FAYETTEVILLE -- Arkansas doesn't have a men's basketball game this week, but the Razorbacks aren't taking it easy on or off the court.
The break from games is because of final exams. The team also will be getting in plenty of practice time.
"We've got a game every day this week, Monday through Friday until Saturday comes, because practice is a game for us," junior guard Jaylen Barford said after Arkansas' 91-76 victory over North Florida last Saturday. "Practice is going to be tough this week, but we've just got to get through it and treat it like a game, and we'll be all right for Saturday."
Arkansas (8-1) plays Texas (5-4) at 1:30 p.m. Saturday at the Toyota Center in Houston. The game will be televised on ESPNU.
Texas, which beat Long Beach State 71-65 last Saturday, also is taking a break from games this week. The Razorbacks have won five consecutive games since losing 85-71 at Minnesota on Nov. 22.
"Somehow I've got to keep them in game mode," Arkansas Coach Mike Anderson said of his players.
Anderson said he might bring in officials to work the practices and make them as game-like as possible.
"We'll practice around their schedules for the most part," Anderson said of the players' exams. "The most important thing right now is those guys making the best grades they can in the classroom."
Anderson said he wants the Razorbacks to "really attack those finals the right way."
Anderson was asked if he'd prefer to play a less challenging team than Texas coming out of finals.
"I think every game is a big game, but it is what it is," he said. "We can't change it.
"I'm sure Texas will get their attention. We just want to continue to try to get sharp."
North Florida Coach Matthew Driscoll said he believes Arkansas is a better team than it was a year ago, when the Razorbacks beat the Ospreys 97-72.
"I think it's their toughness, their esprit de corps on the floor," Driscoll said. "To me, it's different than it was last year."
Anderson said he likes how his team is progressing.
"We're not where we're going to be at, but I like the resolve," Anderson said. "I like how we're fighting.
"I like how we're being put in situations and how we're responding. We've responded the right way."
Sports on 12/13/2016