FAYETTEVILLE — Follow along as Mike Anderson and players preview Arkansas' trip to the NCAA Tournament.
Mike Anderson
— Clash of styles but the teams are similar from a player standpoint. Tremendous post player in Angel Delgado and good guard play. Carrington and Rodriguez are really good guards.
— Seton Hall wants to play in the 60s or 70s.
— Have to shore up the rebounding.
— "Our defense has got to continue to be pretty good."
— Every team has a goal to win a national championship. To do that, you've got to be in it. Now you're in it and it's survive and advance.
— Moses Kingsley has been playing pretty good basketball before and during the SEC Tournament. Did a better job getting him involved offensively. "That's how you get a big guy going." Won't be just him against Delgado. Dustin Thomas and Trey Thompson will help. Guards will need to rebound.
— Delgado is a great passer with soft hands and a soft touch. He's a space-eater.
— Missed a guard like Jaylen Barford who could get downhill and finished last year. He can be going full speed, stop and finish with touch. Now, he's getting into the lane and dishing. Was a scorer at the start of the year, but has developed. "He's kind of taking control on the floor."
— Seton Hall is versatile and switches a lot on defense. Pirates spread the floor and get to the rim. Shoot a lot of free throws.
— They've had games where they get up and down, but they only play 7-8 guys.
— There'll be a lot of energy expended, nervous energy included. "Hopefully when it's all said and done things fall in our favor and fatigue becomes a factor."
— On his message to Dick Vitale: "I'm past that now. We're talking about Seton Hall. You can talk about me, but my kids, they're good kids." Had a chance to talk to Dick Vitale and they're on the same page and moving forward.
Dusty Hannahs, Manny Watkins, Daryl Macon
— MW on being the only 1 of the 3 with tourney experience: "These guys have no experience whatsoever in the NCAA Tournament, so I've got to show them the way." Main thing is to stay focused, not get over-hyped and prepare like it's any other game.
— MW: Really easy to put the SEC Tournament behind them because they're going for a national championship and that's bigger than anything else.
— DH: Can't dwell on the last game. Wanted to win it bad and it didn't go their way. "Now we're on to something bigger and better."
— DM: Thinks this week will have similarities in the preparation to last week in the SEC Tournament since both are on Friday.
— MW: Macon and Jaylen Barford brought a lot of talent but also other stuff, including leadership and toughness.
— MW: Seton Hall has the leading rebounder in the country and good guards. "We're just worried about what we do, how we play and prepare for the game."
— DM: "We've played a lot of good rebounding teams this season. A lot of people say we're not a good rebounding teams, but over the last few games we've done better."
— DH: They're similar to a Texas A&M-type team as far as offensive rebounding.
— DM: When you're playing an elite scorer like Carrington, you can't let them get going.
— DH: Barford is a great athlete who is hard to stop when he gets a head of steam. "He brings a toughness to the game. He's not backing down from anybody and I always like that in a teammate."
— DM on Mike Anderson going to bat for Moses Kingsley: "I loved it. Backing up his players." Would've done the same but it wasn't his place.
— MW: Did turn to the Kentucky bench and say something early in the game after making a shot. It was in response to something said to him, but he shouldn't have responded. But that happens in an emotional game. It's Arkansas-Kentucky.