Eddie Sutton

Hogs hear wise words of Sutton

FAYETTEVILLE - It was celebrity night at the Arkansas-Texas game, which was televised Tuesday night by ESPN2.

Former Razorbacks Coach Eddie Sutton was invited to town by Arkansas Coach John Pelphrey, and Sutton was introduced to the crowd in the second half.

Sutton, who led Arkansas to a 260-75 record from 1975-1985, including the 1978 Final Four, gave the Razorbacks a pregame talk.

"I told them about if you're going to have a great program you've got to win most of your games at home, so this is your time," said Sutton, 804-327, college basketball's ninth-winningest coach. "Even though Texas might be favored, this is your ballpark, and even if you're the underdog you've got to be able to jump up and win.

ADVERTISEMENT

"Then I told them that a lot of the older Razorback fans would rather beat Texas than they would maybe threefourths of the teams in the SEC. That rivalry goes back many, many years. I enjoyed visiting with them."

Sutton, who also attended the Arkansas shootaround Tuesday, enjoyed the game with his wife, Patsy. His son, Sean, was also in attendance.

"I thought Arkansas really kept their poise," Sutton said. "There was a time they got down by like eight points, and they hung in there and finally they really started getting the ball to the basket."

3s freeze

The Hogs and Longhorns combined to hit 1 of 20 from beyond the three-point line in the first half, and things did not get much better in the second half.

Texas hit 1 of 14 (7.1 percent) and Arkansas was 5 of 18 (27.8 percent)

Arkansas guard Rotnei Clarke hit the only three-point shot of the half, with 15:05 to play in the first half, giving the Razorbacks their largest lead (13-6). Arkansas went 0 of 8 the rest of the half.

Texas missed all of its nine three-point attempts in the opening half, with A.J. Abrams missing five of them.

Clarke made his second three-pointer at 16:21 of the second half, and it wasn't until Stefan Welsh connected from deep in the right corner at 10:38 that someone other than Clarke made one.

Abrams finally made Texas' only three-pointer, on its 12th attempt, with 9:49 remaining to put the Longhorns ahead 50-46.

Burning Barnes

Texas Coach Rick Barnes kept shaking his head, disgruntled at his team's inability to score on the fast break or on open jumpers for much of the game.

"We were getting the ball inside, where we wanted to get it, and we turned it over," he said. "It's frustrating because, again, we were putting the ball where we wanted it."

Texas held Arkansas to 38.7 percent shooting, but the Longhorns shot 34.8 percent.

"I felt like, coming into this game, that they hadn't been guarded like we would guard them," Barnes said. "I still believe that, but we were so inept offensively, especially in open-court situations. I mean, we had four or five plays where we had the numbers and didn't get anything out of it."

Big red

Arkansas Coach John Pelphrey broke out an allred sport coat for the game, impressing his players in some way or another.

"Pregame, I had to pop his collar," guard Stefan Welsh said.

"I just wanted to touch his jacket," said freshman Courtney Fortson, tongue possibly in cheek. "He had pulled that one out of the woodwork."

Return of Henry

Freshman Jason Henry of West Memphis entered the game with 12:52 to play in the first half, his first action after having arthroscopic surgery for loose cartilage on his right knee Dec. 29.

Henry was expected to miss up to three weeks, but a strenuous rehab helped him make a quick turnaround in just eight days.

Henry, who entered the night averaging 8.2 points and 3.2 rebounds per game, had missed the Razorbacks' past three games.

Batman?

Arkansas football player D.J. Williams donned a headband, a cape and a throwback No. 55 Derek Hood jersey while cheering wildly on the front row of the student section.

Williams' headband read "Batman," and the Razorbacks' tight end even painted streaks on his face to get into the spirit.

Williams, an All-SEC selection by league coaches and The Associated Press, led Arkansas with 61 catches for 723 yards and 3 touchdowns.

Williams said he normally attends the games but sits deeper in the student section.

Tip-ins

Texas guard A.J. Abrams scored a season-low 7 points on 3-of-16 shooting, including 1 of 8 from threepoint range.

Texas guard Verez Ward, who started at the point for the Longhorns, was a high school teammate of Arkansas freshman Courtney Fortson at Jefferson Davis High in Montgomery, Ala., and at The Patterson School in North Carolina.

The Longhorns led 31-27 at halftime, equaling the number of points in the first half that the Texas football team had (31) in its 52-10 victory over Arkansas on Sept. 27.