Internet Chatter - How Big a Deal Was the Mizzou Win?

Watching the Hogs absolutely dismantle Mizzou definitely was fun. The 33-point win was one of the biggest beatdowns in SEC for Arkansas but how much can fans really take from that? Mike Anderson doesn't think it's worth getting overly excited about. Despite the ugly margin of victory its just one win for Arkansas and there really wasn't a whole lot to gauge where the Hogs stand. Yes they shot lights out but that is inflated in large part to Mizzou's pitiful defense giving up some easy shots. So yes, the win was fun, but the next two weeks will say a lot more about this team than this game did.

A fun spot in the game Tuesday night was the homecoming of Jimmy Whitt, who graduated at nearby Hickman High School in Columbia. Despite some recent struggles, Jimmy had himself a game, scoring a career high 15 points in a game he really needed. Whitt has been struggling to the point where Mike Anderson thinks there might be a confidence issue with the freshman. A good shooting night in a familiar environment might have been just what he needed to get going for the second half of the Hogs' season.

There is a theme brewing for Arkansas sports this year. A team looking for its identity struggles early, loses some tough games and then recovers to have a strong conference season. It happened to the football team, and according to a piece from former contributor Beau Wilcox, the same might be happening to the Hoops Hogs. Arkansas might be finding a way to turn it around after the tough win over Vanderbilt. Now the schedule gets much more difficult for the Hogs so the turnaround may not be as dramatic as the football team's, but there is a clear improvement being shown in Anderson's squad.

Baseball season is just a month away now, and there will be plenty of chances to see the Hogs on TV. Today the national TV schedule for SEC Baseball was announced and Arkansas is well represented. The Hogs are getting 10 National TV appearances, mostly on SEC Network, but a game against Texas A&M will be on ESPN2. There are also home games against the Aggies and Preseason No. 1 Florida on ESPNU. Four of the games are on the road giving Hog fans a few more chances to watch the team this year. And almost every game will be available for streaming on WatchESPN. Only road games against non-conference foes won't get the streaming treatment.

Also, it's the home stretch for recruiting. Linebacker Jordan Carmouche decommitted earlier this week and another commitment, Kiel Pollard, is visiting South Carolina this weekend and there's concern he could flip as well. No word yet on whether or not Devwah Whaley is keeping his visit to Texas this weekend but we should find out soon. Arkansas is hoping to have a major recruiting weekend next weekend.

One more thing, Jeff Long won't be the chairman of the College Football Playoff Committee anymore. He'll still be on the committee, but won't be leading it. That basically means he won't be the guy on ESPN trying to explain their choices and his Twitter mentions should calm down a bit.