FAYETTEVILLE -- Coach Mike Anderson pointed out three areas Friday that have played a large role in the Arkansas Razorbacks 2-4 start in SEC play.
The leading culprit is defense, Anderson said, followed closely by the team's drop in assists and its declining assist-to-turnover ratio.
"I think since we've hit conference play, one thing I have not been happy with is our defense," Anderson said. "I think we've been trying to outscore people, and I think we saw that in effect the other night against Florida."
The Razorbacks are last in the SEC in scoring defense, allowing 75.7 points per game, a full point higher than the No. 13 team in that category Ole Miss, which will take on the Razorbacks today at 2:30 p.m. at Walton Arena.
Through six conference games, the Razorbacks are allowing 80.8 ppg, also last in the league.
Arkansas is tied for ninth with 12.0 assists per game in SEC play, ninth in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.1) and eighth with a minus-0.7 turnover margin.
"The thing I know we've got to hang our hats on, and one of the things that has always been a trademark of our teams, is we are going to be one of the top assist teams in our league and we're going to be one of the top assists to turnovers," Anderson said. "I look at those categories, and even in defense, in conference play alone we're not in those positions. We're last or right in the middle of the pack, and that tells me we are not playing as efficient as we were early in the year."
Last season, Arkansas was second in the SEC with a 1.2 assist-to-turnover ratio, fourth in assists (13.7), sixth in field goal defense (.420) and seventh in turnover margin (+1.3).
"Our defense is geared toward where we're right with people, and if you get beat by one person, then you've got to have that second line of defense," Anderson said. "And we're not getting that second line of defense. But it starts with the guy that's guarding the basketball."
Injury update
Mike Anderson said guard Anton Beard and forward Trey Thompson are both questionable for today's game against Ole Miss due to recent injuries.
Beard had his right ankle stepped on in the first half at Florida on Wednesday, and Thompson has been dealing with a tight hamstring.
"We'll see what takes place [Friday] and probably, if anything, it will be a game-time decision," Anderson said prior to Friday's practice.
Among the players who could see their minutes increase if Beard and Thompson are unavailable are Gabe Osabuohien, Darious Hall, Adrio Bailey and C.J. Jones.
"Gabe is one of those guys who can move his feet," Anderson said. "I think he's a great second-line defender. He's in position to read and help. I think he rebounds in traffic.
"He goes out and does some of that dirty work that you want. He's a blue-collar guy and he plays with a little edge. ... And so we'll see him play on Saturday."
'Strange and weird'
Mike Anderson can't comprehend how the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville has slipped to last in the SEC in free-throw shooting at 65.5 percent. In SEC play, the Hogs have been even worse, shooting 57.3 percent, which is almost four percentage points behind the next-worst team Texas A&M at 61.0 percent.
"It's so strange and weird," Anderson said, "because in practice our guys knock them down. I always say, it can have a vast effect on a game.
"Last year we won games because of free-throw shooting. Even the guys that are shooting a good percentage, you get them up there and they're not making them as well. So it's kind of contagious."
Anderson said the Razorbacks continue to work on free-throw shooting and go into games understanding they will get fouled because other teams will test them at the line.
"And you think about the Florida game, those were momentum free throws," he said. "It's a 20-15 game, and I think we missed four free throws. That changes the flow of the game."
Darious Hall missed two free throws at the 12:29 mark of the first half with the Hogs trailing 20-15, then Arlando Cook missed a pair at the 10:27 mark with the Gators up 25-17.
Shooting up
Arkansas' SEC opponents are shooting 47 percent, second worst in the conference behind the 48.1 percent allowed by Vanderbilt.
The rankings of the Razorbacks' opponents in field goal percentage through six games are No. 4 Florida (.446), No. 4 Tennessee (.446), No. 6 LSU (.442), No. 7 Missouri (.439), No. 10 Auburn (.421) and No. 11 Mississippi State (.413).
The Razorbacks also rank 13th in the SEC in three-point field goal defense at 39.1 percent, ahead of only Florida (41.8).
Big minutes
Guard Daryl Macon ranks third in the SEC with 35.3 minutes per SEC game, while guard Jaylen Barford is tied for seventh with 33.8 minutes per game.
Mike Anderson would like to see those numbers come down incrementally.
"I think sometimes guys are playing too many minutes, and I think that's why you see sometimes the collapses in our defense, and sometimes the stagnation on our offense," Anderson said. "So that's a way of fixing that. We've got to get more bodies, more people in there ... that I think are more ready to play now."
Late arrival
The Razorbacks did not make it back to Fayetteville until after 3 a.m. on Thursday after their 88-73 loss at Florida due to issues with their charter plane.
Their plane had a flat tire to start the delay. Once the tire was fixed, the GPS system in the plane was not functioning and another plane had to be flown in. By the time that plane arrived, the GPS system on the original plane was up and running.
Selling out
The Ole Miss game today will mark the fourth consecutive sold-out Saturday home game for the Razorbacks, after an 88-63 victory over Troy in North Little Rock on Dec. 16, a 95-93 overtime victory over Tennessee on Dec. 30, and a 65-63 victory over Missouri last Saturday.
Sports on 01/20/2018