FAYETTEVILLE — Arkansas coach Mike Anderson and players said previewing Tuesday's game against Kentucky:
Jaylen Barford and Daryl Macon
JB: It would feel good to beat Kentucky. It's going to be a great game and I can't wait to see what the outcome is.
DM: It'll be an amazing experience here, and the fact we're playing them in Bud Walton, it's going to be an exciting game.
DM: The bench is a big improvement from when we first started, and now the bench is playing unbelievable. Those guys pick up where the starters leave off. Our bench is kind of young, so we kind of figured it would take a little while to get them going.
DM: UK's freshmen are pretty good. They always produce good freshmen, but you've still got to go play basketball.
JB: I think it's going to be a good matchup. It's going to be a great game, and I'm just ready to play.
DM: Daniel has been big and he's putting in a lot of work outside of practice. He got back to his happy place, and he's been amazing for us right now.
JB: Daniel's free throws have gotten a lot better and his confidence is up. If he keeps playing like that then we're going to be successful.
DM: I'm just excited to be on the SEC Network. Not a lot of guys have the chance to play on national TV.
DM: We just try to go into every practice with the mindset that we have to get better as a team because it's all winding down for us. Playing in this place is special and a dream come true.
Mike Anderson
-The game's keep getting bigger. UK is coming in as a real athletic, lengthy team. They've been in every game they've played. We've got to be able to rebound with them, and that's something we did against Texas A&M. It's the same mindset.
-PJ Washington, I'm very familiar with him and Quade Green is doing a good job with them. It's going to be "a whale of an atmosphere," and it has been in here all season.
-We've been playing really efficient basketball. We had 17 assists and shot nearly 50 percent against A&M.
-On wanting to snap the losing streak against Kentucky: This is the next game on our schedule. It's whoever happens to be on the schedule at this point in time. We played them at their place and in the tournament last year and they beat us. That's the bottom line.
-They have some size, they're long and athletic and we're going to have to somehow neutralize that.
-Daniel is letting the game come to him and he's making better decisions defensively. He's seeing his man and the ball, and the other guys are doing a good job of getting him started. And he's not playing a lot of minutes and he's fresh because our bench is stepping up. He's put the time in and you're seeing some of the fruits of his labor.
-Something has to give on the 3-point battle. Arkansas is the SEC's top 3-point shooting team and UK is best in the league defending it.
-Darious scored and rebounded the basketball at Ole Miss then went to the glass again against A&M. C.J. had one of his better games. Adrio has lost quite a bit of weight and he'll be back in the mix. Hopefully having him back will add to our depth.
-This day in time, it doesn't matter what class your players are. Freshmen these days are very, very talented. Hopefully some of our experience will help out our younger guys.
-It should be a great atmosphere. We're just looking forward to playing somebody. I love this time of the year. This is a time when all of the things start coming together. These guys are starting to have fun.