Mike Anderson reviews Kentucky, previews Mississippi State

Arkansas coach Mike Anderson speaks to the media during the Razorbacks' annual media day on Wednesday, Oct. 5, 2016, at Bud Walton Arena in Fayetteville.

— Follow our live blog as Mike Anderson reviews the Kentucky loss and previews Tuesday's home matchup with Mississippi State.

Mike Anderson

— This game is big after losses to Florida and Kentucky. Mississippi State is coming off a big win at LSU. They have a lot of guys who can shoot the ball. Young team that should have a lot of confidence. Little Rock native I.J. Ready is a veteran, but there are a lot of new faces.

— Like Ben Howland teams, they're not going to beat themselves. Need to play defense for 40 minutes.

— MSU shot the ball well, made 11 3-pointers at LSU.

— Tempo is going to be important. Hogs want it to be up-tempo.

— Trey Thompson is a lot more comfortable on the floor. His minutes are beneficial to the team. His basketball IQ is good and he rebounds the basketball. You know his presence when he's out there. He's got a nice shot and he's got to shoot it with confidence.

— This team has been pretty good coming off losses, taking coaching and getting better. The final score wasn't indicative of the game. Lost the poise a little bit in the second half and allowed UK to take control of the tempo.

— Jaylen Barford is getting more comfortable. He makes an impact. The other night was a learning curve for Barford. Still doesn't know what he did to get a technical foul.

— I.J. Ready's last game in the state. When guys come back to the state, they leave everything out on the floor. He's the leader for their team.

— Thinks the team is continuing to improve, but you've got to turn that improvement into wins.

— Expected to have more wins after three games, but thinks the team is trending up. Thought they dictated tempo a lot at Kentucky. If you can do that for that length of time, it shows you're on to something.

— Actually watched Barford's charge/technical sequence today. Hasn't talked to the SEC office about it.

— Just remembers they "got their butts beat" in Starkville. "Everything they threw up went in." There was a lid on the basket for Hogs.

— Thought Dusty Hannahs just missed some shots. Maybe their length bothered him, but he had open looks. "If you're not scoring, what are you doing to help the team." They know what he's capable of doing.

— Did a good job getting into the lane in the first half, but not as good after halftime.