FAYETTEVILLE -- Playing for the first time in a week, the University of Arkansas basketball team didn't look rusty Saturday against Tulsa.
The Razorbacks looked refreshed as they beat the Golden Hurricane 98-79 in Walton Arena.
Arkansas (9-1) shot 54.8% from the floor (34-6) and outscored Tulsa 27-8 in fast-break points.
It was the most points the Razorbacks have scored this season and best they have shot since hitting 55.2% (37 of 67) in opening with a 91-43 victory over Rice.
Arkansas' previous game had been an 86-79 loss in overtime at Western Kentucky on Dec. 7 when the Razorbacks blew a 73-68 lead in the last 36 seconds of regulation.
"Really impressed with just our competitive nature coming out of the locker room," Arkansas Coach Eric Musselman said. "We had a bad taste in our mouth coming out of the Western Kentucky game. We played so well through 39 minutes and were unable to close that in a really tough environment with their crowd."
The loss provided plenty of motivation for the Razorbacks as they got ready for Tulsa.
"Our week of preparation was awesome," Musselman said. "The guys were locked in."
Arkansas used an 18-1 run in the first half to take a a 21-5 lead, but Musselman was most impressed with some hustle plays late in the game when the Razorbacks were comfortably ahead.
First Adrio Bailey made a steal to start a break and passed the ball to Mason Jones, who got it to Bailey on a lob pass for a dunk to put the Razorbacks ahead 92-71.
Then Jalen Harris -- a 6-2 point guard -- blocked a shot by 6-3 Darien Jackson when the Golden Hurricane tried to respond with a quick basket.
Jones kept the loose ball alive and before going out of bounds he managed to get it to Harris, who tipped to Desi Sills.
Sills missed a driving attempt and Harris was called for an offensive foul when he attempted a dunk on the rebound, but Musselman -- and the fans -- applauded the Razorbacks' efforts.
"I think that type of play resonates, especially within your own building, when fans see the players' enthusiasm and energy out there like they had," Musselman said. "I mean, that's how you get fans excited to come back and see you play, is when you play hard like that from an effort and energy standpoint.
"I think people can feel our team's got some passion right now. And you've got to play with passion. Our guys were having fun, too."
No Razorback had more fun than Jones, a junior guard who had a career-high 41 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists and 4 steals.
"I was proud to see all my teammates having fun out there and seeing the crowd having so much fun with us," Jones said. "We feed off the crowd."
Sophomore guard Isaiah Joe, who scored 20 points, said the Razorbacks used the full week of practice to their advantage.
"It's great because the more time [to prepare], the better," Joe said. "You get a longer time to figure out new sets, work on all the mistakes that you may have made in the last game.
"It gave us a lot of time to go over scouting so we would know every [Tulsa] player. Having a week off gives your body enough time to recuperate, get as much treatment as possible.
"The only thing that we should be doing during that week is getting better, and that's what we did."
Arkansas -- which matched its season low with eight turnovers and had 12 steals -- has another full week of practice before its next game against Valparaiso (6-4) at 7 p.m. Saturday at Simmons Bank Arena in North Little Rock.
"If we have a lot of time to prep, we should be really good," Musselman said. "That's our job as players. That's our job as a staff.
"If you have a prep like this, we should know their offensive and defensive tendencies and their personnel inside and out. That should help your defense. We should be able to help guys offensively with what they're doing."
Musselman said bouncing back from the Western Kentucky game also was stressed all week.
"We lost a game after winning eight in a row," he said. "How are you going to come out from an effort and energy standpoint?
"Forget the shots, whether they fall or don't. How tough are you going to play and how much energy are you going to come out with for 40 minutes after a loss? I think that's really character telling."
Musselman said the players took the loss as hard as the coaching staff did.
"We had guys that were really hurting, and as a coach, you want that," Musselman said. "You don't want to walk in a locker room or get on a bus or get on a plane and hear laughter and guys just blowing it off.
"That plane ride, guys were hurting. The bus ride to the plane, they were hurting. In the locker room, they were hurting. That's what winning cultures are."
Sports on 12/16/2019