Razorback Brew 1/3: Earning Their Stripes

Ryan Day January 3, 2023

Good morning. On this day 46 years ago, a company called Apple was incorporated by its two co-founders. When time travel becomes invented, maybe go back and invest in some of its stock.

For now, we’re only moving forward as the Razorbacks are preparing for a big SEC matchup on the hardwood.

What else is steeping in today’s Brew?

Recapping the season thus far
All-Star Hogs
And much, much more!

New year, and a new season. With non-conference play in the books, the Razorbacks are entering a different realm of basketball in the SEC. It’s a good thing their head coach has already won 33 conference games in his first three years on the job.

Hear Coach Eric Musselman discuss the start of conference play and recap the beginning of the season with Chuck Barrett in the year’s first episode of Courtside with Eric Musselman.

> ALL-STAR SPOTLIGHT. NBA All-Star voting is well underway, so now’s a great time to check in on some of Arkansas’ brightest basketball alums.

Bobby Portis is averaging a double-double for the Milwaukee Bucks this season at 14 points and 10.1 rebounds per game. His clip of 1.8 assists per game is also a career-high through 36 games as the Bucks’ sixth-man.
Moses Moody‘s leap from year one to year two has been notable for the Golden State Warriors. He’s improved in every major category including field goal percentage (45%), three-point percentage (38.3%), and free throw percentage (80.8%).
Patrick Beverley has never been more efficient close to the basket. His two-point field goal percentage of 50.9% is a career-high, and his 0.9 turnovers per game is a career-low as the starting point guard for the Los Angeles Lakers.

Click here to vote in your favorite pro Hogs to next month’s All-Star festivities.

> PRIME OPPORTUNITY. Winning is the ultimate culture builder. It’s what solidifies the hard work, and leadership that put everything in motion at the beginning. Arkansas football coach Sam Pittman is in the process of reloading Arkansas football after wrapping up a second straight winning season, and has a unique opportunity in front of him. Read what that is in this piece from Sports Illustrated.

> TRACKING ARRIVALS. The two newest signees for Arkansas track and field are Gabriel Emmanuel, the 2022 World U20 Champion in the decathlon, and Andrew Hughes, a two-time Oklahoma high jump state champion.

Emmanuel, who competes with club team Haag Athletiek in Den Haag, Netherlands, scored a career best of 7,860 points in claiming the World U20 decathlon title in Cali, Colombia, just 10 days before his 19th birthday back in August.

Hughes, a native Oklahoman, cleared a career best of 7-0 to defend his Oklahoma 5A State Championships as a junior. As a sophomore, Hughes cleared a then best of 6-8 to claim the 5A State title.

Learn more about the Razorbacks’ newest athletes here.

> EARNING THEIR STRIPES. A huge matchup is coming to Bud Walton Arena tomorrow night as the 11-2 Arkansas Razorbacks are facing the 12-1 Missouri Tigers. Mizzou is one of two 12-1 teams in the SEC entering the week along with LSU, who defeated the Hogs right before the new year. Here are the players to watch for the opposition.

D’Moi Hodge and Kobe Brown are both averaging at least 15 points per game, shooting north of 50% from the field, and at least 40% from three-point range. Hodge is also been active on defense as he’s averaging 2.8 steals per game.
Brown is a tall guard, standing 6-8, but also leads the Tigers in rebounds with 5.7 per game. Only two players are averaging more than four rebounds per game.
Nick Honor runs point for the Tigers and leads the team with 3.6 assists and 28.5 minutes per game. He’s also averaging just under 14 points in the last three games.

Tip-off tomorrow inside BWA is at 7:30pm.

The year ahead. It’s the ultimate 2023 preview show! Q and Z look at all things Razorbacks in next 12 months, and give a shoutout to the women’s basketball team for doing something that hadn’t been done in 20 years in today’s episode.

Listen on Apple Podcasts >>>

Listen on Spotify >>>

Watch on Hogs+ >>>