FAYETTEVILLE -- To their misfortune, the Texas A&M Aggies last month caught Arkansas on the rebound.
Now even with a 3-game winning streak, Arkansas coach Mike Anderson craves that his Razorbacks be on the rebound again against the Aggies tonight.
The Razorbacks, 20-7 overall and 9-5 in the SEC, and coach Billy Kennedy's Aggies, 14-12, 6-8, rematch at 7:30 tonight at Walton Arena on SEC Network television.
In Arkansas' sixth SEC game on Jan. 21 at the Aggies' Reed Arena in College Station, Texas, the Razorbacks won 62-60.
A&M was among the national rebounding leaders going into the game.
The Razorbacks just two games previously were upset 83-78 at Walton by a Mississippi State Bulldogs team outrebounding them 41-29.
For Mississippi State's next SEC game after Arkansas, the Bulldogs hosted the Aggies. Mississippi State won the scoreboard 67-59 but A&M cleaned the backboards, 38-23.
Visiting A&M on the heels of being nailed to the boards by the Bulldogs that A&M had decisively outboarded, the Razorbacks knew they had to rebound like they hadn't rebounded this season to win. They did. The Razorbacks won the boards 36-32, their edge magnified midway through the second half, Kennedy said.
"The first 30 minutes we were in control of it," Kennedy said. "We were up 12, and then they ratcheted it up and started making shots. The thing about Mike's team -- I give them a lot of credit -- they've been down a lot in the second half and they always the last six minutes they seem to pull it out. They rebound they make all the hustle plays. And that's why they're winning games now."
Certainly encouraging to a Razorbacks team forging back into the NCAA Tournament picture, successively winning at LSU, at then No. 21 South Carolina and 98-80 impressively over Ole Miss last Saturday at Walton.
However immediately prior to winning at LSU, Arkansas lost at then last-place Missouri and was shot to bits while losing to Vanderbilt at Walton.
Meanwhile A&M, even while losing at Florida and at Vanderbilt and beating Auburn last Saturday, outrebounded all three.
Arkansas senior Moses Kingsley, coming off an inspired 14 points/13 rebounds double-double with four blocked shots against Ole Miss, recalled how inspired the Razorbacks were rebounding against an Aggie wall of big men including 6-10, 270 senior Tyler Davis, 6-9 superb freshman Robert Williams, already projected a first-round NBA draft choice, 6-10 Tonny Troche-Morelos, 6-9 DJ Hogg and big 6-4 scoring guard Admon Gilder.
"That game we said if we wanted to win on the road we had to out-rebound them," Kingsley said. "We had to go to the boards. Not just the bigs, but the guards, too, and I think we did a pretty good job."
The Aggies will remember all that, Anderson said, noting the Razorbacks, while sweeping LSU home and home, lost rematches at Missouri and at home to Vandy.
"It's going to be a chore," Anderson said of rebounding in this A&M rematch. "That is their strength to shoot it and go get it. They shoot it at a high percentage as well. So it's a team that is going to try to get to the boards, and they get to the free throw line much more than their opponents. We've got to keep them off the offensive glass. We've got to put bodies on those big guys."
The Aggies have lost their best perimeter forward Hogg (injured foot) for the season, but Davis, Williams and Troche-Morelos are so big that to alter opponents' are plans just by their size.
Anderson has an array of three-point shooters led by SEC Player of the Week Daryl Macon and Dusty Hannahs, who could score on the Aggies from afar, but Anderson wants to use them judiciously and with versatility.
Three-pointers off a fast break are one thing, working, working and working the ball for a three-point shot over a tall defense is another.
"We have got some guys that are capable to go knocking shots down, but we are not going to live and die just with three-point shots," Anderson said. "We know it's got to work inside out. We've got to be an attacking team. That's why I said the game has got to be ratcheted up. It just can't be a halfcourt game. That's what we don't want. It will favor them. So we have got to make their bigs up go up and down the floor."
Arkansas (20-7, 9-5 SEC)
Player Pts. Rebs.
F-Dustin Thomas 6-8 junior 5.3 4.2
C-Moses Kingsley 6-10 senior 12.0 7.7
G-Jaylen Barford 6-3 junior 11.7 3.6
G-Dusty Hannahs 6-3 senior 14.7 1.8
G-Manny Watkins 6-3 senior 5.9 3.7
Texas A&M (14-12, 6-8 SEC)
Player Pts. Rebs.
F-Robert Williams 6-9 freshman 11.7 7.7
F-Tonny Trocha-Morelos 6-10 junior 8.3 5.0
C-Tyler Davis 6-10 sophomore 14.1 6.9
G-JC Hampton 6-1 graduate 6.6 1.9
G-Admon Gilder 6-4 sophomore 13.8 4.0
Sports on 02/22/2017