Varnando’s triple-double holds off the Razorbacks 82-80 in their conference opener | Marshall on Sports

Banner, Marshall on Sports, Opinion — By Marshall Laney on January 16, 2010 at 3:36 pm

By Marshall Laney

The Hogs had their hands full all night Thursday as they were handed a fourth straight loss by Mississippi State. The Bulldogs are led by the country’s leading shot blocker, Jarvis Varnando*.

Fans at Humphrey Coliseum in Starkville were looking for a big home win.

The Bulldogs jumped to a 19-point lead in the first half and looked strong down low with the play of Varnarndo.
Courtney Fortson is back for his second game. His strong play took the ball down low and went right at the big shot blockers.

This kind of play opened up a lot of free shots for other scoring threats, but the Razorbacks struggled in the first half.

Mississippi State started off the scoring with a two-point basket by Dee Bost off of a turnover from freshman Jamal Farmer.

The Bulldogs continued to pound the ball in the paint getting several players in foul trouble, an ongoing problem due to the lack of size the Razorbacks have on the bench.

A big factor this season in several games is getting Rotnei Clarke* going and getting him going early. His average of over 20 points a game is a must for the Hogs to be successful on the offensive end.

The Bulldogs knew this as well and they were ready. They kept Clarke locked up on man coverage and handled ball screens well.

Marshawn Powell started off very hot in the second half by slamming home a two-point basket after a steal from Clarke.

Strong defensive play from the Hogs dominated the boards and continued to keep the pressure with Fortson running the floor.

The Bulldogs struggled late and really couldn’t get any good looks away from the basket. Varnando was on the bench and it opened up the floor for the Hogs.

For the last 3:45 seconds, the Razorbacks held the Bulldogs to zero baskets from the field and were only four of eight from the free throw stripe inside 3:30.

But when the shots mattered, Dee Bost stepped up and knocked up down a three-pointer with 25.3 seconds left.

He went on to knock down two free throws to seal the game. Fouls continued to be a problem throughout the game.

For the Razorbacks this was another frustrating loss as they drop their fourth game in a row. Two of those four were very close games against big programs.

Coach John Pelphrey can’t afford to sit around and think about what the Hogs could have done as they host Alabama in Bud Walton on Saturday.

With the way this team is starting to come together with the return of all their starters and the strong play from the freshman players, the Hogs may be a strong contender in the SEC this year.

[* = Correction: The names of Jarvis Varnando and Rotnei Clarke were misspelled in the original story. We apologize for the error]

3 Comments

alan laney says:

January 22, 2010 at 11:36 am

Go hogs go. Keep it coming Marshall!
Bruce C says:

January 22, 2010 at 10:09 pm

OK, kid… I know you are trying and excited to be “covering” the Razorbacks, but is it too much to ask that you spell the names right? Varnado. Not Vernarndo. Not Vernardo. Two attempts, two misses. And really, you just have to spell the names right of the home team. Clarke, not Clark. I know some of you guys think this is ridiculous word policing but you will improve your credibility by doing this. It does matter. And “Coach Pelphrey” — you need his first name.

Think of your reporting with a reader in mind… what if that reader had no idea who these people were? That’s why you include as many facts — even the “boring” ones like first names — in your stories.

Also, a recap of the game doesn’t add much. By the time people get to this, they probably saw the game. It’d be a lot more useful for you to look at some of the things that happened and put them in perspective. For example, the Hogs were down 19 early, and fought all the way back to be in this with a chance late in the game. How did they do that? You talked about the last few minutes, a good analysis. Give us more of that. We know what happened: try and tell us WHY.

In this particular game, Arkansas’ rally fell short late despite misses from normally reliable MSU foul shooters, and CRUCIAL mistakes/turnovers by Arkansas. There is a pattern. Arkansas has not seemed to grow as a team, and this is a reason why people are on Pel’s ass. They are not improving at the pace many think they should. Demonstrate that. Point out those crucial mistakes and keep tracking them. In games (like Bama) when they DON’T make those mistakes, you’ll be able to note those differences and give the reader insight into the game.

If you want a sloppy recap of the action, you can just read Harry King. You can do better. Keep at it.
Christopher Spencer says:

January 23, 2010 at 10:58 am

Spelling someone’s name correctly is always critically important. I appreciate you pointing this out, Bruce. I’ve made those corrections.