NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- The Arkansas Razorbacks practiced twice Thursday in preparation for their SEC Tournament opener tonight.
The Razorbacks practiced for about 45 minutes in the morning at Bridgestone Arena, then had a lighter workout in the afternoon for about an hour at Vanderbilt's practice facility.
"They're itching to play," Razorbacks Coach Mike Anderson said. "It's tournament time, survive and advance. So we're looking forward to having the opportunity to play and hopefully continue to play good basketball."
The University of Arkansas, Fayetteville has won six of its past seven games going into the SEC Tournament.
"We're going into this game with one mindset, and that's winning," Arkansas senior guard Manny Watkins said. "We're not thinking about the NCAA Tournament. We're thinking about this game we have to play on Friday in the SEC Tournament."
Watkins said the Razorbacks' ultimate goal is to win the national championship, but winning the SEC Tournament is on their minds as well. Arkansas won its only SEC Tournament title in 2000.
"We're going to go for it," Watkins said. "We're not holding anything back."
With the Razorbacks having nearly a week between games since beating Georgia 85-67 in the regular-season finale Saturday, Anderson said he has tried to keep his team sharp with short but intense practices.
"We'll find out," Anderson said about whether the Razorbacks will show any ill effects from the layoff. "I think there will still probably be a little rustiness, but hopefully we can get through that quickly."
Happy for Williams
Jacorey Williams, who was dismissed from Arkansas' team in August 2015 for disciplinary reasons, has found success as a fifth-year senior at Middle Tennessee State.
Williams, a 6-8 forward averaging 17.4 points and 7.4 rebounds, was named the Conference USA player of the year earlier this week. He helped lead the Blue Raiders (28-4) to the conference regular-season championship and had 14 points and nine rebounds in their 86-70 victory over Texas-San Antonio on Thursday in the Conference USA Tournament quarterfinals.
"I'm very happy for Jacorey," Arkansas Coach Mike Anderson said. "He's a part of my family, even though he had to move on. My biggest deal is that he's become a productive citizen."
Anderson said Williams benefited from redshirting last season.
"I think that really helped him ground himself and put things in perspective," Anderson said. "Then getting back on the court this season, he's played well for them. So I'm proud of him."
Hurry up and wait
Arkansas won't play until about 8:30 tonight.
Coach Mike Anderson said the team will have a shootaround in the morning, relax at the hotel and then eat the pregame meal about 4:30 p.m.
"It'll be a long day, so we've got to keep them engaged," Anderson said. "More importantly, they just need to rest up and be ready to play."
Ready's last game
Mississippi State guard I.J. Ready (Little Rock Parkview) ended his college career with Alabama's 75-55 victory over the Bulldogs on Thursday.
Ready, his team's only senior, had 6 points, 4 assists and 1 steal in 22 minutes.
Mississippi State finished 16-16 this season after going 14-19 and 13-19 in Rick Ray's last two seasons as coach and 14-17 in Ben Howland's first season.
"I've done pretty good trying to lead and set the foundation," Ready said. "My first three years we had a losing season. This year, we finished even."
Ready said he expects Mississippi State to win 20 games and play in the NCAA Tournament next season.
"It's a great group coming back, and they're going to work hard," Ready said. "Coach Howland will make sure they work hard."
Half-court practice
The Razorbacks took turns taking half-court shots in the final few minutes of their practice at Vanderbilt on Thursday.
Nine players hit at least one half-court shot, with freshman guard C.J. Jones doing it three times.
Other Razorbacks making a half-court shot were Jaylen Barford, Anton Beard, Dusty Hannahs, Jonathan Holmes, Daryl Macon, Dustin Thomas, Trey Thompson and Manny Watkins.
Holmes, a walk-on, hit a bank shot.
Maten back
Georgia junior forward Yante Maten played 26 minutes off the bench in the Bulldogs' 59-57 victory over Tennessee on Thursday after missing the previous four games because of a right knee injury.
Maten, averaging 18.7 points and 7.6 rebounds, had 12 points and 5 rebounds against the Vols along with 5 turnovers.
"I'm pretty excited," Maten said. "No more pain at all during this game, so I'm just thanking God."
Opening struggles
Arkansas will be looking to win its SEC Tournament opener for just the second time in the past nine years. The Razorbacks' only victory in an opener since 2009 was against Tennessee 80-72 in 2015.
Sports on 03/10/2017