KNOXVILLE, Tenn. -- Bobby Portis knew what Coach Mike Anderson had in store for No. 19 Arkansas after the Razorbacks returned from a sloppy 74-69 loss to Tennessee that snapped the Hogs seven-game winning streak.
"I feel as though Thursday at practice coach is going to kill us," Portis said, speaking figuratively about the intensity level he expects in today's workout at Walton Arena. "I feel as though that sense of urgency will come back for the Razorbacks."
Up next
OLE MISS AT NO. 19 ARKANSAS
WHEN 8:30 p.m. Saturday
WHERE Walton Arena, Fayetteville
RECORDS Arkansas 13-3, 2-1 SEC; Ole Miss 10-5, 0-1
TV ESPNUv
Anderson was not pleased with the haphazard ball security and the defensive lapses the Razorbacks showed in losing to a Tennessee team that was coming off an 18-point home loss to Alabama.
"It'll be a lesson for us," Anderson said. "You've got to show up every night to play. I thought our energy level was not where it needed to be against a scrappy Tennessee team.
"We've got to regroup, I know that. We've got to get back to where we're playing defense with energy and passion and a purpose."
Arkansas committed a season-high 18 turnovers, several on traveling calls on the perimeter, and a few on passes on the wings that Tennessee stole and cashed in as part of its 27 points off turnovers.
"They were so packed in on me and they were trying to make us shoot all long jumpers," Portis said. "Our turnovers just killed us. ... Our turnovers led to their easy baskets to put them in great position to be up."
Anderson noted Arkansas' forwards had 11 of the team's turnovers as the Razorbacks struggled pushing the ball to the baseline until the closing minutes.
"I thought we were tentative against it," Anderson said. "We didn't attack it until right there at the end. We talked about getting the ball to the baseline. I thought once we started doing that we got layups and dunks and knocking down shots."
Tennessee Coach Donnie Tyndall thinks the Razorbacks are a quality team.
"It's not lip service [to say] the Arkansas team is a fantastic team," Tyndall said. "I think that they are arguably the most talented team we've played all year, maybe slightly behind Kansas maybe. They played extremely hard. They have no quit in them."
The Volunteers have beaten both ranked teams they've played at Thompson-Boling Arena this season, adding the victory over Arkansas to a 67-55 victory over No. 15 Butler on Dec. 14.
The Razorbacks, who were aiming to win their first two SEC road games for the first time since joining the league in 1992, host Ole Miss at 8:30 p.m. Saturday.
The Razorbacks made 8 of 10 shots, including 3 three-pointers, to slice Tennessee's 13-point lead to a 70-69 margin in less than four minutes.
"I thought we played with a sense of urgency when we got down," Anderson said. "We got down 12 or 13 and then came with a group that really mashed it up.
"That's how it should have been for the whole game. That's going to be the lesson learned, that you can't turn it on, turn it off. We've got to start out with energy, and whatever defense we're in, we've got to commit to having pride in it."
Sports on 01/15/2015