Razorbacks report

Lubbock not easy on visitors

Texas Tech coach Chris Beard celebrates on the court with fans after the team's NCAA college basketball game against Oklahoma, Tuesday, Jan. 8, 2019, in Lubbock, Texas. (AP Photo/Brad Tollefson)

LUBBOCK, Texas -- The University of Arkansas basketball team will try to hand Texas Tech its first nonconference loss at home in six seasons when the Razorbacks play the No. 14 Red Raiders today in the SEC/Big 12 Challenge.

Texas Tech has won 46 consecutive nonconference home games at United Supermarkets Arena since losing to LSU 71-69 on Dec. 18, 2013.

Dusty Hannahs, who is from Little Rock and began his college playing career at Texas Tech before finishing it at Arkansas, started and scored seven points in the Red Raiders' home loss to LSU.

After playing two seasons at Texas Tech, Hannahs transferred to Arkansas and redshirted, then scored 1,047 points in his two seasons with the Razorbacks to tie for 38th on their career list with Bobby Portis.

The Red Raiders are 27-2 at home the last two seasons under Coach Chris Beard. The losses were to Kansas, 84-74, last season and Iowa State, 68-64, last week.

Texas Tech has an average attendance of 10,988 for its 11 home games this season but 14,762 for three Big 12 games.

"I thought the atmosphere there was really, really good when we played there," Iowa State Coach Steve Prohm said. "It's as good an atmosphere as we've played in, and we were at Kansas the other day.

"There wasn't an empty seat. The students were there early yelling at you.

"We've got a tremendous amount of respect for Chris and the job he's done there. I texted Chris the other day and I told him, 'Man, that place was electric.' It was a lot of fun."

Iowa State led 41-33 at halftime against Texas Tech.

"We were fortunate to win," Prohm said. "I thought our guys were really dialed in. We got off to a really good start and I thought our first half won the game down there."

Arkansas Coach Mike Anderson is 1-1 at Texas Tech as a head coach. He twice previously brought teams into Texas Tech when he coached at Missouri. The Red Raiders beat the Tigers 92-84 in 2008 and the Tigers won 94-89 in overtime in 2010.

Chris & Mike

Texas Tech Coach Chris Beard said he appreciated the kindness shown to him by Arkansas Coach Mike Anderson when Beard became the University of Arkansas at Little Rock's coach for the 2015-16 season.

"I'll say this very strongly, that Coach Anderson was great to me," Beard said. "I got a text and phone call from Coach the day I got the Little Rock job inviting me to play in his golf tournament. He reached out to me several times during that year when we had some success winning games, and then certainly the month of March I got more communication from Coach Anderson and his staff."

Beard led UALR to a 30-5 record and beat Purdue in the NCAA Tournament in his only season as the Trojans' coach.

"Those guys are big-time people," Beard said of Anderson and his assistant coaches. "They're high character."

Beard said he looks forward to seeing Anderson on the recruiting trail.

"Coach Anderson is always one of those guys you try to go sit down next to July because he's just a good guy," Beard said. "I was really appreciative of his support -- and not just for our Little Rock program, but I think they support all basketball in the state."

Beard came to UALR from San Angelo State, an NCAA Division II school in San Angelo, Texas, where he had a 47-15 record.

"He did a great job there, so I was welcoming him to our state, that's all," Anderson said. "If the shoe was on the other foot I would hope somebody would welcome me into the state.

"He seems like a genuine guy and one of those hard-working guys. ... I think he's doing it the right way."

Reheated Joe

Arkansas freshman guard Isaiah Joe has heated back up after a cold start to SEC play.

Joe averaged 15.8 points in 12 nonconference games, then averaged 7.3 points in the first three SEC games against Texas A&M, Florida and LSU, shooting 30.4 percent from the field (7 of 23) and 29.4 percent on three-pointers (5 of 17).

In the last three SEC games against Tennessee, Ole Miss and Missouri, Joe has averaged 19.0 points and shot 48.7 percent (19 of 39), including 50.0 percent (17 of 34 on three-pointers).

"I think Isaiah is starting to play with a little bit more urgency it seems like," Arkansas Coach Mike Anderson said. "Playing a little bit stronger now."

Offensive boards

After Daniel Gafford was held without an offensive rebound for the second game this season in Arkansas' 84-67 loss at Ole Miss on Jan. 19, the 6-11 sophomore responded in a big way against Missouri.

Gafford had 4 offensive rebounds and 10 overall along with 13 points in the Razorbacks' 72-60 victory over the Tigers. He went into the Ole Miss game averaging 3.0 offensive rebounds to lead the SEC.

"I had strayed from the path of being a dog on the court and it wasn't me," Gafford said after the Missouri game. "I didn't like the way I was playing. I just had to get my mindset back to where I would be a beast out there and go get all of the rebounds.

"Like Coach A said, think of every shot as a miss, and so I went for all of the rebounds I could and I came up with four offensive rebounds. I could have had more."

Good policy change

Texas Tech Coach Chris Beard, who was UALR's coach for the 2015-16 season, said he's glad Arkansas has changed its policy of refusing to schedule in-state teams.

Arkansas will play baseball games against UALR and the University of Arkansas-Pine Bluff this season, and Athletic Director Hunter Yurachek said the Razorbacks plan to schedule their fellow UA system schools in other sports, including basketball.

Beard said that as UALR's coach he didn't want to comment on Arkansas' scheduling policy, but he's happy about the change now that it has happened.

"I think it's great for the state," Beard said. "I think that in a 31-game college season it would make a lot of sense for those schools to play each other, but that was never my place to make those decisions."

Not since 1991

Arkansas is playing a basketball game at Texas Tech for the first time since Jan. 12, 1991, when both teams were in the Southwest Conference and the No. 2-ranked Razorbacks beat the Red Raiders 113-86 at Lubbock Municipal Coliseum.

The building, which opened in 1956, is still standing, but its demolition is planned for the spring.

Texas Tech has played in United Supermarkets Arena since the 1999-2000 season.

Sports on 01/26/2019