LITTLE ROCK — FAYETTEVILLE - Sam Houston State is Arkansas’ last chance to get well before SEC play starts.
The Razorbacks (7-5) are coming off a 1-3 road trip and week-long break and need a victory before starting conference play Saturday. Arkansas plays the Bearkats (3-6) at 7 p.m. today at Walton Arena.
Arkansas Coach Tom Collen said he doesn’t expect anything easy against Sam Houston State, especially after the players went home for Christmas break. The Razorbacks needed the break, though, after slumping offensively the past four games.
“We have to find a way to get back on track and get ready for the SECs,” Collen said. “What I want to see and what coaches usually see at this time of year, coming off the Christmas break, are two different things. You want to look sharp before you go into the SEC.”
That’s what Collen had in mind when he scheduled the Bearkats. Sam Houston State is playing its fifth of seven consecutive road games and has played road fodder for several top-conference teams this year.
“You schedule these games because you think they’re going to be easy victories, but the bottom line is these teams come in and they have a lot of pride,” Collen said. “For them to be able to beat you and put a feather in their bonnet - ‘Webeat Arkansas’ - means a great deal to them.”
Texas Tech beat the Bearkats 91-52 and Ole Miss beat them 95-61 earlier this year. Arkansas beat the Bearkats 89-62 two years ago in a game Collen said was more competitive than the score.
“I’d be lying to you if I didn’t tell you most coaches schedule games right after the Christmas break that really you’re trying to get yourself linked to conference play,” Collen said. “It’s not really about fine-tuning, it’s about getting back on track and knocking off the rust.That’s what this game has to be about.”
The Razorbacks need to do more than just knock off some rust, though. Arkansas needs to inject some life back into its offense, especially inside.
Last year the Razorbacks relied on guards C’eira Ricketts and Lyndsay Harris to score points. Ricketts, Harris and guard Charity Ford are averaging between 11.1 and 11.4 points a game, but Arkansas’ once-promising interior game has hit the doldrums.
Freshman Sarah Watkins, a 6-3 center Collen believes willbe a future star, scored 18 points in the Razorbacks’ overtime loss to No. 18 Oklahoma on Dec. 5. In the five games since then, Watkins has scored just 12 points, symbolic of the Razorbacks’ inability to score inside.
Collen said the Razorbacks were missing 12-15 points during the road trip because of their inside struggles. Arkansas scored 55, 45 and 55 points in its previous three losses.
“That’s our biggest challenge,” Collen said. “Everybody has jumped in a zone against us, and we really have not solved that issue. We haven’t executed very well, we haven’t shot the ball very well, we haven’t found a way to include our inside game.
“If you look at the production right now, it’s all perimeter-based. Earlier in the year, we were getting the ball inside. We have to do that to be competitive in the SEC.”
Collen hopes rest will help Watkins snap out of her slump. Watkins is playing with a sore back, brought on by the increased demands of playing college basketball, Collen said.
“Slowly, her freshman year is already starting to take its toll,” Collen said. “We also realize she’s going to have to fight through that a little bit in order to be productive. We have to get her in there and get her playing through some of the discomfort.
“It’s amazing how sometimes pain and discomfort goes away when you’re playing well. That’s all mind over body.”
Sports, Pages 20 on 12/29/2009