The Arkansas Razorbacks didn’t play their best game Saturday after a week layoff, but they played well enough to gain their fourth consecutive Southeastern Conference victory.

Sonny Weems and Patrick Beverley each had a double-double to lead the Razorbacks to a 75-69 victory over the Ole Miss Rebels. The loss dropped Andy Kennedy’s Rebels to 16-5 overall and 3-5 in SEC play. The Hogs improved to 17-5 overall and 6-2 in the SEC.

The Razorbacks overcame 39. 1 percent shooting from the field and 59. 4 percent shooting from the freethrow line to get the victory. With his 17 th victory in his first season as Arkansas’ head coach, John Pelphrey has already matched the first-year win total of his college coach and mentor Eddie Sutton. Thus far, only Eugene Lambert with 19 victories has won more games in his first year as the Razorbacks’ coach.

PLAY OF THE GAME With 12: 40 left in the first half, Charles Thomas swatted a Zach Graham shot and Stefan Welsh tracked the ball down and pushed it up the floor and found Gary Ervin streaking down the right sideline, setting up an a dunk by the 6-0 senior.

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PLAYER OF THE GAME Ole Miss lost the game, but the Rebels’ floor general Chris Warren never gave up. The 5-10 freshman from Orlando, Fla., hit six of eight 3-pointers to lead all scorers with 26 points. For the Hogs, senior forward Sonny Weems kept adding to his résumé for all-conference, scoring 22, grabbing 10 rebounds, making 4 assists and pilfering 2 steals. STAT OF THE GAME The poor free-throw shooting stuck out like a sore thumb Saturday. The Razorbacks hit 19 of 32 free throws for 59. 4 percent, but the Rebels were even worse from the line, making 12 of 23 for 52. 2 percent. CHAIRMAN OF

THE BOARDS For the first time in a while, Arkansas little Big Man did not lead all comers in rebounding. Patrick Beverley, a 6-1 sophomore from Chicago, did lead the Hogs on the boards with 13, but senior Rebel center Dwayne Curtis, a 6-8 Chi-Town native, gathered 14.

UP NEXT After a three-game home stand, it’s on the road again for the Razorbacks this week with trips to Tennessee on Wednesday and Mississippi State on Saturday. The No. 7 Vols, who host the Hogs at 7 p. m. Wednesday in a Raycom-televised game on Cox Cable Channel 7, narrowly escaped an upset Saturday at LSU. It took a steal and a basket in the final seconds of the game for the Vols to pull off a 47-45 win.

The close call should have the SEC-leading Vols (21-2, 8-1 SEC ) on their toes and at their best for the Hogs.

ESPN will be in Starkville, Miss., at 3 p. m. Saturday to televise the Hogs’ return bout with Mississippi State (16-7, 7-2 SEC ).

The Razorbacks embarrassed Rick Stansbury’s Bulldogs, 78-58, at Walton Arena on Jan. 30, but Charles Rhodes and Jamont Gordon all but guaranteed a different outcome for this weekend’s matchup.

The showdown will go a long way in determining how the West will be won.