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21 straight qualifies as run for Razorbacks Thursday, Feb 21, 2008 By Harry King FAYETTEVILLE - It's one of my pet peeves, the loose way we use "run" to describe a sequence of relatively minor consequence. So-and-so is on a 9-3 "run"; such-and-such built a lead with a 10-4 "run" is namby-pamby stuff. Spoiled by Nolan Richardson's good teams, a six- or seven-point difference does not meet the criteria. In fact, there should be a minimum differential to qualify for the three-letter word and a reprimand for misuse - maybe no seconds on the media room pizza. Now, what Arkansas did to LSU on Wednesday night, that's a "run." Twenty-one straight points in 3:58. From 14-14 to 35-14. Game over, and when does the plane leave for Lexington? Nothing adds up to 21 quite as fast as turnovers and bad shots at one end and made 3s at the other. And, don't even try to explain a team shooting 75 percent from outside the arc but when Patrick Beverley made one for 49-24, Arkansas was 9-of-12. The Razorbacks were so dead-on from long range that I was surprised when Vincent Hunter missed late in the half. Prior to Wednesday night, Vanderbilt was the only team in the 12-team league shooting better than 40 percent from 3-point range and the Commodores were only two misses from being at .399. Arkansas was 10th in the league at .330, almost 30 3s shy of 40 percent. Arkansas coach John Pelphrey called the first-half shooting terrific but added the caution that, most of the time, 35 percent is the norm. Minutes after it was over, assistant coach Tom Ostrom passed through the media room and was asked to explain the extraordinary shooting. He joked that he would be happy to take credit for coaching the shooters on this night. The 21-0 began innocently with Sonny Weems turning back to the baseline for a jumper. A Garrett Temple fastball from a few feet away was too much for Anthony Randolph and Gary Ervin made the Razorbacks' third 3 of the night. Another Temple turnover led to a three-point play by Beverley. Open in the corner, Randolph missed and Hunter did the 3 thing. Next, it was Chris Johnson and Stefan Welsh imitating Randolph and Hunter. Falling back, Thornton missed the basket by a couple of feet. After a Darian Townes dunk, Randolph bought a teammate's fake and threw the inbounds pass to a media guy. Weems got into the 3 act and Townes made the margin 21, going high to tap in a Weems miss. For the record, LSU ran a play for Alex Farrer who made a left-handed layup at 7:43. At that point, Arkansas was 6-of-9 on 3s and LSU was 1-of-5. That synopsis and the fact that LSU never got closer than 21 in the second half should suffice for details of the 87-61 victory. For the second time this year, Arkansas beat LSU when the game was a must. The first time around, the Razorbacks had lost two straight, including a stinker at Georgia, and were 2-2 in the league. This time, they had just lost on the road to Eastern Division-leading Tennessee and Western Division-leading Mississippi State. They are now 7-4 in the SEC, one game behind MSU, and three in front of third-place Ole Miss. Pelphrey referred to the Rebels' victory over the Bulldogs and the division standings in the post-game and I'm feeling confident about waiting until March 14 to go to Atlanta for the SEC Tournament. The first- and second-place finishers in each division get a bye to the second round. There is a tendency to jump to conclusions and read Arkansas' rout of LSU as a carryover from the second half at Starkville on Saturday. LSU was playing short-handed - Marcus Thornton of the 19-point-per-game average managed only four minutes because of a bruise - and the trip to Kentucky will be a better barometer of a lesson learned or not. However, it is noteworthy that Arkansas also had that "run" thing working against Mississippi State, outscoring the Bulldogs 19-2 to take the lead in the second half. Pelphrey was eight minutes into his rehash before he mentioned what is to come and the first time he referenced Kentucky, it was by number and in response to some high praise from LSU interim coach Butch Pierre. "We have played 25, we have to focus on 26," Pelphrey said. ---- Harry King is sports columnist for Stephens Media's Arkansas News Bureau. His e-mail address is hking@arkansasnews.com. |
