BasketBlog: Texas

8:09 p.m. — Clarke gets blocked, and Horns pick up loose ball to kill the clock. Ball game, 96-85. Next game here in Walton Arena is Thursday night with women’s basketball against LSU. For the men, Jan. 16 for Alabama at 12:30 and the SEC opener. Good night from Walton Arena.

8:07 p.m. — Hogs try to rush up the floor and get to Clarke, he faces a double and a half team, ball comes free and Balbay gets the breakaway layup. 94-85. James gets fouled and hits both, 96-85.

8:04 p.m. — Fortson drives in to pick up foul, gets first miss second; fouling team checks in, Cox quickly gets one, now Powell and Washington back in; UT makes four substitutions. James at the line for one-and-one with 40.4 left. Gets both then a time out by UT. 92-85.

8:02 p.m. — UT gets a pair of buckets inside to take a four point lead into the final minute, UA calls its final time out. Fortson getting work from trainer, and looks like he is checking back into the game. UT 90-84.

8:00 p.m. — Clutch shot by James for UT, Clarke returns up floor, drives, misses, but Washington picks up the loose ball for two.

7:59 p.m. — Pittman gets his second foul and the 10th for UT. Powell at the line for a pair, rims out first, gets second, two point game, 84-82. Loud as it has been in Walton all year.

7:57 p.m. — Washington returns with 4 fouls at the 4 minute time out. Hits big one, then a trey from Clarke. The crowd goes wild, UT turnover and we have a three-point game with UA possession.

7:54 p.m. — Final media time out at 3:56 #2 UT up 84-76; bench points, 33-10, and points in paint, 46-32, advantages for UT; Hogs 18-24 at FT line.

7:51 p.m. — Back-to-back UT buckets brings Pel out for the TO. Horns regained their 10-point spread. Largest lead for UT is 11, for UA is 6. First half saw 9 ties and 13 lead changes, but no lead changes in second half.

7:50 p.m. — Bench points also hurting UA, 33-10 for UT.

7:49 p.m. — Powell takes the alley oop and brings it down hard; brings Barnes to his feet for a 30 and the Walton crowd to life for a Hog Call, still a five-point margin, 79-74 UT.

7:48 p.m. — UT’s Johnson pulls down rebound and stick back. Horns have 44-28 advantage in the paint at this point, 79-72 overall.

7:47 p.m. — Fortson works his way back to the line, gets first and second, trims spread back to five, 77-72.

7:42 p.m. — Fluke make and a foul stops the UA run, 74-70 UT as we go to the 7:49 media timeout.

7:41 p.m. — The run now is 11-4 UA — could be 13-4 after these throws for Clarke. Wangmene gets his third for UT. Does, and is.

7:40 p.m. — Another physical possession and UT picks up seventh team foul, Welsh gets the one-and-one, misses. UT 72-68.

7:37 p.m. — Powell’s NBA three-pointer brings the crowd back to its feet. A foul on Arkansas saves the UT possession. There’s some kind of jabbering between Hamilton and Powell — results in a double-technical at the free throw line. Hamilton now comes back to the line for his two shots. Hamilton misses both, and Arkansas rebounds.

7:35 p.m. — And then Washington’s fourth foul — only the second of the half and he has both of them — Johnson will check in.

7:34 p.m. — Washington weaves inside for two, Fortson pulls down the defensive board then leaves it for Washington on the break. Unfortunate skip, UT 70-63. He makes up for it on the next trip with easy layup, and the crowd comes to its feet, 70-65.

7:31 p.m. — The teams trade dramatic turnovers as we go to the media time out at 11:42, UT 70-61; Clarke with 19 and Fortson with 16.

7:28 p.m. — Pittman taps twice and gets it in for 70-61, UT. The 6-10 center is 9-of-13 for the game and UT is 10-of-16 for the half.

7:25 p.m. — Fortson forces the fourth team foul from Horns, at the line for two. Good and miss. 68-58. Washington stuffs Pittman, back up floor for UA. Clarke connects for three and its a mini-run. 68-61.

7:24 p.m. — Hogs come with full court press after made free throws at 65-57, Horns work it up floor and get a trey from Brown, 68-57.

