STARKVILLE, Miss. — The Mississippi State Bulldogs will travel to take on the Arkansas Razorbacks. There has been much talk about the Bulldogs hosting a regional, and D1 baseball projected them to host in their latest Field of 64.
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Interestingly enough, they have State matched up with the Razorbacks. The path for MSU to host a regional is clear, but speculation has started to rise about whether they could play themselves into a national seed.
A series win in Fayetteville would put them within arms reach of it, but that will be a tall task. The Razorbacks tout one of the best pitching staffs in the country, and it will be a rokus environment.
However, the Bulldogs are playing good baseball, but what players need to step up for them to take the series? The key pitcher for the Bulldogs is Khal Stephen.
Stephen has been the ace of this staff and has routinely performed in big moments. He will have the chance to set the tone for the weekend going against Razorback ace Hagen Smith.
The key hitter is Dakota Jordan. Like his teammate Hunter Hines, Jordan is going through a slump by his lofty standards.
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The sophomore outfielder is talented but has not been showing off that skill lately. If Jordan has a big weekend, the Bulldogs have a great shot at taking the series and entering the top eight national seed discussions.
What: Mississippi State Bulldogs (32-16) (14-10) versus Arkansas Razorbacks (40-9) (17-7)
When: Friday at 6:30 p.m. CT, Saturday at 6 p.m. CT, Sunday at 2 p.m. CT
TV: SEC Network+ Friday and Saturday. SEC Network on Sunday
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Last Meeting: Arkansas won the previous meeting last season, 11-6. Kellum Clark went 3-4.
Last time out, Razorbacks: Arkansas lost their previous game to Kentucky 7-4. The Razorbacks dropped the series to the Wildcats. Arkansas leadoff hitter Peyton Stovall went 3-5 with an RBI.
Last time out, Bulldogs: Mississippi State lost their previous outing to Alabama 10-5. The Bulldogs fell behind 4-0 early and could never recover.
Arkansas football has extended an offer to a 2028 in-state prospect.
Running back Kentz Brown, 6-0 and 210 pounds, of Dumas received the offer from running backs coach Kolby Smith on Tuesday.
“Pure excitement,” Brown said of his reaction to the offer. “I was home watching football with my family. It’s a great way to close out the year and welcome the new year. Coach Kolby Smith asked that I call and my family was able to witness the conversation. I grew up watching the Razorbacks and always dreamed of the opportunity. I’m extremely grateful and overwhelmed with joy about this opportunity.”
He is the half-brother of former Dumas and UNLV running back Kylin James. He previously received offers from Ole Miss and Central Arkansas.
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In five games with the freshman team, Brown rushed for 1,179 yards and 14 touchdowns.
He is the first 2028 in-state prospect to receive an offer from Arkansas.
The 2025 NBA Draft class is shaping up be one of the best in years, led largely by its crop of talented guards.
One that flew under the radar prior to the season, but is beginning to make waves, is Arkansas’ Boogie Fland. At a slightly-undersized 6-foot-2, he may very well be the most complete true point guard in the class at the moment, showing scoring prowess, elite passing and plenty of defensive potential.
In a 30-point blowout of Oakland Monday, Fland was again spectacular, adding a team-high 22 points, six assists to zero turnovers and two rebounds. He didn’t see a block or steal, but was able to shoot a blistering 5-for-8 from beyond the arc, in addition to efficiency within it. It seems all season the freshman guard has been able to help Arkansas to wins, a rare trait for a college newcomer, even a four-star.
On the season, he’s added 15.3 points, 6.2 assists, 3.6 rebounds and 1.8 steals for the Razorbacks. Even those who knew of Fland’s talent going into the season likely weren’t expecting lottery-level numbers, but that’s exactly what he’s put up thus far. His near-3-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio has especially been eye-catching.
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While lead guards aren’t in high demand in the NBA at the moment, Fland is making a great case for team’s to draft him in the late-lottery if they’re in need of a steady ball handler.
Want to join the discussion? Like Draft Digest on Facebook and follow us on Twitter to stay up to date on all the latest NBA Draft news. You can also meet the team behind the coverage.
FAYETTEVILLE — The Arkansas Razorbacks (11-2, 0-0 SEC) notched a 92-62 win over the Oakland Golden Grizzlies (4-10, 1-2 Horizon) on Monday night in their final tuneup before conference play starts.
Coming out of an extended break after the Christmas holiday, Arkansas looked sluggish and disjointed in the first half. The Hogs turned the ball over nine times in the first 20 minutes and they gave up 30 points in the paint to the Golden Grizzlies.
As the Razorbacks have done many times this season, they pulled away in the second half. A big part of that was the play of Boogie Fland, who scored just one point in the first but exploded for 23 in the second.
Arkansas also got a full-scale effort from Adou Thiero, who had 20 points in the game and tacked on six assists, six rebounds, two blocks and three steals.
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The non conference slate has now come to a close and the gauntlet of the Southeastern Conference schedule starts Saturday against No. 1 Tennessee. Here’s some of HawgBeat’s takeaways from Monday’s win…
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