FAYETTEVILLE -- Arkansas Coach Mike Anderson has no doubt the 19th-ranked Razorbacks -- Anton Beard in particular -- will bounce back from a 74-69 loss at Tennessee on Tuesday night.
"Obviously, we had a bump in the road against a Tennessee team that found a way to protect the home court," Anderson said Thursday. "We didn't play particularly well, but the good thing about it is on Wednesday the sun came up."
UP NEXT Ole Miss at No. 19 Arkansas
WHEN 8:30 p.m. Saturday
WHERE Walton Arena
RECORDS Arkansas 13-3, 2-1 SEC. Ole Miss 10-6, 1-2.
RADIO Razorback Sports Network
TELEVISION ESPNU
SERIES Arkansas leads 42-30
Beard, a freshman guard from North Little Rock, scored a season-high 12 points against the Vols, including two three-point baskets in the final 46 seconds that helped the Razorbacks pull within 70-69 after they trailed by 16 points midway through the second half.
Beard then had a chance to tie the game after Kevin Punter hit two three throws to make it 72-69 with eight seconds left. Punter fouled Beard on a three-point attempt with five seconds to play, and Beard missed all three free throws, including the last one on purpose hoping Arkansas could get the rebound.
Instead, Tennessee's Armani Watts rebounded the miss, was fouled by Beard and hit two free throws to clinch the game.
It was the first time this season Beard has shot free throws in the final five minutes of a game.
"Anton is going to be fine," Anderson said. " I think you've got to be in those kind of situations in order to learn from it, and he put us in position to have an opportunity to tie that game.
"Next time I'm sure he'll be a guy that will go up there and knock them down, and hopefully we won't be a situation where we have to make three free throws."
Anderson said he talked to Beard after the game.
"I told him, 'Hey, man, you played your butt off,' " Anderson said. " 'You put us in that position. I love your toughness. I love your heart.'
"If we can get everybody playing with the same kind of heart he plays with, you're talking about a dynamite team."
Beard didn't speak to the media after the Tennessee game or Thursday before the Razorbacks practiced, but Arkansas junior guards Michael Qualls and Anthlon Bell said they're not worried if Beard's play will be negatively impacted by the missed free throws.
"He's a tough kid," Qualls said. "Me, I'll take that effort any night. That's what we need from him."
Beard hit 4 of 6 shots -- including 3 of 4 three-pointers -- and had 3 assists and 1 steal without a turnover in 18 minutes off the bench.
"He came in and gave the best performance that you can give," Qualls said. "If he's playing like that, oh yeah, we're going to be all right. We're going to go through the roof."
Bell said the players told Beard to keep his head up.
"He was one of the main reasons we stayed in the game," Bell said. "He came in and was making big stops defensively, knocking down shots.
"We can't have him let down just off of one game. There's so much more basketball to be played."
Arkansas (13-3, 2-1 SEC) plays Ole Miss (10-6, 1-2) at 8:30 p.m. Saturday in Walton Arena. The game will be televised by ESPNU.
LSU won 75-71 at Ole Miss on Wednesday night.
"They're steaming from that loss, and we're steaming from a loss as well," Anderson said. "It's going to be a whale of a game."
Arkansas -- which won 79-75 at Georgia last week -- never has won its first two SEC road games in 24 years since joining the conference, but some fans reacted on Twitter after the Tennessee game as if the season was lost.
Qualls was asked if he had a message for the fans.
"We appreciate everybody, whoever is an Arkansas fan who has anything to say," Qualls said. "Everybody's entitled to their own opinions.
"People love the Razorbacks. That's nice. We want to see that. But you know, at the end of the day ... we go out there and we play."
Arkansas has a +4.3 turnover margin on the season, but had a season-high 18 turnovers at Tennessee while the Vols had 14 and outscored the Razorbacks 27-15 in points off of turnovers.
"I just think we were being really sloppy with the basketball," Anderson said. "We weren't strong with it.
"I thought that was the most casual that our team's been, and that's on me to make sure they understand, No. 1, you value each and every possession.
"That won't be an issue. We'll clean that up."
Arkansas had won seven consecutive games before losing at Tennessee.
"I think we're trending in the right direction," Anderson said. "This team will continue to get better."
Sports on 01/16/2015