7:22 p.m. — Mason’s jumper takes it to 63-52, but Mason commits his second on the other end as Fortson drives in. The sophomore converts the three-point play, 63-55. Horns score, but Arkansas attacks again, third foul for UT and Washington to the line for two. He is playing with three fouls. Gets the first, and second.

7:20 p.m. — A 13-4 start to the second half for #2 UT at the first media time out, 61-52. Razorbacks opening second half at 20% from the field compared to 75% for the Horns, Clarke with 16 for UA, Pittman 17 for UT

7:18 p.m. — Horns getting up in the faces of the Razorback guards, forcing turnovers and preventing the quick look outside shots.

7:17 p.m. — The seven-point bulge from the start of the half goes to nine momentarily, then Welsh drives baseline for UA’s first second half field goal, 59-52.

7:15 p.m. — Fortson drives inside to draw contact, gets both free throws, UT 55-50, 17:25.

7:14 p.m. — Hogs opening second half cold, 0-of-3, while Horns are 2-of-3. Now 3-of-4 and a 55-48 lead.

7:12 p.m. — Back-to-back held balls, lots of battles for the loose possessions. Balbay takes a shot to the chops and heads for the bench with what appears to be a bloody lip. Possession back to Arkansas.

7:11 p.m. — Washington returns to start the second half, missed a good part of the first with two fouls, and 25 seconds into this half he’s got his third. Pittman gets the dunk and the three point play chance, good; UT 51-48

7:10 p.m. — Razorbacks start second half with possession.

7:07 p.m. — Horns back on the court, and we are seconds away from the horn — from the clock, that is.

7:04 p.m. — Razorbacks return to the floor. About four on halftime clock. No Horns in sight.

7:00 p.m. — Lee Mayberry sighting.

6:59 p.m. — Gymnastics team now being introduced, their season opener is this Saturday at 7 p.m.

6:57 p.m. — C’eira Ricketts honored at halftime for her USA Basketball U-19 Gold Medal.

6:56 p.m. — UA numbers, FG 47.4%, 3P 30.8%, FT 66.7%; UT 57.1%, 3P 42.9%, FT 55.5%; Reb 22-15 UT, Asst 11-5 UT; TOs 6-3 UT, BK 3-1 UA, ST 5-0 UA, In paint, 22-20 UT, 2nd chance 11-8 UA, Bench 21-8 UT

6:55 p.m. — Clarke leads with 16, hitting 6-of-8; Powell next with 12, 4-of-7; Fortson has 10 with 2 assists; Pittman and James lead UT with 10.

6:52 p.m. — We go to halftime with a wild crowd and a rough-and-tumble game, 48-48. Hearty crowd reaction for the Horns as they leave the floor.

6:52 p.m. — Clarke scores a fall-out-of-bounds, behind the glass jumper to tie the game again and Walton erupts, 48-48, with less than 30 left. UT turnover and last shot for Hogs. Fortson takes the shot and comes up short.

6:51 p.m. — Welsh called for a foul on Hamilton in front of Pel, and the crowd goes wild. Hamilton misses hard, and Arkansas gets the rebound easy. Just as well as half the lane falls to the ground in a rugby scrum.

6:49 p.m. — Pelphrey jestures to himself and the official misunderstands that UA wants a time out. Pelphrey quickly waives it off and the official understands. We resume play.

6:48 p.m. — Hogs trying to makes space for Powell to operate, he gets it but can’t get the shot to fall. Horns return with the bucket to get to five points. Clarke drives in side to cut it back to three, then another UA steal. After a tip away, on the endbounds, Fortson makes a fall-down, off-the-glass three-pointer to tie the game at 46-46. Crowd comes to life, but Pittman silences the crowd to put the Horns back up.

6:47 p.m. — Trading baskets before Lucas gives UT back its’ 3-pt lead, 44-41.

6:43 p.m. — UT leads 40-39 at 3:47 as we’ve seen 12 lead changes and seven ties thus far; Clarke and Powell lead with 12 each; UA hitting 50% FG.

