Arkansas Razorbacks Internet Chatter - Hog Basketball Sadness and Bobby Portis Rising

There's no way around it. The annual game in Little Rock for Razorback basketball was ugly. Losing to Mercer is never fun, especially after they lost to Auburn the game before. Of course after a loss in Little Rock the questions of if Arkansas should even play there come up. Unlike the situation in football, it's unlikely that the basketball team gives up playing in the Rock altogether. There are many more non conference games for the basketball team so it isn't as big of a loss as it is for football.

As for the game itself, the most notable thing was the return of Anton Beard from suspension. Beard had 6 points, 2 rebounds, and 2 assists but missed a crucial free throw with the game tied in overtime. Anderson described his game as "antsy" which is to be expected when a high energy guy returns from a long absence. The article also talks about the attendance issues Arkansas has been having this year. The crowd of just over 9,000 was by far the biggest crowd Arkansas has seen this year, and that is pretty concerning.

If there is any positive this week in Razorback basketball its coming from Bobby Portis. Portis has gotten in a few games this season for the Bulls, but they have only been in garbage time. This weekend was the first time the #FreeBobbyPortis movement worked in Chicago. Portis got 20 points and led the team with 11 rebounds in a loss to the Knicks. You can check out some of the highlights here. One more thing to note from the article is that their coach Fred Hoiberg has said that Portis might be forcing a change in the rotation, so some more minutes could be coming Bobby's way.

Some preseason polls are starting to come out one by one, and today's has the Razorbacks ranked. Coming off their College World Series appearance, Collegiate Baseball has the Hogs ranked 24th. Not surprisingly, the SEC is absolutely stacked again in baseball. Florida leads the poll, Vanderbilt, Texas A&M, and LSU are all in the top 10 as well. Replacing the entire outfield from last season will be Dave Van Horn's biggest challenge, but he will have plenty of pitching returning in 2016.