Like it is

Hogs steal more shine away from Aggies

Daryl Macon of Arkansas drives to the lane as Admon Gilder of Texas A&M guards in the second half Saturday, Feb. 17, 2018, during the game at Bud Walton Arena in Fayetteville.
Daryl Macon of Arkansas drives to the lane as Admon Gilder of Texas A&M guards in the second half Saturday, Feb. 17, 2018, during the game at Bud Walton Arena in Fayetteville.

Earlier this season, Texas A&M was ranked No. 5 by The Associated Press. The Aggies had four quality wins away from home and they were being mentioned in conversations about the Final Four.

On Saturday, the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville made them look worse than the No. 5 team in the SEC standings.

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The Razorbacks, who have won four games in a row and host Kentucky on Tuesday night, dominated on both ends of the court and even outrebounded the taller Aggies 45-33 and beat them on second-chance points 14-12.

That was a team effort.

As expected, Jaylen Barford scored 21, Daryl Macon 20 and surging freshman Daniel Gafford had 18 points and missed only one shot from the field and two from the free-throw line.

Yet the Hogs got 23 points and 19 rebounds from their bench, and freshman Darious Hall logged only 17 minutes but led all Razorbacks in rebounding with seven. He has a motor that just won't turn off when he's on the court.

It is all joyful noises in the Razorback Nation, but suddenly down in College Station it is being whispered that maybe Billy Kennedy isn't going to get it done.

By most accounts, Kennedy is a really nice guy and has had a tough go since being named head coach of the Aggies in 2011. Before he ever coached a game for the Aggies he was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease, yet without complaint he has worked long and hard, but he's gotten A&M into just one NCAA Tournament.

All the talking heads are saying the Aggies are still in this year's tournament, but along with those big wins earlier have been some bad losses. They stand at 17-10 overall and just 6-8 in SEC play.

The Razorbacks moved to within one more win of being at least .500 at the end of SEC play, but more importantly they are in a position to improve their seeding not only in the conference tournament but the NCAA Tournament.

The win over A&M will be big in the NCAA's Ratings Percentage Index because the Hogs split with the Aggies, who have held on to a good RPI because of those early wins.

The Razorbacks took a quick lead when they hit three consecutive threes and knocked the Aggies on their behinds. Even though the long-distance shooting went through some droughts, the Hogs attacked inside, getting 34 points in the paint, and they ran A&M into the ground.

The loud crowd, which is regaining its national reputation, breathed life into its hometown heroes time after time. When the Aggies rallied early in the second half to get within 51-43, Gafford ignited a 7-0 run with four points in less than 30 seconds, and Macon capped it with a three-pointer.

The Aggies never gave up, but they didn't have the speed and quickness to match the Hogs. They tried to run with the big Hogs but just couldn't.

A&M seemed to get some favorable calls and shot 35 free throws to 22 for the Hogs, but the Aggies made only 23. They were only 4 of 17 on three-pointers and went 0-7 in the opening half, but a lot of that was the in-your-face defense the Hogs were playing.

Since they started this four-game winning streak the Hogs have been as good on the defensive end as the offensive end, and Saturday they were hot on offense and mean as junkyard dogs on defense.

If there was a concern -- and no doubt something that will be fixed -- they suffered four turnovers on inbounds plays.

At midnight, the celebration ended and the Razorbacks started focusing on the Wildcats of Kentucky, who snapped a four-game losing streak Saturday. The Cats stand between the Hogs and good seedings during March Madness.

Sports on 02/18/2018

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