Kentucky. Now the freshman guard will finally be playing at Arkansas - but it will be as a starter for Kentucky in Saturday afternoon's Southeastern Conference game. “We are really excited. This will be a chance that we get to bring everybody to the game,” said Datron Humphrey, Goodwin's stepfather.

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (AP) - Bria Goss scored 16 of her 17 points after halftime as No. 10   Kentucky   rallied and held on for a 79-74 overtime win over Arkansas on Thursday night. The Wildcats (20-3, 8-2 Southeastern Conference) trailed by eight points with 6:51 remaining in regulation, but they tied the game late and avoided losing for the third time in four games. Samarie Walker added 16 points and A'dia Mathies finished with 15. DeNesha Stallworth added 12 points for   Kentucky , which had its school-record 34-game home winning streak snapped in its last game by Georgia.

How much should Kentucky value winning as it searches for a new football coach? If winning is the priority, should a coach with a 75-26 overall record, including a 4-3 bowl record with appearances in the Sugar Bowl and the Cotton Bowl, be at the top of the list? What if he had 11-win seasons at two different schools? Even better, what if he has already made it clear he has an interest in the Kentucky job, even though the Wildcats have not won a Southeastern Conference title since 1977 or have just a 1-9 record this year?

LEXINGTON - In his first two seasons at Kentucky, linebacker Avery Williamson was used to seeing capacity crowds - or near capacity - at Commonwealth Stadium when the Wildcats played. This year, that has changed dramatically thanks in part to UK's 1-6 record going into Saturday night's game against Georgia. “You can tell, you can sense it if they (the stands) are really full or not,” said Williamson, who ranks third in the Southeastern Conference in tackles per game (9.7). “That is just part of it. You have to take it.” After last week's 49-7 loss at Arkansas, when Kentucky trailed 42-0 at halftime, the Wildcats could have an even smaller crowd at the Georgia game.

That's all I really need to get centered - rock and river. Of course, after that, I need some of what everyone else needs, like a loving family nearby, “workable” health issues, critters to share my life with, sunshine and warmth at the end of the day. We are now emerging winter in the Colorado mountains. I am certainly used to and like the different seasons. That includes a season of cold. But, for some reason, winter in the mountains brings about a certain hibernation, something I have experienced before, probably because I love the company of others more than I dislike the discomfort of cold.

NEW ORLEANS - Arkansas sophomore guard Mardracus Wade was a 20 percent shooter from 3-point range last season, but going into today's Southeastern Conference Tournament game against LSU he was shooting 47 percent (67 of 142) this season. He credits University of Kentucky staff assistant Rod Strickland for helping provide the inspiration to help him dramatically improve his shooting. Wade knew both Kentucky coach John Calipari and Strickland from their time at Memphis. “Growing up I¿had a cousin play for Calipari and I was able to go up there and watch him as a little boy and I was always able to see how intense he was and how he was always reacting with his players and how they had fun and how he stressed the defensive part and spacing,” Wade said Wednesday.

LEXINGTON - After scoring 82 or more points in four straight games from Dec. 17 to Dec. 28, Kentucky had not reached the 80-point mark in five straight games before beating Arkansas 86-63 Tuesday night. It was Kentucky's sixth highest scoring total of the season and came after UK averaged just 66.5  points in the two previous games, wins over Auburn and Tennessee. “Not a lot of people want to run with us like Arkansas did,” said freshman point guard Marquis Teague, who had a career-high nine assists.

LEXINGTON - In a game that was played at a faster pace than most teams were willing to go against Kentucky, freshman point guard Marquis Teague somehow managed to slow down and play perhaps his best game for the No. 2 Wildcats. Teague only had seven points in Tuesday's 86-63 victory over Arkansas, but that's what was best about his game. He didn't think about scoring like previous UK¿point guards John Wall and Brandon Knight had to do for coach John Calipari. Instead, Teague was content to distribute the ball, run the offense and continue to play defense.