In the lane

Floor time increasing for Harris

Arkansas forward Alandise Harris blocks a shot by Tennessee guard Josh Richardson during a game Friday, March 13, 2015, during the SEC Tournament at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tenn.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Arkansas forward Alandise Harris played 32 minutes -- matching his most in two seasons with the Razorbacks -- Friday night in the SEC Tournament quarterfinals against Tennessee.

The way Harris was filling up the boxscore, Arkansas Coach Mike Anderson didn't want to take him out of the game.

Harris, a 6-6 senior from Little Rock who transferred to Arkansas from Houston after his sophomore season, had 14 points, a season-high 9 rebounds, career-high matching 4 blocked shots, 2 assists and 1 steal to help the Razorbacks beat the Volunteers 80-72 at Bridgestone Arena.

"Alandise brought the energy, and that's what we need," Arkansas forward Bobby Portis said. "He brings a toughness and always goes hard for us each and every play -- even on defense."

Harris had three or fewer rebounds in 18 games this season.

"The movitation was, you get rebounds, you get a chance to play," Razorbacks Coach Mike Anderson said. "He did a good job of going to the glass."

Harris said he believes he can be the rebounder and defender Anderson wants and the team needs.

"I feel like I can play great defense, and if I need to get boards for us, that's what I have to do," he said. "I can get a lot of boards."

Harris hit 5 of 6 free throws with all of his attempts in the final 1:48.

"At this point the way I'm shooting free throws, I wanted to get fouled so I could go to the free-throw line," Harris said. "I've been putting in the work and taking my time up there and I'm shooting with confidence.

"I've been pretty automatic at the free-throw line lately."

Harris has hit 26 of 29 free throws in the past eight games and is shooting 72.4 percent on the season.

Fast start

Arkansas hit its first five shots -- including three-pointers by Ky Madden, Bobby Portis and Michael Qualls -- to jump out to a 13-0 lead.

Tennessee, meanwhile, started 0 of 6 from the field and had two turnovers its first seven possessions.

Portis said the Razorbacks were focused on a strong start after losing at home to LSU 81-78 in the regular-sesaon finale last Saturday.

"It was a heartbreaker for us," Portis said. "So I feel like all our guys wanted to come out and make a statement."

Is there a lid up there?

It was fitting for the Vols when Kevin Punter missed a jump shot at the end of the first half, keeping Arkansas' lead at 45-25. Punter's miss made Tennessee 4 of 25 from the field (16 percent) in the half.

"We've had a few halves like that believe it or not," Tennessee Coach Donnie Tyndall said. "We've really struggled at the offensive end of the floor where we don't have that true post player to throw it to and alleviate some pressure on our perimeter."

The Vols shot 44.4 percent (16 of 36) to make a run at the Razorbacks, pulling as close as four points with less than three minutes left.

"We weren't aggressive probably the first 10 minutes of the game," Tynall said. "We settled for some jump shots.

"At halftime I thought we collected our thoughts a little bit and played with a lot more confidence, but that first half was rough, no question about it."

That was quick

Arkansas junior guard Anthlon Bell scored all six of his points in a 15-second span in the first half to give the Razorbacks a 39-19 lead.

Bell had a four-point play when he was fouled as he made a three-point basket, then added the free throw. He was fouled again after a quick Tennessee miss, and he made two free throws.

Mr. Consistent

Bobby Portis (26 points) scored 10 or more points for the 27th consecutive game and the 31st time in 32 games this season.

Portis was held to six points in the Razorbacks' 89-73 victory over North Texas when he played 15 minutes before fouling out.

Legendary Darrell

Darrell Walker was honored as Arkansas' SEC Legend during halftime of the Razorbacks' game against Tennessee Friday night.

Walker, who lives in Little Rock, was a second-team All-American as a senior during the 1982-1983 season when he averaged 18.2 points, 5.7 rebounds and 2.1 steals. He ranks 18th on Arkansas' all-time scoring list with 1,325 points in three seasons.

Walker played in the NBA for 10 seasons and is a long-time NBA coach, including a stint as the Toronto Raptors' head coach from 1996-1998.

John at the mike

Arkansas fans in Bridgestone Arena heard a familiar voice Friday night.

John George, the Razorbacks' public address announcer the past 34 seasons, is serving in the same capacity at the SEC Tournament for the ninth consecutive year.

George can root for the Razorbacks in his heart, bit he has to show equal enthusiasm for all the teams at the SEC Tournament.

In the SEC Tourney

Arkansas improved to 21-22 in all-time SEC Tournament games, including 2-2 against Tennessee.

Alley Hogs

Before the Arkansas Razorbacks headed to Nashville for basketball, the players went bowling in Bentonville.

The Razorbacks were supposed to fly from Northwest Arkansas Regional Airport to Nashville about 2 p.m. Wednesday, but their charter aircraft had a problem with the door, which wouldn't open.

Then the plane's emergency slide came down.

Another aircraft was ordered to fly to Northwest Arkansas to pick up the Razorbacks, but it was delayed by fog in Greensboro, N.C.

The Razorbacks had a few hours to kill, so they went to a bowling alley and held a tournament, which was won by the four-man team of Nick Babb, Anton Beard, Trey Thompson and Michael Qualls.

Babb, a freshman guard, rolled a 178 for the highest score among all the players. Bobby Portis, the SEC Player of the Year, was second at 134.

The Razorbacks eventually landed in Nashville about 9 p.m. Wednesday.

Sports on 03/14/2015