FAYETTEVILLE -- Arkansas Coach Mike Anderson was still rankled over his team's defensive performance the day after the No. 18 Razorbacks' 95-77 loss at No. 20 Iowa State.
"We let Iowa State dictate the game," Anderson said Friday. "I thought our defense was really soft. I really, really do."
Up next
NO. 18 ARKANSAS AT CLEMSON
WHEN 4 p.m. Central Sunday
WHERE Littlejohn Coliseum, Clemson, S.C.
RECORDS Arkansas 6-1, Clemson 4-3
TV ESPNU
The Cyclones came out with great ball movement and tempo from the start, shooting 64.3 percent in the first half, 63.6 percent in the second half, and making 10 of 19 three-pointers (52.6 percent) for the game.
For a program that prides itself on hassling teams with its full-court defense, Iowa State's shooting and only 11 forced turnovers added up to the Cyclones grabbing control of the game early and maintaining it.
"I just think we weren't locked in," Anderson said. "I'll say it again. That first half was probably the worst we played, and I'll take the blame for that because I didn't have our guys keyed in on the things that we have to get done."
The Razorbacks are 1-1 on the road heading into Sunday's 4:05 p.m. game at Clemson.
"That was our second test on the road," Anderson said. "Iowa State came out on the attack, and I thought we were on our heels and it was on full display."
Iowa State scored the second-most points given up by an Anderson team at Arkansas, trailing only Florida's 98-68 victory at Bud Walton Arena on Feb. 18, 2011.
"Our whole team didn't come ready to play defense tonight," Arkansas forward Bobby Portis said Thursday. "We just didn't come out with the right mind-set."
Iowa State's starters shot 30 of 44 (68.2 percent) and combined for 88 points.
"We've got to get some guys to turn their attention to defense," Anderson said. "You can't come out with the mind-set of trying to win the game on the offensive side of the ball, and I really felt the first half that's what we were trying to do.
"We were trying to come out and outscore Iowa State in the first half as opposed to sticking with our DNA, which is our defense."
Anderson was particularly annoyed with dribble penetration by a variety of Iowa State players that led to several unchallenged layups. Slow defensive rotations and reactions to slip screens were problems as well.
The Cyclones also beat defenders off the dribble and made passes to open teammates on the wings who made Arkansas pay with their three-point shooting.
"When you're guarding the perimeter player you've got to keep people in front of you, and we didn't do a very good job of that," Anderson said. "So the dribble penetration is the thing that really bothered me. We didn't fix things on defense.
"We've got to get guys out there that are going to fix things on defense when our defense does break down out on the floor."
Iowa State guard Bryce Dejean-Jones didn't miss a shot, going 8 of 8 overall and 4 of 4 from three-point range on his way to a game-high 27 points.
"We can't have guys having All-American nights," Anderson said. "That Jones kid, he played out of his mind, but I think that was part of him and part of us."
Anderson wasn't as disturbed by Arkansas' offense. The Razorbacks made 28 of 58 shots for 48.3 percent, led by Portis' 8-of-10 shooting and 19 points, and had 22 assists on 28 field goals.
"When we had patience to move the ball, I thought we got what we wanted," Anderson said. "Bobby had it going on early on. ... The second half I thought we saw more of our team, getting it inside before the double team came in.
"We kicked it, we swung it, we knocked down some shots."
Sports on 12/06/2014