6:41 p.m. –Powell gets the step-back deep two to pull Arkansas back to one, 40-39. Clarke gets a steal, that Fortson collides with a Hron and needs to pull the Curley Neal dribble to keep the possession alive. Foul on Farmer sends us to a TV timeout.

6:40 p.m. — Johnson gets inside for two and it is an 11-2 run for the Horns to take a 40-37 lead. Pelphrey calls a time out at 4:53.

6:38 p.m. — Steal for Welsh and a breakaway by Fortson. Credit Bradley with the from behind block — cleanly made and very difficult to achieve without fouling. Lucas hits a three-pointer to give UT back the lead, 38-37.

6:37 p.m. — Solid walk-up crowd tonight, could be the largest crowd of the year so far.

6:36 p.m. — Rick Barnes calls a time out; the crowd Calls the Hogs.

6:35 p.m. — All the Razorbacks are drawing tight man-to-man defense, but Clarke and Powell — with 20 of UA’s points — getting especially tight treatment. Clarke shakes free enough to feed Powell, and Powell gets crashed by a double team at the basket and a foul. Gets the second, 37-33.

6:34 p.m. — Rumbling disaffection from the crowd as we resume play.

6:31 p.m. — Moving screen called on Johnson and John Pelphrey turns about as red as his Cardinal jacket. We go to time out with words. Razorbacks lead 35-31, Clarke leading still with 12, 7:29 in the first half.

6:31 p.m. — And Johnson gives Arkansas its largest lead at 6, 35-29; Horns cut it back to 4 with James.

6:29 p.m. — Fortson’s trey puts the lead back with Arkansas, 31-29. Pittman gets a full handful of Johnson’s jersey, but can’t get the rebound. Hogs break away with Clarke at the lead, he takes it in for the layup and a foul. The crowd is on its feet. Clarke can’t complete the three-point play, but the four-point lead is Arkansas’ largest tonight so far at 33-29.

6:29 p.m. — Powell misses his first shot of the night, it all but falls in before burping up out of the rim; Pittman ads another on the near end and the Horns get the lead back.

6:28 p.m. — Johnson has the tip in, and the Hogs now lead by three; Pittman takes two points of the lead back with an impressive dunk.

6;27 p.m. — Looking up at the crowd, it has significantly filled in from the first media time out, and become noticably louder. One wonders how many folks really clicked on the 6 p.m. tipoff and are arriving late.

6:27 p.m. — Welsh gets a pair to give back the lead to Arkansas, 26-24.

6:26 p.m. — Cox checks in and immediately gets a steal on Texas.

6:24 p.m. — Both teams shooting very high percentages, 52.9% for Arkansas and 50% for Texas.

6:23 p.m. — Media time out number two at 10:32 and we’re still tied, 24-24. Two players for Arkansas have almost all the points, Clarke with 10 and Powell with 8. Fortson next with four.

6:22 p.m. — Very, very physical game thus far. Fortson ties it up again at 24-24.

6:21 p.m. — Fortson drives inside for his first bucket, then rips down the rebound on the near end against UT, 22-22.

6:20 p.m. — Fortson finds the back door on UT for Powell, Horns forced to foul. Powell rings both sides of the rim and it bounces out, gets his second throw to go — 20-20, tied again.

6:18 p.m. — Washington challenges Pittman and stuffs him, Johnson picks up the rebound and draws the foul from Washington. That’s his second and he’ll take a seat. Johnson misses the first, makes the second, UT 20-19

6:16 p.m. — Clarke drives in this time, gets the layup and draws the foul. Completes the old-fashioned and UA back by two, 19-17. Horns tie it again on ensuing possession.

6:16 p.m. — Clarke suckers the UT defense inside, reverse dish back to Washington for the dunk; Brown counters for UT.

6:15 p.m. — Fortson takes a seat for Welsh.

6:15 p.m. — For those not watching, Pelphrey has a new red jacket tonight — much more Cardinal than the brighter red one from last year.

6:14 p.m. — Clarke drains the three-pointer in spite of the contact, 14-12 Razorbacks. Foul on the other end on Washington, Hamilton ties the game after the inbound.

6:13 p.m. — Fortson holds the dribble, holds the dribble, circles back and then heads into the lane; Horns set up the charge.

