Hogs all business in NYC

FAYETTEVILLE -- Arkansas' basketball team is spending Thanksgiving in New York, but the Razorbacks stressed it's a business trip.

"We're not going there to see Times Square," junior guard Dusty Hannahs said. "We're going there to try to win two games and win this tournament."

The Razorbacks (2-1) play Georgia Tech (3-1) at 1 p.m. today at the Barclays Center in the Preseason NIT. The winner plays at 2 p.m. Friday against the winner of the Stanford-Villanova game for the tournament title. Today's losing teams play each other at 11:30 a.m. Friday.

After Arkansas' first three games were available on the Internet, today's game will be nationally televised on ESPNU. The Razorbacks' game Friday will be nationally televised on ESPN2 at 2 p.m. if they win or ESPNU at 11:30 a.m. if they lose.

The Razorbacks see playing the nationally televised games against a team from the Atlantic Coast Conference and either a Pac-12 or Big East team as an opportunity to show they're still nationally relevant after losing five of their top seven scorers from last season's 27-9 team and with sophomore guard Anton Beard -- the only returning starter -- suspended for the fall semester.

"If you're asleep and not really paying attention to us, this is the stage to really wake people up," forward Keaton Miles said. "We have to seize the opportunity to wake people up."

Junior guard Manny Watkins said the Razorbacks have been motivated by low expectations for the team, which in preseason polls have been picked to finish between 10th and 13th in the SEC.

"We've got a big log on our shoulder, and this is our first chance in a nationally televised game to show what we're made of," Watkins said. "So yeah, that's definitely on our mind, people counting us out.

"I think even people around here are probably already counting us out, but we're ready."

The Razorbacks have had returning players take on bigger roles and have gotten major contributions from newcomers in beating Southern 86-68, losing to Akron 88-80 and beating Charleston Southern 93-75.

Junior forward Moses Kingsley is averaging 18.0 points and 10.0 rebounds compared to 3.6 and 2.5 last season. Hannahs, who redshirted last season after transferring from Texas Tech, is averaging a team-high 19.3 points and has hit 11 of 16 three-pointers.

Senior guard Anthlon Bell, the team's leading returning scorer at 7.9 points last season, is averaging 16.3. Freshman guard Jimmy Whitt is averaging 10.7 points. Watkins is averaging 9.0 points, up from 2.6 last season. Senior point guard Jabril Durham is averaging 8.3 assists compared to 1.3 last season.

"It's the first time people get a chance to see them play," Arkansas Coach Mike Anderson said of today's television audience. "So I'm sure they want to put on a good show."

Georgia Tech Coach Brian Gregory said he's impressed with the Razorbacks.

"They're still Arkansas," he said. "They play with unbelievable pressure, both full court and half court. They have a bonafide first-round draft pick with Kingsley inside, and they have good pieces that are starting to play a little bit better together. They lost to a very good Akron team, but in their two other games they forced their tempo.

"They're starting to find the pieces in terms of their scoring with some perimeter shooting."

Georgia Tech, like Arkansas, is playing away from home for the first time this season.

"I think we've prepared," Miles said. "It doesn't matter where we're going to be at, we have to bring our game to the forefront and play hard."

Anderson said he's looking forward to seeing how his team reacts to playing away from Walton Arena.

"We're answering questions as we go," Anderson said. "I think our guys will go out and try to do the things we do in practice each and every day and that's defend, try to create tempo and try to share the basketball."

Arkansas not only is without Beard for this semester, but lost forward Jacorey Williams, a senior and probable starter who was dismissed from the team in August.

Gregory said the roster issues could help rally the Razorbacks.

"I don't know the whole situation, but sometimes teams come together," Gregory said. "They figure out that the guys they've got are the guys they've got to be successful with, and there's a bond that's formed there."

Arkansas is down to 10 scholarship players until Beard returns and freshman forward Lorenzo Jenkins hasn't gotten off the bench in the first three games, but Watkins said he's not concerned about playing back-to-back days.

"You ask any basketball player and they don't want to practice two days in a row, but you can say we've got five games in five days and that doesn't faze them," Watkins said. "Games are just totally different.

"Playing is what we love to do. So two games in two days, that's not going to be a problem."

Sports on 11/26/2015