After a first half in which the Arkansas Razorbacks looked like they could play with -- and maybe even beat -- the New York Knicks, there had to be a second-half letdown.
Every shot tossed in the direction of their basket in the first half Tuesday night seemed to go in, and the Texas A&M Aggies were suffering so many turnovers it was hard not to feel for them.
Then came the second half, when the Hogs looked like they were focused on Saturday's game against Kentucky rather than the team on the court that wanted to get back in a tie for second place in the SEC.
The Razorbacks lost their defensive energy, and that affected them on the offensive end.
Still, the most important statistic for Arkansas was that it earned victory No. 12 in the SEC and its 23rd overall.
The NCAA Selection Committee doesn't look at leads that shrunk unless they turn into losses, and the Hogs avoided that thanks to an overall team effort.
Mike Anderson played 11 guys. Nine of them scored, and nine of them had assists as the Razorbacks ran up 21 assists to only 10 turnovers.
They scored 27 points off 21 turnovers, and Bobby Portis should have garnered even more support for SEC Player of the Year as he finished with 22 points, 4 rebounds and 3 blocked shots.
The unsung hero was Ky Madden, who had 11 points but more importantly 5 rebounds, 5 assists and 3 steals with only 2 turnovers.
The second half wasn't pretty, but it was a team victory that -- as always -- started with defense.
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Danuel House had a great game for Texas A&M and, just think, last year he was starting for the Houston Cougars.
House is an interesting study in how the NCAA works. Or maybe doesn't work for others.
House grew up in the Houston suburb of Missouri City and played two years for the University of Houston, but when Kelvin Sampson -- who finally made it through his NCAA-mandated exile from college basketball -- was hired, House decided to transfer to Texas A&M, which is two hours north of Houston.
A couple of months after he left, he applied for an NCAA hardship to gain immediate eligibility.
It may have been the first application of that sort for a guy leaving home rather than returning, but the NCAA granted the hardship. Who knows, maybe that organization is still miffed at Sampson.
The 6-7 junior scored 28 points against the Hogs, making 5 of 9 three-point attempts.
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In the 57-year existence of the Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame, it has inducted hundreds of deserving athletes, coaches, officials and administrators, but in that long history only three fathers and sons had been inducted.
Friday night, that number climbs to five.
Stephen Jones will join his dad, Jerry Jones, and Mike Malham Jr. joins his dad, Mike Malham Sr., for this standing-room-only event.
Previous father-son inductees include Billy Ray Smith Sr. and Billy Ray Smith Jr., Buddy and Walt Coleman, and Clell Burnett and sons Bobby and Bill.
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SEC Commissioner Mike Slive has been named the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame's Distinguished American Sportsman for 2015.
Slive, who was named commissioner in 2002, is only the seventh SEC commissioner since the league was formed in 1933.
Under his direction, the SEC has grown into the most financially secure conference in the country.
He will retire from the SEC on June 30.
Slive graduated from Dartmouth College in 1962, received his juris doctorate from Virginia Law School in 1965 and his master of law degree from Georgetown University Law Center in 1966.
Sports on 02/26/2015