PEA RIDGE — It’s playoff time again in Arkansas as the district tournaments begin with the fifth-seeded Lady ’Hawks playing Berryville last night while the fourthseeded boys play tonight against the winner of last night’s Prairie Grove/Gentry contest. The Gravette Lions are the host team for this year’s tournament.
The lady cagers played last night for the chance to face Ozark, a game which will start today at 4 p.m. at the Lion gymnasium. The lady ’Hawks lost last Friday at Ozark but if there is a rematch, it will be played on a neutral floor.
Shiloh in the boys division with Prairie Grove in girls division each earned undisputed conference championships and with it, the No. 1 seed in the district tournament.
Farmington’s girls and Berryville’s boys took second place with all the aforementioned teams earning automatic semi-final berths which also carries with automatic qualification in the regional tournament to be played next week in Ozark.
The ’Hawks play at 5:30 tonight, facing the winner of the Prairie Grove/ Gentry game played last night. The ’Hawks swept both teams in conference play but the Prairie Grove games went down to the wire with Prairie Grove boasting a win over the No. 1 seed earlier in the year. The winner of the game tonight will earn an automatic pass intonext week’s regional. The winner is also scheduled to battle the top seeded Shiloh team this Friday at 5:30 in the district semifinals. The championship game will be this Saturday.
On the other side of the boy’s bracket, Ozark played Farmington last night for the chance to play third-seeded Gravette on Gravette’s home floor today at 8:30. The winner of that matchup will play second seeded Berryville Friday at 8:30.
While being the heavy underdog Friday should the ’Hawks advance to face Shiloh, the boys from the Ridge have been steadily improving. Their first matchup with their private school adversary was a blowout win in December but the next game was much closer with Shiloh escaping with a 10-point win. Should they play Shiloh, the game will be close with more than a little chance of an upset in the offing.
On the girls side of things, the Lady ’Hawks have a little tougher row to how, having to compete in a first round game with Berryville. They controlled the Bobcats twice this year and ought to move on to face the fourth-seeded Billies. The winner of that game willmove on to regional play but will also have to play the state’s top-ranked team in Prairie Grove, a team with a gaudy 25-1 record this year.
The Lady ’Hawks could well upset the Billies tonight, giving the girls a regional berth for the first time in a while.
On the other side of the ladies bracket, Gravette and Gentry will take on each other for the right to play third-seeded Shiloh.
The winner of that mix would take on No. 2 seeded Farmington whose only losses came at the hands of Prairie Grove.
At any rate, this will be the last time to see Shiloh in basketball competition as the private school is moving up to 5A hoops for the 2012-2013, and 2013-2014 seasons.
Razorbacks set new record
First-year coach Mike Anderson’s Razorbacks established a new record for home wins in a year with the Hogs polishing off South Carolina last Saturday to go 17-0 at home. They may well set the record for road losses as they have lost all eight games they have played outside the friendly confines of Bud Walton Arena.
It’s a fact they play much better at home, besting three nationallyranked teams this season.
They play a top 10 team this Saturday in the Florida Gators. They have a road game tonight at Tennessee, a team which beat the Gators earlier. The Volunteers have had trouble getting good attendance this year so perhaps the Hogs might win their first game on the road.
After this week, Arkansas plays four more games, two at home and two on the road.
From there it’s on to the SEC tournament and a chance to play somewhere in the post-season. Winning the SEC Tournament outright would earn the Hogs an automatic seed into the NCAA Tournament but since the games are not in Fayetteville, the chances seem slight.
Arkansas has a chance to post a 20 win season, which carries some weight with the NCAA Selection Committee. However, if the Hogs never win a game outside Bud Walton, that will carry more weight. They will probably have to win one ofthe three remaining road games and a couple of the tournament games to have a chance of selection.
However this season turns out, I’m looking forward to 2012-2013 as I truly believe that Anderson is building a Richardson-era juggernaut that will make a big splash next season. The experts picked Arkansas for the cellar this season and with the season two thirds gone, they are only a couple of games out of third place.
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Editor’s note: John Mc-Gee is the art teacher at Pea Ridge elementary schools, coaches elementary track and writes a regular sports column for The Times. He can be contacted through The Times at [email protected].
Sports, Pages 8 on 02/15/2012