Arkansas Democrat-Gazette/JASON IVESTER Arkansas Coach John Pelphrey said he never believed the Razorbacks would be 12-1 at this point in the season, but added that with only two road games so far, there is still a lot of work ahead of them.

FAYETTEVILLE - Texas is halfway through a four-game basketball series with Arkansas, but Longhorns Coach Rick Barnes indicated he'd like to play the Razorbacks every season as a conference foe.

Arkansas and Texas were Southwest Conference rivals from 1926-1991 and played in basketball 149 times. But the teams went their separate ways as the college conference landscape underwent a major overhaul. Arkansas left a crumbling SWC for the SEC in the fall of 1991. Texas, meanwhile, stuck it out in the SWC until it folded in 1996. That's when Texas, along with Texas A&M, Texas Tech and Baylor, merged with the Big Eight to form the Big 12.

Barnes was coaching at Clemson at the time, but he saw enough of Arkansas and its fans Tuesday night to know that the Razorbacks would add to the prestige of the Big 12.

"This school should be in the Big 12," Barnes said after Arkansas beat No. 7 Texas 67-61 at Walton Arena. "That's where they should be. It would make our league better, it would be better for them."

Barnes didn't offer which Big 12 team he'd like to dump in favor of the Razorbacks, but said their addition "would make the northern half a little tougher," which would be good from Texas' point of view.

ADVERTISEMENT

"I've got great respect for a state that embraces a university like this and their teams," Barnes said. "It's fun."

Arkansas Athletic Director Jeff Long said jokingly that he thought he heard Barnes say Texas wanted to be in the SEC West.

"I can understand why Coach Barnes would want us in the Big 12," Long said. "We're an outstanding university, a top program, and we would strengthen any conference in America.

"But we're happy and proud members of the SEC. Now we're going to go to work on winning the SEC."

Razorbacks Coach John Pelphrey is an SEC guy, having played at Kentucky and coached at Florida before taking over at Arkansas.

"This is our league," Pelphrey said.

Arkansas (12-1) is on a roll going into its SEC opener against Mississippi State on Saturday night at Walton Arena, including two victories over teams ranked in the Top 10 in seven days. The Razorbacks upset then-No. 4 Oklahoma 96-88 at Walton Arena last Tuesday

Arkansas' 10-game winning streak is its longest since the 1994-1995 Razorbacks - who returned all five starters from the defending national title team - had winning streaks of 10 and 11 games en route to advancing to the NCAA Tournament final before losing to UCLA. "I never thought we'd be 12-1, just being very honest," Pelphrey said. Who did? The Razorbacks were a consensus pick to finish sixth in the SEC West after losing seven of their top players from last season. Instead, they've become one the surprise teams not only in the conference, but nationally.

Fans who watched ESPN2's telecast of the Arkansas-Texas game saw Razorbacks junior forward Michael Washington get 22 points and 9 rebounds, 5-11 freshman point guard Courtney Fortson grab a team-high 10 rebounds to go with 13 points and 5 assists, and junior guard Stefan Welsh score 20 points, including a three-point basket that put Arkansas ahead for good at 60-57 with 3:31 left.

"Coming in I thought that John had done a really good job with this group, getting them to play hard and getting them to really understand their roles," Barnes said. "I like the way they play, I really do.

"I like what John's about. I like what he's done here. I love the fans here. I love the atmosphere in this arena.

"I think they'll be a tough out here. The question will be: Can you go out on the road? That's what makes Top 10 teams Top 10 teams. You've got be able to win your share on the road."

Pelphrey is well aware the Razorbacks, 1-1 on the road this season with a loss at Missouri State and a victory at South Alabama, have a lot of work ahead of them.

"We feel very, very fortunate to win this basketball game," Pelphrey said. "We understand how good Texas is. They'll have an unbelievable year.

"I'm not going to sit here and tell you we're better than Texas, because I don't know if I believe that. But we didn't have to be just to win the basketball game."

Pelphrey said that regardless of the outcome, he would have been proud of the Razorbacks for the "courage and heart to go at them and try to go toe-to-toe and compete."

Pelphrey added the Razorbacks are only 13 games into their schedule and have eight SEC road trips.

"There's a long way to go, but to this point in time, there's just something about them," Pelphrey said. "They do fight."