In the days leading up to Arkansas' first game in the SEC Tournament, Razorbacks coach Eric Musselman said the only thing he was worried about was planning for and trying to beat Vanderbilt.
He did not want a soul on his coaching staff, support staff or roster to even think about thinking ahead to a potential matchup with South Carolina on Thursday.
Well, now, after an 86-73 win over the Commodores to cap Day 1 in Nashville, Tenn., attention can turn to Frank Martin's Gamecocks.
Entering postseason play, I thought it was imperative that Arkansas got back to its roots a bit on the defensive end and became a more connected group again, especially after allowing five of its final eight opponents in the regular season to post offensive ratings of 110.0 or higher.
The Razorbacks were pretty locked in early on against Vanderbilt. The Commodores certainly missed their fair share of good looks, but they were rather abysmal offensively in the first half. Arkansas held Vanderbilt to 24 percent shooting and it turned the ball over nine times.
By halftime, as the Razorbacks led 38-26, only one Commodores player - Saben Lee - had made more than one field goal. He scored 12 first-half points, and half came at the free throw line. He finished with a game-high 30.
Meanwhile, The Associated Press co-SEC player of the year was at it again. Playing with a chip on his shoulder after not winning the coaches' award, Mason Jones poured in an efficient 14 points prior to halftime on 4 of 7 shooting and 4 of 4 at the line.
Jones, who won the SEC's regular-season scoring title, hit his points-per-game average in the win, adding 22 to go with six rebounds, six assists and three steals before fouling out. The six assists are his most in a game since Jan. 15 against Vanderbilt when he scored just one point and missed all seven of his shots.
Jones was great, as usual, but Desi Sills was spectacular again. The sophomore guard, playing his eighth game in a reserve role, chipped in 20 big points - his third 20-plus-point game of the year - on 6 of 8 from the floor and 5 of 6 from 3-point range.
Sills has now made at least three 3s in five of his eight games off the bench this season. In those eight games, he's shooting 55.5 percent (20 of 36) from distance.
Isaiah Joe, in his sixth game since returning from injury, added 18 points, two shy of his fifth 20-point game in that span. I did not think Joe had his best shooting night, obviously, knocking down just 4 of 13 3-point attempts, but a number of his buckets were timely and slowed Vanderbilt pushes.
He buried a pair of right-wing 3s, then hit a triple from the top of the key to put the game on ice and Arkansas up 13 with two minutes to play. I also liked the fact that Joe hit a couple of midrange jumpers off the bounce, one moving left and one moving right.
Joe made winning plays, grabbed five rebounds and took a couple of charges. The Razorbacks outscored Vanderbilt by 14 points with him in the lineup.
Jalen Harris played one of his best games in a good while. He finished with seven points and five assists for Arkansas in his first start since Feb. 22 against Missouri. Harris had scored seven total points in the Razorbacks' last three games.
And his five assists are his most in a game since he dished out six against TCU on Jan. 25. Harris opened the second half by adding five of his seven points on a nice pull-up jumper from the left elbow and a left-wing 3, pushing Arkansas' lead to 15 at the time.
I thought Harris was great. He helped Arkansas maintain a good pace offensively and played a role in the Razorbacks giving Vanderbilt and Lee early fits with its halfcourt trap.
According to KenPom analytics, Arkansas posted a defensive efficiency rating of 100.7, its third-best mark since the beginning of February (12 games). That number was helped a bit by the Commodores making just 15 of their 30 layups, but the Razorbacks - offensive rating of 118.6 - scored 20 points off 14 Vanderbilt turnovers.
This was a good first step for Arkansas, which will play South Carolina at approximately 8:30 p.m. on Thursday on SEC Network. They will have to bring their own energy to Bridgestone Arena as the remainder of the tournament will be held without fans due to coronavirus concerns, league commissioner Greg Sankey announced.
The Gamecocks will be a tough test for Arkansas on a quick turnaround. They held the conference's top defensive efficiency rating in the regular season and are No. 1 in the SEC in 3-point field goal defense.
Musselman played nine guys against Vanderbilt, and he may need nine again Thursday. SEC Network analyst and former Razorbacks shooting guard Pat Bradley brought that fact to Musselman's attention following the game, showing him the box score.
"Save that," the coach said with a laugh. "Frame it."