FAYETTEVILLE -- SEC basketball opponents have been running up the score on the University of Arkansas.
After five conference games, the Razorbacks rank last among the SEC's 14 teams in scoring defense, allowing an average of 82.4 points per game.
LSU beat Arkansas 94-88 in overtime, but even subtracting the 13 points the Tigers scored in the extra five-minute period, the Razorbacks' average of 79.8 points would rank last in the SEC behind No. 13 Texas A&M at 77.8.
Tennessee, ranked No. 1 this week in The Associated Press poll, beat Arkansas 106-87 for the second-most points the Razorbacks have allowed in an SEC game, surpassed only by a 109-94 loss to Alabama on Jan. 30, 2002.
"I think we've been trying to win just with offense, and you can't win just with offense in our league," Arkansas Coach Mike Anderson said. "You've got to give a defensive effort as well."
Sophomore forward Daniel Gafford said he's not surprised the Razorbacks are last in SEC games in points allowed.
"Because the type of defense we've been playing the last couple of games, we've just basically been giving people the game," Gafford said. "We've been spotting people 10 to 12 points. We put them on the free-throw line.
"We let them have it. We don't come out and actually try to take it from them. We just let them have it and we lie down, and we don't play the basketball that we've been practicing and working our tails off for."
Anderson said he believes Arkansas can fix its defensive issues.
"I think it's a matter of getting all the guys on the same page," he said. "You've got to talk on defense. Our defense is geared toward putting pressure on people, and I think we've just been letting people run their offense. I think we've kind of been playing on our heels.
"We've got to be a little bit more aggressive, and we've got to be able to be in [a good defensive] rotation."
Extra running
Missouri Coach Cuonzo Martin had players run the length of the floor 16 times before Tuesday's practice.
It was preparation for Arkansas, not punishment.
"Normally if we do something like that it means one team lost a competitive drill," Martin said at a news conference with Missouri media. "We huddled up after that and I said, 'Are you guys going to ask me why we're running?' They weren't sure.
" 'Because,' I said, 'That's how the first five minutes of the game will be [tonight]. You're breathing hard, so now you have to calm down. You have to feel that and play the game.'
"That's really what it's like. You're breathing, there's energy and the crowd is into it. It's a road atmosphere. You just have to settle in and play the game."
Don't stoop
With Arkansas trying to stop a four-game losing streak, sophomore forward Daniel Gafford was asked how critical it is to beat Missouri.
"[Tonight's] game is real big because we've lost the last couple of games we've had at home," Gafford said. "We have to protect home court."
Missouri beat Texas A&M 66-43 on Saturday for the Tigers' first road victory of the season.
"Missouri just got a big win, so we've got to come out and play basketball, and we can't stoop down to their level," Gafford said. "We've just got to come out and play Arkansas basketball. We can't beat ourselves and shoot ourselves in the foot."
Arkansas is 7-4 in Walton Arena this season with losses to Western Kentucky, Georgia Tech, Florida and LSU.
Coaches vs. Cancer
Arkansas' coaching staff will be part of the "Suits And Sneakers Awareness Week" -- an event to raise cancer awareness that is endorsed by the National Association of Basketball Coaches and American Cancer Society.
Razorbacks Coach Mike Anderson, who is on the Coaches vs. Cancer Council, and his assistants will have special gold laces on their sneakers, designed to honor Lacey Holsworth, an 8-year-old Michigan State fan who died from cancer in 2014. The gold laces are symbolic of the efforts to eliminate pediatric cancer.
Facing Gafford
Daniel Gafford averaged 15.1 points in 25.0 minutes and hit 13 of 21 shots in Arkansas' two games against Missouri last season. This season, he's averaging 16.5 points and shooting an SEC-leading 64.7 percent from the field.
"Daniel Gafford is the biggest challenge," Tigers senior forward Kevin Puryear said. "He's just an athletic specimen. He dunks everything around the rim.
"I can tell his skill set has gotten a lot better as far as his footwork and different shots he takes on the floor. He's definitely developed this offseason. And he runs like a deer in transition. He's definitely a great player, but we also have Jeremiah [Tilmon]."
Tilmon, a 6-10 sophomore, is averaging 9.9 points and 5.9 rebounds.
"I'm really confident that [Tilmon] can give [Gafford] a hard time inside," Puryear said. "But it's going to take a total team effort. We have to be ready for that."
Gafford is 6-11 and has a 7-4 wingspan.
"Hard to block his shot," Missouri Coach Cuonzo Martin said. "He can catch it 3 feet off the block. He extends and puts the ball at the rim, so your help has to be there early and often.
"You have to make him see the guy defending the ball and your help guys. He has to see them to make a second and third look, because if he has comfort in catching the ball and scoring, it's a long night."
Arkansas Tiger
Missouri forward Mitchell Smith, a 6-10 redshirt sophomore from Van Buren, has played in every game off the bench this season and is averaging 2.7 points and 2.4 rebounds in 11.3 minutes. He's shooting 42.4 percent from the field (14 of 33) and has hit 5 of 10 three-pointers.
Sports on 01/23/2019