Confident Razorbacks head to Rupp Arena

By: LARRY VAUGHT

Arkansas head coach Mike Anderson doesn’t think winning at Rupp Arena last year added any extra confidence for his team because he believes the Razorbacks are confident they can win any game.

“Our guys right now, it doesn’t matter where they play at. They feel like they have a chance to win it and that’s always important to feel like you have a chance to win it. But our guys, they’re going to have confidence, wherever we play,” said Anderson.

The 18th-ranked Razorbacks play at No. 1 Kentucky Saturday in what has turned out to be the Southeastern Conference’s marquee regular-season matchup.

Anderson said earlier this week that his team had done a “good job” of not letting all the national focus on Kentucky and its unbeaten season bother it.

“We just take it one day at a time and try to get better,” Anderson said. “We can’t go down that road.”

Arkansas has had success on the road this year to go with last year’s win at Rupp Arena. The Razorbacks (23-5, 12-3 SEC) also beat UK in Fayetteville last year.

The Arkansas coach says his team’s experience and “having the right kids” has led to road success.

“Last year we were right there with every game and just did not always make the right decisions, right plays,” Anderson said. “Now we have guys who can make plays and are making plays. It’s not all about offense, either. Those plays we are making now, we didn’t make last year.”

No one has made more plays for Arkansas this year than 6-11 sophomore Bobby Portis to put Arkansas in position for its first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2008 thanks to its current seven-game winning streak. Portis averages 17.6 points and 8.5 rebounds — both team highs — per game and is shooting 56 percent from the field and 76 percent at the foul line. He has been in double figures in all but one game this year and also leads the team with 44 blocked shots.

He averaged 12.3 points per game last year but has really impressed rival coaches this year.

"We live in an era where we've created a culture in our game where we think these kids are going to be worried about high school prom dates and six months later walk into the SEC and dominate games," South Carolina coach Frank Martin said. "And when they don't do that, we say well they're not as good as advertised. I think Bobby Portis is starting to prove as a sophomore just what kind of a basketball player he is."

Anderson said Portis has accepted more of a leadership role and is playing with more confidence.

“He’s playing at a high level. He’s a guy that can go get you a double-double every night,” Anderson said. “But what I am excited about is his presence on defense. He’s a guy now who is making it difficult for people to score at the time. As he gets better, some support guys are getting better. A lot of things are starting to shape up with this team and this is the time of year you want that to happen.

“His confidence is real high. He got pushed around a lot last year. Coming into this year he grew an inch to 6-11 and he really worked in the weight room and got stronger. He can run the floor for a big guy. He can handle (the ball). He had a great summer playing against some of the top players in the country. All that does is bring a level of confidence and he has taken that to an even higher level.”

Michael Qualls, one of the league’s most athletic players, adds 15.1 points and 5.2 rebounds per game while shooting 42 percent overall and 77 percent at the foul line. He had a game-winning dunk against UK last year. Guard Rashad Madden adds 9.9 points, 4.8 assists and 3.4 rebounds per game.

Point guard Anton Beard was named SEC Freshman of the Week this week after averaging 12 points, 3.5 assists and 2.5 rebounds per game in wins over Missouri and Mississippi State last week.

The Razorbacks also have 10 players averaging 11 or more minutes per game and no one averaging 30 minutes per outing.

“Arkansas is just a good basketball team,” Georgia coach Mark Fox said. “With Portis’ length around the basket and his mobility, it is hard to get good looks at the basket. They are forcing turnovers. Defense is one of their strengths, but they certainly do a lot of things well.”