Arkansas men in mood to share

Arkansas' Jacorey Williams (22) passes the ball next to Iona's Schadrac Casimir (4) and Isaiah Williams (1) in the first half of an NCAA college basketball game in Fayetteville, Ark., Sunday, Nov. 30, 2014. (AP Photo/Sarah Bentham)

FAYETTEVILLE -- Arkansas forward Bobby Portis didn't realize the Razorbacks are leading the nation in assists, but he was glad to hear it.

"I think that's kind of cool to lead the nation in assists," said Portis, a sophomore averaging a team-high 15.3 points. "That just shows how close our team is, with our ball movement and trusting one another."

Passing fancy

• Arkansas’ men’s basketball team leads the nation in assists per game based on NCAA statistics through Dec. 1. Here is a look at the top 10:

TEAM;APG

  1. Arkansas;20.7

  2. BYU;20.6

  3. Gonzaga;20.2

  4. Duke 20.1

  5. Xavier;19.6

  6. Ohio State;19.4

  7. Evansville;18.8

  8. S.C.-Upstate;18.8

  9. Wyoming;18.7

  10. Vanderbilt 18.3

Source: NCAA.com

Up next

NO. 18 ARKANSAS AT NO. 20 IOWA STATE

WHEN 8 p.m. Central Thursday

WHERE Hilton Coliseum, Ames, Iowa

RECORDS Arkansas 6-0; Iowa State 4-1

TV ESPN2

The No. 18 Razorbacks (6-0), who play at No. 20 Iowa State on Thursday night, are averaging 20.7 assists, which tops the NCAA statistics through the games of Dec. 1. BYU is second at 20.6 assists per game with Gonzaga (20.2), Duke (20.1) and Xavier (19.6) rounding out the top five.

"We talk about sharing the basketball, passing up a good shot for a great shot," Arkansas Coach Mike Anderson said.

The Razorbacks are averaging assists on 66 percent of their 188 baskets this season. That's up from 56 percent a year ago.

Arkansas has increased its assists per-game average each of Anderson's four seasons, from ranking 105th with 13.6 in 2011-12 to 45th with 14.8 in 2012-13 to 31st with 15.4 in 2013-14 to this year's national-leading mark.

"Great teams pass the ball around and share the love, so we definitely want to keep that going," Razorbacks sophomore guard Manny Watkins said.

Arkansas' passing ability, Watkins said, should be a key factor at Iowa State.

"That's a big thing when you go on the road, sharing the ball and moving it around and taking crowds out of the game," he said. "Just patient basketball and leading in assists, that's really big."

The Razorbacks had 16 assists on 24 baskets when they beat SMU 78-72 last week in their first road game of the season. They had 18 assists on 34 baskets in their 94-77 victory over Iona on Sunday, when five baskets were on stickbacks and two were off steals.

Iona Coach Tim Cluess praised the Razorbacks' ability to spread the floor and swing the ball quickly.

"They're very, very team-oriented," Cluess said. "They play with tremendous energy, but they play together as a group. To the end of the game, they kept sharing until they got the mismatch or the breakdown that they wanted."

Arkansas senior guard Ky Madden is averaging a team-high 6.0 assists to rank third in the SEC. His 2.6-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio ranks fourth.

"I'm doing the easy part, just throwing it to them," Madden said of his teammates scoring. "They're doing the hard part by making them. I guess I'm just trying to get my teammates involved and do what we've got to do to win."

All 13 Razorbacks have at least 1 assist and nine are averaging 1.0 assist or better per game. Juniors guards Michael Qualls (2.2) and Jabril Durham (2.2) are tied for second in assists on the team behind Madden.

Portis has three assists, including a lob for a dunk by Qualls in the Razorbacks' 83-53 victory over Wake Forest

"It was his best impression of me," Madden said with a laugh when asked about Portis' pass.

Madden has doubled his team-leading 2.7 assists from last season. With the addition of Durham and freshman Anton Beard, Madden was expected to play more off the ball, but he's handling it and passing better than ever.

"He's just a little bit more mature now," Anderson said. "He's got help now. He has better options. He doesn't have to just do everything.

"This is his senior year, so it's good to see him hopefully continue to be consistent with it. I think if there's a knock on him, it was probably the inconsistency, but hopefully it's a period where he understands his role on this basketball team. "

The Razorbacks are averaging 90.0 points per game to rank fifth nationally and have nine players averaging between 15.3 and 5.2 points. Eight players have scored 10 or more points in a game.

"That makes you a tough team to defend," Anderson said of Arkansas' balance. "Now you've got to pick out who you're going to zero in on, and now we have guys capable of passing and we have got guys capable of finishing plays."

Sports on 12/03/2014