Mike Anderson watched a seven-point lead become two, 77-75, and the stern look on his face said it all.
Stop. You are not going to blow this. Not this time.
And the Arkansas Razorbacks didn't, holding on for a 79-75 victory over Georgia on Tuesday night in Athens, Ga.
The Hogs are arguably off to their best start since 2008, the last time they opened SEC play on the road with a victory.
Last season, soon to be long forgotten, conference play started with a loss to a very mediocre Texas A&M team, and the 800-pound gorilla -- winning on the road -- was very obvious.
Tuesday night, the Razorbacks were very close to playing 40 minutes of hell.
They trailed by as much as 13 in the first half in a game that saw Georgia lead for 30:44, but in the second half you could see the Razorbacks' pressure start to have an effect on the Bulldogs, who went into the game 9-3 and ranked No. 20 in the Ratings Percentage Index.
Basically it was the same Georgia team that finished second in the SEC last season and made it to the NCAA Tournament's Sweet 16, but it was not the same Razorbacks.
Yes, they still played tough man-to-man defense, but shot selection was better as the Razorbacks showed more patience. If someone had said before the game that the Hogs would score only two fast-break points, anyone would have guessed they would lose. Yet even with only one transition basket, getting out-rebounded by 15 and shooting 11 fewer free throws than the Bulldogs, Arkansas' half-court offense was vastly improved.
Some of that fell on the shoulders of freshman Anton Beard, who came off the bench and ran the offense. He looked not so much to score but for Bobby Portis or anyone who had a higher-percentage shot, although the North Little Rock native hit two of three shots, including a big three-pointer when the Razorbacks were making their move.
Portis scored 21 points and grabbed five rebounds -- including four in the second half -- to lead the way, which he's supposed to do on most nights, but nine of the 10 Hogs who played scored.
Anderson went mostly with an eight-man rotation, which allowed Portis and Michael Qualls to be the only players who logged 30 minutes or more.
This time when they needed jump shots they had good looks, and Alandise Harris -- who finished with 15 points -- scored seven in a row to help the Razorbacks take their first lead of the game. Harris hit two long two-pointers and a three-pointer as the Hogs went from a 61-61 tie to a 68-64 lead that they never relinquished.
The No. 23 Razorbacks led 77-70 with just 19 seconds to play, but that's when things went south in a hurry. The Bulldogs pulled to within 77-75, but Anderson was quick to reassemble his troops and gave them that stare, and with four seconds remaining Qualls hit two free throws to set the final score.
That victory inches Arkansas closer to March Madness because it was a quality road victory, something the Razorbacks didn't have enough of on their resume last season.
Other than those few seconds when they were outscored 5-0 to give the Bulldogs a shot as time was running out, the Razorbacks never lost their composure or looked selfish. After an average first half, they forced the tempo in the second half, and with about six minutes to play the speed of the game was like an anchor around the Bulldogs' necks.
It was a team victory as the bench came up with 34 points. The Hogs also forced 17 turnovers, including nine steals that they converted into 17 points.
It was Hawgball.
It wasn't perfect, but it was a victory on the road, and those weigh heavy on Selection Sunday.
Sports on 01/08/2015