FAYETTEVILLE -- It might be the holiday season, but the Arkansas Razorbacks haven't been in a giving mood.
Over the past three games the Razorbacks have combined to commit just 20 turnovers while averaging 91.7 points.
The University of Arkansas, Fayetteville had 5 turnovers in a 92-66 victory over Colorado State, 9 in a 95-79 victory over Minnesota and 6 in an 88-63 victory over Troy.
It's a trend of not giving away possessions the Razorbacks (8-2) hope to continue when they play Oral Roberts (4-9) at 7 tonight in Walton Arena in Arkansas' final game before a Christmas break.
Arkansas Coach Mike Anderson said 11 turnovers per game is an acceptable number for a team that pushes the tempo as fast as the Razorbacks -- "Not 13 or 14 because that means you're not taking care of the basketball even at the pace we play" -- so averaging 6.7 the past three games is a notable achievement.
"It's probably the sign of a team that's veteran and values the ball," Anderson said. "I always talk about seeing it through my eyes and how we need to play efficient basketball and still play uptempo basketball.
"Play with that freedom as opposed to making that 50-50 pass. I think they're making the right pass, and the right guys are taking the shots."
The Razorbacks have taken pretty good care of the ball most of the season. Their average of 10.7 turnovers ranks 15th nationally for the fewest per game.
Arkansas, averaging 88.1 points to rank 16th, is the only team in the nation among the top 25 in scoring and fewest turnovers.
"When you factor in the tempo aspect, the way Arkansas is protecting the ball is extremely impressive," Oral Roberts Coach Paul Mills said. "It's a tribute to the players' decision-making, and it's a tribute to Coach Anderson and the position he's put them in offensively.
"These guys obviously are making the right plays."
Senior starting guards Jaylen Barford, Daryl Macon and Anton Beard are all ranked among the SEC's top 10 players in assist-to-turnover ratio. No other SEC team has more than one player in the top 10.
Macon, with 39 assists and 17 assists, is tied for fifth in the SEC with a 2.3 ratio. Barford and Beard each have 34 assists and 16 turnovers for a 2.1 ratio that is tied for seventh.
"You're fortunate on a team to have one guy who has a 2-to-1 ratio on assists to turnovers," Mills said. "So for Arkansas to have three guys doing that tells you how well they're playing together."
Troy Coach Phil Cunningham said one of the reasons the Trojans opened in a zone defense against the Razorbacks on Saturday is that Barford, Macon and Beard handle the ball equally well.
"They're obviously comfortable with all three of their perimeter guys playing the point and handling the ball," Cunningham said. "They'll inbound the ball to any of them. They certainly trust them all at the point.
"Usually when you play a team, you know who the point guard is, you know who the two guard is, you know who the three is, and you just match up according to how you play those positions. But with Arkansas, you can't do that.
Barford and Macon combined for 10 assists without a turnover against Troy. Beard had two assists and two turnovers, but neither was from a Trojans' steal.
"Who's going to take the ball from those guys?" Cunningham said. "I don't know that their opponents are going to force many turnovers, because usually the quicker, more athletic team is going to be the one forcing the turnovers, and Arkansas is very quick and athletic."
Beard has a career 1.9 assist-to-turnover ratio (198 to 102) in 104 games at Arkansas over four seasons, but Barford and Macon -- who both joined the Razorbacks last year as junior college transfers -- have improved significantly.
Macon had 80 assists and 65 turnovers last season for a 1.2 ratio. Barford was practically even with 72 assists and 71 turnovers.
"They're dialed in for the next level," Anderson said. "The next level is you clean up from what took place last year. You've got to be a better player than you were last year. You can't be that guy that has one more assist than you have turnovers.
"If you're going to be a playmaker, if you're going to be a guy that's well-rounded, you've got to be able to really make good decisions with the basketball."
Arkansas' ball-handling also gets a boost from senior forward Trey Thompson, who has 23 assists and 14 turnovers. He often gets the ball on the perimeter and finds open teammates cutting to the basket or coming off screens.
Thompson has 116 assists for his career compared to 73 turnovers.
"Trey is like a point guard, too," Anderson said. "If you have multiple guys that can handle the basketball and make good decisions and get us into our offense, it puts a lot of pressure on the defense."
The Razorbacks' style stresses converting turnovers into baskets and running a motion offense. They don't run a lot of set plays.
"The thing about Arkansas is that sometimes people may scrutinize their simplicity, but the simpler you are, the fewer turnovers you're going to have most of the time," Cunningham said. "When you're getting ready to play Arkansas, they're not a real complicated preparation -- but good luck stopping them."
The Razorbacks' 1.55 assist-to-turnover ratio ranks 13th nationally, but Anderson said passes not included in statistics might be even more important.
"To me, the critical pass is not necessarily the assist, it's the pass that leads up to the assist," Anderson said. "I think we're seeing guys really trusting each other.
"They had a chance to play with each other last year, so I think they've got that comfort level now."
Sports on 12/19/2017