6:13 p.m. — Johnson’s short jumper for UT begins the see-saw, 12-11 Longhorns.

6:12 p.m. — Clarke drives inside to draw a foul from Balbay, misses the first, makes the second. UA 11-10.

6:10 p.m. — Media time out. Tied 10-10 at 15:42; Powell is 3-3 for UA to lead all with 7, both teams shooting 44.4% from field to open game; UA only 25% 3pt.

6:08 p.m. — Powell stops the drive by James and commits Arkansas’ first foul.. James will shoot two, misses the first and now can only hope to tie. He does, 10-10 at 16:01.

6:07 p.m. — Clarke drains his first three and the crowd comes to its feet, 10-7 UA. Bradley gets a two to cut the margin to 10-9.

6:06 p.m. — Powell is on another level tonight, he drives, draws the foul, gets the deuce and converts the three-point play for 7-6 UA lead.

6:05 p.m. — First foul of the game, it goes to Dexter Pittman of UT. Powell takes the inbounds, drives, reverses, gets it to go, 6-4 UT at 17:23.

6:04 p.m. — Both teams trying to pound it inside early. Pittman and Balbay hit a pair to advance the UT score to 6-2.

6:03 p.m. — Razorbacks tie as Powell’s shot is the victim of goal tending, 2-2.

6:02 p.m. — Tipoff to Texas. We have to have a fake on the initial jump as the officials rest players. Texas gets the first shot then bats the made shot away, whistle from the officials to stop clock but no warning.

6:00 p.m. — We hold for ESPN2.

5:59 p.m. — Big roar from the home crowd as Fortson is introduced tonight.

5:58 p.m. — Change-up on the overall introductions. No lights out entry for the players. Washington walks down the intro line. He stood keeping the back loose all during the second time on the court for shooting.

5:57 p.m. — Students throw a curve ball — No traditional signs tonight — they’ve pulled out the newspaper to ignore the introductions.

5:55 p.m. — Longhorns huddle up at the near goal while the Razorbacks make their last shots on the far end.

5:52 p.m. — Razorbacks enter for warm-ups; I can hear the Longhorns underneath the bleachers, not out onto the floor. A more robust boo this time. Crowd starting the flow in from the concourse, likely held up by the anthem.

5:51 p.m. — Into the announcements and the pregame video, crowd looks like it may be effected by the combination of cold, 6 p.m. start and ESPN.

5:48 p.m. — National Anthem.

5:42 p.m. — Fortson, Farmer, Washington, Clarke and Powell to start tonight for the Razorbacks; Bradley, Balbay, James, Mason, Pittman for UT.

5:39 p.m. — Band and cheer take the floor. We’re 15 out.

5:38 p.m. — Students are here early, lead sign from the group says "Bevo — it’s what’s for dinner."

5:37 p.m. — Clock winds under 20 minutes; no word yet on starters.

5:32 p.m. — Texas takes the floor for their warm-ups to mild boos.

5:30 p.m. — Razorback Sports Network’s pregame show is on the air. Remember, there is no

5:28 p.m. — These are you Arkansas RAAAAAAZZZOOOOORBAAAAACKS — John George announces the team onto the floor for the formal warm-ups.

5:26 p.m. — Pregame clock hits the 30 minute mark.

5:25 p.m. — Eddie Sutton sighting.

5:20 p.m. — Teams have cleared off the court from their informal warm-ups.

5:15 p.m. — Very chilly outside of the arena tonight, expect a low of 10 or lower. No snow tonight, however, and the lots and sidewalks are cleared.

5:05 p.m. — Tonight’s game is on ESPN2 so NO RazorVision streaming. You can get the game through ESPN360. Next RazorVision event is Thursday’s game with LSU for women’s basketball, followed by Friday’s indoor track meet, Saturday’s swim meet and the season opener for gymnastics on Saturday night.

5:00 p.m. — Fortson is on the floor for warm-ups with the rest of the Razorbacks; Texas has also come out on the floor for their informal shooting.

4:45 p.m. — Early start to repeat what was put on the main website and out via Twitter — Courtney Fortson is cleared to participate in the game tonight.