Razorbacks kick off third season against Florida
Matt Jones
Issue date: 3/11/09 Section: Sports
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The Razorbacks hope to find a happy medium, or perhaps a new high, when they face Florida Thursday night in the opening round of the Southeastern Conference Tournament.
"There is excitement in being part of a tournament," Arkansas coach John Pelphrey said. "There's nothing like winning a game and being able to stay around for another day.
"They know it's a one-and-done situation. We've talked about it. We will have to win four games, and if we do, there will be a great reward."
Though not likely for a team that went 2-14 against SEC competition in the regular season, Arkansas' chances of winning this weekend's tournament aren't impossible.
Two years ago the Razorbacks won their first three games in the tournament before falling to eventual national champion Florida in the conference championship game.
Last season Arkansas fell to Georgia in the title game as the Bulldogs reeled off four straight wins - including two on the day before the championship. The Bulldogs entered the tournament 4-12 in league play.
The Hogs even know a thing or two about winning four games in four days, as Nolan Richardson's 2000 club did the unthinkable and secured an otherwise unlikely trip to the NCAA Tournament.
"We've seen it from both sides," Pelphrey said. "I'm sure those guys will talk for the next few days about what can happen."
While the thought of winning four games is nice, Pelphrey said winning the first game against Florida is obviously the most important.
The Gators (22-9) are coming off a win over Kentucky to clinch the third seed in the SEC East, but they had struggled beforehand, losing five of their seven games prior.
Arkansas (14-15) lost at Florida, 80-65, in January. Pelphrey, a former Gator assistant coach, said they have improved since then.
"Defensively, they are better now than when we first played," Pelphrey said. "We missed a lot of opportunities in the first half (of the first meeting). We have to limit their second opportunities.
"They get a lot of long rebounds. We have to get to the elbows and get loose change. A lot of times they have three guards out there so those guys are able to move. They've done a good job this year capitalizing on second chances."
Florida's offensive rebounding hurt the Hogs the first time around as the Gators collected 16 offensive boards. The difficulty securing a defensive rebound has been a season-long trend for Arkansas, who gave up 14 in Sunday's loss at Vanderbilt.
Foul trouble for junior forward Michael Washington has only magnified the problem. Washington picked up two fouls in the first four minutes at Vandy and fouled out for the second time this season. The team's leading scorer finished with just six points in 19 minutes of action.
"Teams are going to go at him. That's part of it," Pelphrey said. "He's experienced. We'll talk to him because we need him to go about 35 minutes."
New destination
The tournament, hosted most years in Atlanta, will be played in Tampa, Fla., this season for the first time in the history of the league.
While the Gators will no doubt have a home court feel, Pelphrey isn't concerned about the change of venues, but said he hopes the league remembers its basketball roots.
"I do think it's important for us to have that presence in Atlanta," Pelphrey said. "I think it's an important place for the Southeastern Conference."
It's the first of three straight seasons the event will be held outside Atlanta. After Tampa, the tournament will be played in Nashville's Gaylord Entertainment Center next year and in New Orleans' Superdome in 2011.
While most league coaches said the site of the tournament didn't matter on Monday's league teleconference, some expressed doubt about a high attendance in Tampa.
"I would be surprised if it is as well-attended as it is when it's Atlanta," Vanderbilt coach Kevin Stallings said. "Atlanta is probably an easier place for the majority of our conference fan base to get to."
While he likes the neutrality of Atlanta, Pelphrey said he's interested to see how a basketball tournament will be accepted in south Florida.
"That's football country," Pelphrey joked.
This year marks the first time the tournament has been hosted outside Atlanta since 2006 and just the third time in the last decade.
The four-day event is usually hosted in the Georgia Dome. Last season the final two days of the event were moved to the Georgia Tech campus after a tornado struck the side of the dome during overtime of a game between Mississippi State and Alabama during the quarterfinal round.
Henry suspended
Arkansas freshman guard Jason Henry was suspended indefinitely by Pelphrey for a violation of team rules on Tuesday and did not travel with the team later in the day to Florida.
"Part of being a Razorback is meeting the high standards of the University of Arkansas and the basketball program," Pelphrey said in a statement. "(Henry) will remain a part of the team, but he will not travel to Tampa for the SEC Tournament."
It marks the third time Henry has been suspended this season. He missed the team's Red-White exhibition in November and missed three games during nonconference play as part of an indefinite suspension. The West Memphis native also missed three games recovering from a knee surgery on Dec. 29.
Henry's up-and-down season has continued in SEC play. He scored a career-high 27 points at South Carolina on Feb. 21, but logged just five minutes 10 days later in Arkansas' home finale loss to Ole Miss.
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