FAYETTEVILLE -- Arkansas continued to close in on its first NCAA Tournament bid since 2008.
Missouri just kept losing.
Game sketch
RECORDS Arkansas 21-5, 10-3 SEC. Missouri 7-19, 1-12.
STARS Arkansas junior guard Michael Qualls (21 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists), sophomore forward Bobby Portis (16 points, 9 rebounds) and freshman guard Anton Beard (13 points, 5 assists).
TURNING POINT The Razorbacks outscored the Tigers 15-0 over a 7:38 span to take a 31-19 lead with 3:52 left in the first half.
KEY STAT Arkansas had an 18-6 edge in points off turnovers.
UP NEXT Arkansas plays Mississippi State at 3:30 p.m. Saturday in Starkville, Miss.
The No. 18 Razorbacks beat the Tigers 84-69 on Wednesday night in Walton Arena before an announced crowd of 12,693 to sweep the teams' home-and-home series for the first time in Missouri's three SEC seasons.
Arkansas (21-5, 10-3) won its fifth consecutive game and stayed alone in second place in the SEC standings behind No. 1 Kentucky (13-0).
Missouri (7-19, 1-12) tied a school record with its 12th consecutive loss since opening SEC play by beating LSU at home. The Tigers also lost 12 games in a row during the 1965-66 and 1966-67 seasons.
Junior guard Michael Qualls led Arkansas with 21 points and had 6 rebounds and 4 assists.
"Man, his motor is crazy," Missouri freshman guard Montaque Gill-Caesar said. "He never stops moving. He's a very good all-around player."
Qualls hit 4 of 7 three-pointers and 7 of 10 free throws.
"He's an energy guy," Arkansas Coach Mike Anderson said. "I think when he plays with that energy, it gets kind of contagious. It spreads throughout our team."
Qualls said he's about 85 percent physically while continuing to play through a right knee injury he sustained two weeks ago.
"Every game I'm trying to be at a better and better stage with my leg," he said. "I'm just trying to play through it and just make it stronger.
"It's not going to get any better if I try to baby it or I'm timid. So tonight I tried to come out with an attack mind-set."
So did the rest of the Razorbacks as they forced Missouri into 20 turnovers, including 14 in the first half.
"Just us being active," said Arkansas sophomore forward Bobby Portis, who had 16 points, 9 rebounds and 2 blocked shots. "I feel like almost every guy that went out there tonight played great defense."
The Razorbacks took control in the first half when they outscored the Tigers 15-0 over a 6:38 span, including six points from Qualls, to take a 31-19 lead with 3:52 left before halftime.
During the Razorbacks' run, the Tigers had 9 turnovers and went 0 of 4 from the field. Missouri went scoreless for a seven-minute span.
"They rattled us," Missouri Coach Kim Anderson said.
Gill-Caesar said the Tigers -- playing without sophomore guard Wes Clark after he was lost to a season-ending elbow injury last week -- were sped up by the Razorbacks' pressure defense.
"I just think we were getting rushed," Gill-Caesar said. "I think the pressure really scared us at first. We're young so we don't really know how to deal with pressure like that yet, so it kind of hit us hard."
Missouri sophomore forward Johnathan Williams had 13 points and 10 rebounds but 8 turnovers.
"We were getting the ball out of the point guard's hands, and they were making Johnathan Williams bring the ball up for most of the game," Qualls said. "That's exactly what we want to happen, for them to try to bring the ball up with a big."
Arkansas outscored Missouri 13-3 to open the second half and got three-point baskets from seniors Ky Madden and Alandise Harris to push the Razorbacks' lead to 50-32 with 17-42 left. The Tigers didn't pull closer than 12 points the rest of the game.
"I felt like the first four minutes of the second half would decide the game and it did, and it decided it the wrong way," Kim Anderson said. "Instead of us being the attacker, I thought they did a great job of coming out and getting after us."
Freshman point guard Anton Beard added 13 points and five assists for the Razorbacks. Harris and junior guard Anthlon Bell scored eight points each.
Missouri freshman guard Tramaine Isabell -- back from a five-game suspension -- scored 13 points. Gill-Caesar and freshman forward Jakeenan Gant had 11 points.
The Razorbacks improved to 16-1 at home this season. Their only loss at home was to Ole Miss, a defeat the Razorbacks avenged by beating the Rebels last Saturday in Oxford.
Missouri fell to 0-7 in road games.
Arkansas is 8-1 in its past eight games, with the only loss at Florida 57-56.
"I like how we're playing," Mike Anderson said. "But know we can play better."
Missouri shot 50 percent from the field (26 of 52), the first team to shoot 50 percent or better against Arkansas since Ole Miss shot 56.4 percent 10 games ago.
"We tried to make Missouri uncomfortable, and I want to give them credit," Mike Anderson said. "Kim Anderson and his kids, they wouldn't go away. We tried to delver what we call that knockout punch, but they kept fighting and scratching and clawing.
"To me, that's Kim Anderson. I have no doubt about it, he'll get that program back to where it should be."
Sports on 02/19/2015