JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- Some of the television reporters from South Carolina were in hot pursuit of a controversial quote.
Something to create some interest in a game that had been relegated to the next to last game despite it being so far in the Eastern time zone that it is almost in the Atlantic Ocean.
A sound bite that if relayed might give Wofford extra motivation against Arkansas.
If the Terriers need anything more than the facts that the Razorbacks are from the SEC and are a No. 5 seed, then something is wrong with them.
Still, Bobby Portis, Rashad Madden and Anton Beard all responded honestly with the same answer they did when they heard who they were playing.
"My first thought was who was Wofford,'' Portis said.
"That was the same thing in mine, too," Madden said.
"Same thing Bobby said," Beard said.
They were not being condescending, cocky or critical.
There is no reason for those guys to have been aware of Wofford. Before tonight, the only time the trails of these two teams have crossed was 2007, John Pelphrey's first year as the Razorbacks' head coach, and Arkansas beat the Terriers 67-45.
Madden was probably more worried about borrowing the family car. He was 16.
Portis might have been wondering why his voice was starting to crack. He was 12.
Beard wasn't worried about anything. He was 11.
All three went on to talk about Wofford being a good team. Deliberate, fundamentally sound and a good-shooting team.
So when the same reporter asked Arkansas Coach Mike Anderson his first thoughts when he found out the Hogs were playing Wofford, he smiled. At the same time his wife Marcheita, who was sitting quietly to the side in the news conference room, shook her head to the affirmative.
"Well, it's funny because my wife and I were, I guess we were somewhere watching some of the games late night and, lo and behold, I'm watching Wofford versus Furman," Anderson said. "It looked like Furman had the game in hand, and all of a sudden they made plays.
"So I was impressed, number one, defensively with what they were doing."
Anderson, like his mentor Nolan Richardson, also said he worries more about his team than his opponent, but all three of the players and Anderson referenced watching lots of film of the Terriers.
Basically, this could be a game of tempo more than talent, and defense more than offense.
Wofford is the turtle; Arkansas the hare. Only this isn't a childhood story. It is the NCAA Tournament, college basketball's grandest stage.
It's a place the Terriers have performed four of the past six years and an event the Hogs haven't competed in since that season when they played Wofford.
Yet, Portis didn't sound like a sophomore Wednesday, nor did Beard sound like a freshman. They were poised, well-spoken and humble.
There is no doubt making the SEC Championship Game and facing the best team in America a second time has given them some confidence and a sense of pride.
The Razorbacks are playing the best they have all season. They seemed to have peaked at the right time, and several times Anderson said the Hogs are playing some pretty good basketball.
He said it's enough to feel the confidence he has. That at the end of his fourth season the Razorback aren't just back in the tournament, but a team to be reckoned with.
If the Hogs can press and trap and make guys handle the ball who usually don't, they will be a factor, starting tonight.
The three players who spoke Wednesday left no doubt. They might not have heard of Wofford before last Sunday, but they know who and what the Terriers are now.
Sports on 03/19/2015