February frenzy, which leads into March Madness, was alive and well Saturday in Walton Arena.
On a spectacular Saturday afternoon, while horses were running at Oaklawn and pots were privately boiling in the North Little Rock School District, the Arkansas Razorbacks did what they do best.
They played defense.
They were seldom sloppy on defense.
They seldom made glaring mistakes.
They seldom gave Mississippi State enough time to catch its breath.
It was the kind of game Mike Anderson loves. Down and dirty. Uglier than a gas station painting.
OK, get it out there. The Hogs' offense was sloppy at times, but it didn't really matter. From the opening tip the Hogs came out playing hard, fast and aggressive and set a standard that the Bulldogs simply could not live up to, at least not Saturday.
Watching the first half was like watching a dead horse on roller skates.
No matter which way the Bulldogs went, there was trouble coming their way.
It didn't matter what they tried, the Razorbacks made them look out of control.
One of the things the Bulldogs should have learned much quicker was not to put it on the floor in the paint.
If it wasn't stolen, tied up or the tempo otherwise changed, the shot -- if it survived all the bad things that could happen to it on the floor -- probably was going to miss or be blocked.
In the opening 20 minutes MSU was limited to two field goals on 21 attempts. Yes, two. Or twice as many as one. And the Bulldogs went the last 14:40 without a field goal as they headed into the dressing room shooting less than 10 percent from the floor.
Arkansas' defense mocked and shocked. It smothered. It led to the Bulldogs turning over the ball 14 times and the Hogs graciously accepted 11 points for their efforts.
Again, it wasn't that the Razorbacks were suddenly Arkansas snipers on offense. The Hogs were just 12 of 35 from the field (34 percent), but much of the shooting problems was because they still pull the trigger too quick from behind the three-point line, where they were just 3 of 14 (21 percent).
Bobby Portis had as many points (nine) as the Bulldogs going into halftime, but as former Razorbacks great Sidney Moncrief said when he was honored during halftime, it wasn't "me" time, it was "we" time, and the Razorbacks were playing like a team as six different Hogs had an assist in the first half.
As expected, the Bulldogs got their breath at the break. They also got new directions and played better, but seriously, could they have played worse than scoring just a pair of field goals? No.
Plus, the Razorbacks executed on offense better. Arkansas took smarter shots, and on this day the Razorbacks were good enough to stay in second place in the SEC.
There will be no claims they are in the hunt for the SEC title. Kentucky is really good, really talented and really deep. The Wildcats really are No. 1 in the country.
Yet now comes the Hogs and a few others who are out to prove the SEC deserves five or six bids to the NCAA Tournament and Saturday, even though Arkansas' offense was a bit sloppy, the defense looked like it took another step forward. That progress is on defense, which is their bread and butter.
The Razorbacks have seven games left, five on the road, but suddenly no one looks unbeatable just because they are at home.
The Hogs are at Auburn, Ole Miss (think payback), MSU (think Bulldogs payback), Kentucky and South Carolina. Winning 3 or 4 of those seems likely.
Two home victories and they go into the SEC Tournament 11-5 or 12-4 in the SEC and 22-7 or 23-6 overall, and those numbers are good enough for March Madness.
Sports on 02/08/2015