STARKVILLE, Miss. -- Arkansas has three shots to clinch a winning road record in SEC play.
The first comes at 3 p.m. today against Mississippi State in Humphrey Coliseum. The Razorbacks' other remaining SEC road games are at No. 1 Kentucky and South Carolina.
Today’s game
NO. 18 ARKANSAS AT MISSISSIPPI STATE
WHEN 3 p.m. Central
WHERE Humphrey Coliseum, Starkville, Miss.
RECORDS Arkansas 21-5, 10-3 SEC. Mississippi State 12-14, 5-8.
SERIES Arkansas leads 31-25
RADIO Razorback Sports Network
TELEVISION Fox Sports South
Corliss Williamson -- honored with a banner in the Walton Arena rafters this week -- was playing for the Razorbacks the last time they took the high road more often than not in the SEC.
Arkansas' defending national championship team, with Williamson among five returning starters, finished 5-3 in SEC road games in 1995.
If the No. 18 Razorbacks (21-5, 10-3 SEC) beat Mississippi State (12-14, 5-8), they'll assure themselves of a winning record in this year's nine SEC road games.
Arkansas is 4-2 in SEC on the road -- already its most since 1995 -- in the third season of conference play expanding from 16 to 18 games.
"It tells me we've been consistent in our approach to games, whether it be at home or on the road," said Arkansas Coach Mike Anderson, who in four seasons is 27-6 in SEC home games and 9-23 on the road. "Our guys are finding ways to win games.
"That means somehow you've got to be in the game and hang around and hang around and make some plays at the end."
Arkansas is 5-2 in SEC games decided by five or fewer points, including road victories at Missouri (61-60) and Ole Miss (71-70).
"The greatest compliment I can give Arkansas is, 'Hey, they know how to win,' " Missouri Coach Kim Anderson said before the Razorbacks beat the Tigers 84-69 Wednesday night in Walton Arena. "They figure out how to win late in the game."
Arkansas rallied from second-half deficits to win at Georgia, Missouri and Ole Miss.
"I think the leadership and maturity are very evident," Mike Anderson said.
A sign of Arkansas' comfort level away from home is that the Razorbacks are shooting 45.9 percent in SEC road games, including 37.6 on three-point attempts. That's better than they've shot at home, where in seven SEC games they're at 43.2 percent overall and 31.6 percent on three-pointers with a 5-1 record.
"It doesn't matter where our guys they play," Mike Anderson said. "They feel confident in what we're doing and confident in each other."
During Arkansas senior guard Ky Madden's first three seasons, the Razorbacks were 5-21 in SEC road games.
What's so different now?
"Us just coming together," Madden said. "We're real brothers. When you can communicate and be friends and just chill, all that stuff really matters on and off the court.
"We've got this trust and this relationship that no matter what, we're here for the same goal and whatever it takes, that's what we're going to do."
Sophomore forward Bobby Portis -- averaging 17.6 points and 8.7 rebounds as the Razorbacks' best big man since Williamson -- said after winning at Missouri the players have a more positive attitude for road games.
"Our chemistry is way better than last year," Portis said.
Mississippi State is 8-6 at home, including a 71-65 loss to Ole Miss on Thursday night, but the Bulldogs have beaten Florida State, Vanderbilt and LSU in Humphrey Coliseum.
Arkansas had lost 12 in a row at Mississippi State before winning 73-69 last season.
"Mississippi State is a tough place to play," Arkansas junior guard Michael Qualls said. "I'm going to come out and just try to keep the pedal to the metal."
The Razorbacks beat Mississippi State 61-41 in Walton Arena in two weeks ago, when the Bulldogs shot 2 of 21 from the field in the first half and trailed 30-9.
"They were kind of on their heels when they played here," Mike Anderson said. "It'll be different there. They'll be on their toes there. We're going to have to come with it."
Arkansas showed signs of a road turnaround last season with a 3-6 SEC record.
After the Razorbacks lost their first four SEC road games, they closed 3-2. Qualls hit a last-second three-pointer at Vanderbilt to lift the Razorbacks to a 77-75 victory, then they won at Kentucky for the first time since 1994 and at Mississippi State for the first time since 2000.
"Somehow a trigger kind of went off for our guys," Mike Anderson said.
It appeared Arkansas was driving toward its first NCAA Tournament bid since 2008, but its six-game winning streak ended with an 83-58 loss at Alabama, then a 71-69 loss to South Carolina in the SEC Tournament relegated the Razorbacks to the NIT.
The taste of winning on SEC road games the Razorbacks experienced late last season, though, has carried over with six of the team's top seven scorers returning.
Arkansas is 7-4 in its last 11 SEC road games, a stunning reversal considering the Razorbacks were 32-113 from 1996-2013, including 2-15 in Mike Anderson's first two seasons when their only road victories were at Auburn.
"We've learned from last year," Mike Anderson said. "We've gotten mentally tougher and physically tougher."
Sports on 02/21/2015