In the lane

Arkansas surviving close calls

The Arkansas bench celebrates a made free throw against Tennessee late in the second half to put the game out of reach for the Volunteers Tuesday, Jan. 27, 2015 in Bud Walton Arena in Fayetteville. The Razorbacks won 69-64.
The Arkansas bench celebrates a made free throw against Tennessee late in the second half to put the game out of reach for the Volunteers Tuesday, Jan. 27, 2015 in Bud Walton Arena in Fayetteville. The Razorbacks won 69-64.

FAYETTEVILLE -- Arkansas' 69-64 victory over Tennessee on Tuesday gave the Razorbacks three consecutive victories by five or fewer points for the first time in nine years.

Forward Michael Qualls pointed out that winning nail-biters is better than the alternative.

"I don't feel like we've played our best basketball yet in conference," Qualls said after scoring 17 points Tuesday night.

The last time the Razorbacks won three in a row by five points or less came late in the 2005-06 season with an 85-81 overtime victory against Florida, a 65-63 victory over Alabama and a 73-69 victory at Tennessee.

The Razorbacks have a bug spreading through the team that affected Jacorey Williams and a couple of his teammates and limited Arkansas' bench strength.

"Every night it's something new we're battling with," Qualls said. "Guy threw up in this game. Just stay turned for the next game. Never know.

"We're always finding a way, and that's showing the maturity in our basketball team -- always find a way."

Last look

With Tennessee trailing 67-64, the Volunteers got one last chance for a tying three-pointer after Ky Madden's turnover.

Guard Josh Richardson penetrated and drew help defense, then whipped a pass to Robert Hubbs III in the right corner for a shot at the tie. Hubbs' shot rolled around the rim and came out, leading to a Michael Qualls' rebound and free throws that sealed the victory.

"The play was to find Kevin Punter in the corner, but his man didn't help so I was going to lay it in but everybody collapsed," Richardson said. "I saw Robert in the corner and it was a good look."

"Josh made an excellent pass to me on the drift, the baseline drift," Hubbs said. "I just rose up and shot the ball. I thought I shot it pretty well."

Arkansas forward Bobby Portis, whose foul against Alabama created a three-point play to force overtime last Thursday, was glad to see the shot rim out.

I was like, please, no more overtimes," Portis said. "No more overtimes."

New jersey

Arkansas guard Anton Beard came in wearing No. 15 instead of his usual No. 31 with 6:48 left in the first half after a mishap on the bench.

Beard was sitting on the bench next to forward Jacorey Williams, who became ill and threw up on Beard and others around courtside.

"It was kind of a weird thing that happened," Beard said. "Out of the blue. Corey got sick."

Beard said he had to change numbers once in high school because of a similar situation.

"I'm glad I didn't see that," Arkansas Coach Mike Anderson said. "Talk about clearing the bench. Nobody, I mean nobody, was sitting down there."

Turnover table

Tennessee outscored Arkansas 19-10 in points off turnover, giving the Volunteers two victories in that category over Arkansas this season.

Tennessee beat Arkansas 27-15 in points off turnovers two weeks ago in their 74-69 victory in Knoxville, Tenn.

The Volunteers are the only team to outscore Arkansas by six points in points off turnovers this season and one of only four teams to outscore the Razorbacks at all in that department.

"They're going to press and get after you, and that's our style of play as well," Tennessee Coach Donnie Tyndall said. "So both teams are trying to create some offense off of their defense. I thought we did a pretty good job."

Tip time

Bobby Portis had a strange tip-in early in the game that featured a high degree of difficulty.

Rebounding a miss by Michael Qualls, Portis reached way back with his left arm and redirected the ball high over his head. The ball looped about five feet before going straight through the cords to give Arkansas a 4-0 lead.

No Johnny

Johnny George, the longtime public address voice for the Razorbacks, was not on the mike Tuesday.

George was in Dallas with a family member getting medical treatment. George said he has missed four home games during his 34 years on the job.

Jon Williams, a local radio personality and voice of Arkansas' women's basketball team, filled in on public address.

No sweep

Tennessee was aiming for its second season sweep of the Razorbacks. The teams have met only twice in a season six times, and this is the first time they have played twice in the regular season.

The Vols won 64-53 in Knoxville, Tenn., and 68-61 at the SEC Tournament in Atlanta during the 2001-02 season. The other five seasons with two meetings -- 1998, 2005, 2008 and 2011 -- featured splits.

Hubbs of activity

Tennessee guard Robert Hubbs III averages 6.1 points per game, but he thrives against Arkansas.

Hubbs scored 16 points on 6-of-7 shooting in the first game against the Hogs. The 6-6 sophomore had 12 points at halftime Tuesday and finished with 15 points on 6-of-11 shooting.

"They press, and once we get in the open floor we like to be aggressive, just attack and get to the rim," Hubbs said.

Worth noting

Arkansas made a quick conversion out of Bobby Portis' snuff of Devon Baulkman at the rim. Portis cupped the blocked shot and threw an outlet to Anton Beard, who dribbled once and passed to a streaking Alandise Harris for a dunk.

Arkansas guard Anthlon Bell's shooting slump extended with a 2-of-8 performance against the Vols, although both of his baskets came down the stretch. Bell has made 16 of 52 shots (.307) overall and 7 of 33 three-pointers (.212) in SEC play.

Prior to Tuesday's game, Tennessee Coach Donnie Tyndall was 3-1 in games played at Walton Arena, with all the victories coming during his tenure as an assistant coach (1998-2001) at LSU under John Brady.

Sports on 01/28/2015

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