Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
UA watching out for Montana State
FAYETTEVILLE — Three days after the University of Arkansas basketball team beat Indiana 73-72 on Sunday the Razorbacks will welcome Montana State — a team the Hoosiers pounded by 45 points — into Walton Arena tonight.
The Bobcats lost 80-35 at Indiana on Nov. 9.
Sounds like the perfect recipe for the Razorbacks (2-1) to overlook Montana State (1-4).
“You can’t compare scores,” Arkansas Coach Mike Anderson said. “Every game is different.”
Anderson said the Razorbacks, who have nine newcomers, can’t afford to take any opponent lightly.
“We always talk about, ‘You can’t look at the anybody’s name,’ ” Anderson said. “Everybody’s got players, and so every game’s a big game.
“For guys that are trying to increase their minutes in terms of playing, they’ve got to look upon it as being another big game. Another opportunity to get better and hopefully to impress our coaching staff in terms of, ‘You know
what? You need me out there.’”
Anderson has been going with a nine-man rotation, but the bench will be a little deeper tonight with the return of 6-7 freshman guard Jordan Phillips, who started practicing yesterday after being medically cleared. He underwent knee surgery for a meniscus tear during the summer.
Anderson said he hopes to get Phillips a few minutes of playing time tonight.
“Jordan is an important piece to what we’re looking for,” Anderson said. “He’s a big guard. He can rebound, he can put the ball on the floor, he can score. He can defend guards. He can defend forwards.
“I just think he adds another dimension and be a guy that obviously can create a mismatch … He’s another important piece to what we have.”
Anderson said Phillips has a good-shooting range, but that he’s concerned about his lack of playing time after being out for several weeks.
“He hasn’t had the chance to work out maybe two weeks before he got hurt,” Anderson said. “So, we’ll see.
“I think he’ll help us in a lot of areas. He’s a freshman, so there’s no pressure on him. He can go at his own pace so we’ll see how that transfers when he does get full tilt and gets into a rhythm.”
Anderson said despite Phillips missing nearly two months of practices he didn’t consider redshirting him.
“I think he’s going to be important in what we’re doing,” Anderson said. “The bench is so critical to our basketball team.
“Who knows? He may push to get into that starting lineup. I always like to have about eight or nine starters. Therefore guys don’t get comfortable. The competition continues.
“It gives us someone else people have to worry about.”
Arkansas sophomore forward Daniel Gafford led Arkansas with career-high 27 points, 12 rebounds, 3 blocked shots and 2 steals against Indiana.
Gafford hit 12 of 15 shot and during a 9:53 stretch in he second half scored all 16 of the Razorbacks’ points.
“Obviously, Dan was very critical in that game,” Anderson
said. “I thought he put us on his shoulders and our guys rode him.”
Sophomore point guard Jalen Harris — who redshirted last year after transferring from New Mexico — is averaging a team-high 4.0 assists and has hit 87.5 percent of his free throws (7 of 8), but he’s 21.7 percent from the field (5 of 23) and is 1 of 9 on three-pointers.
“He sat out all last year,” Anderson said. “It’s a little different. I think he’s playing pretty good. He’s taking shots, he just isn’t making them right now. But I think that’ll change.
“Shooting is all about confidence. But I think he’s learning his team. He’s doing the thing I’m asking him to do, which is get these other guys going. I think that, to me, is what his role is.”
The Razorbacks will play three games — including Friday night against Texas-Arlington — in six days.
“The practices that we have every day, what would you rather do, practice or play?” Anderson said. “So now they get a chance to play games and hopefully they’re trying to get better and trying to impress upon me that, ‘I should be garnering some more playing time.’ ”