IN THE LANE

Hogs lose touch on 3-pointers

Arkansas guard Dusty Hannahs (3) loses control of the dribble against the defense of Mississippi State guard I.J. Ready (15) in the first half of an NCAA college basketball game in Starkville, Miss., Tuesday, Feb. 9, 2016. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis)
Arkansas guard Dusty Hannahs (3) loses control of the dribble against the defense of Mississippi State guard I.J. Ready (15) in the first half of an NCAA college basketball game in Starkville, Miss., Tuesday, Feb. 9, 2016. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis)

Arkansas turned in a 1 of 10 performance from three-point range, its worst three-point shooting game of the season, in Tuesday night's 78-46 loss at Mississippi State.

The Razorbacks entered the game as the nation's No. 2 team in three-point field goal accuracy at 42.5 percent

The Razorback went 0 of 5 from three-point range in the first half before Anthlon Bell connected beyond the arc on the right wing with 17:37 left in the second half for the Hogs' only made three-pointer.

Arkansas was making 44.2 percent from beyond the arc in SEC games but fell to 42.4 percent (81 of 191) with the rough outing against the Bulldogs.

Up Dog

Mississippi State took control of the game with a pair of 11-0 runs in the first half. The first streak began just after Dusty Hannahs' converted an 8-footer in the lane for a 10-9 Arkansas lead.

The Bulldogs went on a 9-0 run over a 90-second span, then Malik Newman capped the run with a layup for a 20-10 lead.

Moses Kingsley stopped the bleeding with a left-handed layup at the 10:41 mark to make it 20-12, but the Bulldogs commenced another 11-0 spurt.

Start stats

Arkansas' Moses Kingsley returned to the starting lineup after missing one start due to picking up his second technical foul of the season.

Guard Jabril Durham is the lone Razorback to start all 24 games, while Kingsley has made 23 starts. Kingsley had his streak of scoring 10 or more points in every game this season snapped as the 6-10 junior scored four points on 1 of 6 shooting and had three rebounds.

Streak ends

Arkansas guard Dusty Hannahs' streak of 19 consecutive made free throws came to an end on his first try of the game at the 15:20 mark.

Block party

Mississippi State, the SEC's No. 8 team with 4.5 blocked shots per game, swatted nine against the Razorbacks. Fred Thomas, Travis Daniels and Aric Holman led the way with two blocks each.

No thanks

Arkansas, the No. 2 assist team in the SEC, was credited with a season-low three assists against the Bulldogs, including just one, by Anthlon Bell, in the first half. Dusty Hannahs and Keaton Miles were credited with one assist each in the second half.

Jabril Durham, the SEC assist leader with 6.8 per game, was not credited with an assist on any of Arkansas' 16 field goals.

Breakthrough

Mississippi State Coach Ben Howland got his first victory over Arkansas in five tries. Howland was 0-2 as a player at Weber State against the Razorbacks, losing in the NCAA Tournament in back-to-back seasons in 1978 and '79. Howland's Northern Arizona team in 1997-98 lost 101-75 at Arkansas in the first round of the NIT, and Mississippi State lost 82-68 at Walton Arena on Jan. 9.

I.J. was Ready

Mississippi State junior I.J. Ready of Little Rock Parkview returned to the lineup after missing the Bulldogs' 88-77 loss at LSU on Saturday with back spasms. The 5-11 guard finished with 6 points, 6 assists and 3 rebounds.

Ready missed two games while recovering from back surgery last year, and he sat out seven games as a freshman due to a hamstring injury and a concussion.

The series

Mississippi State snapped Arkansas' five-game winning streak in the series, the Hogs' longest since a seven-game streak over three seasons between 1997-98 and 1999-2000. Arkansas' lead in the series is 33-26. The Bulldogs lead the series 20-7 in Starkville, Miss.

Since the Razorbacks joined the SEC for the 1991-92 season, Arkansas leads 27-23.

Tip-ins

• Mississippi State's 32-point margin of victory was its largest in the series since the first game between the teams during the 1951-52 season, a 79-39 victory for the Bulldogs in Starkville, Miss.

• Mississippi State's largest lead of 35 points was its biggest in an SEC game this season, topping the 22-point lead it had in a 76-62 victory at Missouri. Arkansas faced its largest deficit of the season.

• Mississippi State Coach Ben Howland was doing a "miked up" segment for the SEC Network. Among his comments, Howland told forward Gavin Ware he had blood on his shorts and needed to have the trainers clean it off "before somebody sees it."

• Former SEC Commissioner Mike Slive attended the game and was introduced to the crowd during the first half.

• Mississippi State guard Fred Thomas made a pair of free throws with 2:52 remaining to eclipse the 1,000-point mark in his career.

Sports on 02/10/2016

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