FAYETTEVILLE -- The Arkansas Razorbacks begin the second half of the SEC basketball schedule stuck in a logjam for sixth place.
The University of Arkansas, Fayetteville (15-7, 4-5 SEC) is among six teams tied for sixth in the conference standings with Georgia, Mississippi State, Missouri, Ole Miss and South Carolina.
"Obviously, we're not in the position we want to be in, but it'll come," senior guard Daryl Macon said after the Razorbacks lost at Texas A&M 80-66 on Tuesday night. "There's no rush.
"We've just got to get back to the drawing board and keep working and stay together."
Arkansas Coach Mike Anderson said he believed the Razorbacks would have a better SEC record.
"I really thought we'd be a little further along than where we are," Anderson said. "I just still think this team hasn't played it's best basketball yet.
"So we've got to have some consistency for our team. That, to me, is the most important thing."
Arkansas is looking to gain a split with LSU after the Tigers (12-9, 3-6) beat the Razorbacks 75-54 in Walton Arena on Jan. 10.
The Tigers are the only visiting team to win in Walton Arena this season and they handed the Razorbacks' their third-most lopsided loss in the building's 25-year history. The only teams to beat Arkansas by more points in Walton Arena were Florida (98-68 in 2012) and Auburn (73-51 in 2009).
"They're a good team," LSU Coach Will Wade said of the Razorbacks. "We just caught them on an off night the first time.
"We probably caught them sleeping a little bit and I don't think we'll catch them sleeping [today]. We'll get their best shot."
LSU shot 52.7 percent from the field (29 of 55) at Arkansas. The Razorbacks shot 33.3 percent (19 of 57), including 6 of 33 (18.2 percent) in the first half.
"They came in and really took it to us," Anderson said. "We just played so bad, and that's got to be the first thing on our guys' minds.
"I thought we were flat. That's the bottom line."
Anderson said he's looking forward to his team playing better in all phases today.
"From an energy standpoint, from a defensive standpoint and offensively executing much, much better," he said. 'We're a much better team than we were at that point in time, and hopefully we will put it on display."
LSU has struggled to build positive momentum, going 1-5 since winning at Arkansas including a 95-70 blowout loss at No. 11 Auburn and a 84-61 defeat at No. 18 Tennessee the previous two games.
Wade said the players are practicing well but haven't carried that over to the games.
"We just don't execute what we need to execute in the games and we don't nearly execute it as well as we do in practice," he said. "We look good in practice. We know everything that's going on, we're flying around.
"Once we get in the game, for whatever reason, we get discombobulated. We're working on it."
LSU has a better record on the road in the SEC (2-3) than at home (1-3), but the Tigers beat Texas A&M 77-65 in their most recent game at the Maravich Assembly Center on Jan. 23.
"It is better than losing at home," Wade said. "But we haven't been getting it done. I don't think it matters where the game is played."
Arkansas is 1-5 in road games, with the victory coming at Georgia 80-77 in double overtime last week.
Today marks the Razorbacks' third consecutive SEC game on the road.
"It's tough," Macon said. "We know it's tough. We know it's not going to be easy going to LSU.
"They came to our house and beat us, so going to try and steal one on the road."
Arkansas freshman forward Darious Hall isn't lacking for confidence in what the Razorbacks can do the second half of the SEC schedule.
"I believe we can go 9-0 for the rest of the season," Hall said after the Texas A&M game.
A 6-3 finish might be enough to lock up an NCAA Tournament bid for the Razorbacks given the SEC's overall strength.
"It's so competitive in this league," Anderson said. "We saw it coming from the non-conference schedule, how teams were playing and the strength of schedule.
"It makes it even more of an interesting conference race. Whether you play at home or on the road, it doesn't matter. You have to bring it and that's a sign of good things for the SEC."
Sports on 02/03/2018