FAYETTEVILLE -- Games tend to run together during college basketball season, but a few stand out.
The Arkansas Razorbacks' biggest game was their 74-71 triumph over SEC leader and national No. 5 Texas A&M on Wednesday at Walton Arena.
That big game preceded the Razorbacks' 3 p.m. game today at Walton against the Texas Tech Red Raiders.
Today's game is part of a Saturday devoted to the SEC vs. Big 12 Challenge. But let's face it, Kentucky vs. Kansas, LSU vs. Oklahoma and Texas A&M vs. Iowa State will be the SEC vs. Big 12 games most anticipated.
Expect a national ho-hum for a matchup of Arkansas (10-10, 4-4 SEC) and Tech (12-7, 2-6 Big 12).
But for Arkansas, this game is huge for Coach Mike Anderson's Hogs to build on their biggest victory.
Upending the Aggies -- who were previously undefeated in the SEC and conquered Arkansas 92-69 in the SEC opener Jan. 2 in College Station, Texas -- stopped Arkansas' three-game SEC skid.
Arkansas literally threw away SEC games on the road: 76-74 at LSU and 76-73 in overtime at Georgia. Those defeats sandwiched a lackluster, 80-66 loss to Kentucky, despite a craving-to-explode crowd of 18,588 packing Walton Arena.
Texas A&M is no Kentucky in basketball tradition, but it is a traditional rival from Arkansas' old Southwest Conference days. No. 5 A&M currently outranks No. 20 Kentucky and leads the Wildcats and LSU by a game in the SEC standings.
Yet an apparently disillusioned 8,000 fans from the Jan. 21 Kentucky game at Walton didn't return for Wednesday's A&M game, which had an announced attendance of 10,548.
Many probably now wish they would have attended because since Wednesday night, most Arkansas fans are talking positively about Razorbacks basketball again.
Positive conversations haven't abounded since last year's banner 27-9 season. Star underclassmen Bobby Portis and Michael Qualls turned pro. Three players, one who has since transferred, were involved in the first major off-court problems Anderson has had to deal with in his five Arkansas head coaching years; he previously cleansed a program fraught with problems off the court and with academics.
Through it all -- when not shooting themselves in the foot in close losses and only convincingly thumped twice -- Anderson's Hogs actually have overachieved most of this season.
With the A&M victory, they have tangible success to attract a big crowd today that is craving to see its Razorbacks generate momentum into February and March.
"I thought we took the fight to Texas A&M," said Anderson, calling it "winning basketball."
Winning basketball, Arkansas junior guard Manny Watkins asserts, isn't extended without a fight.
"We can't afford to be all happy about one win and pat ourselves on the back," Watkins said. "We've got to keep it going and use wins to fuel more wins. That's what we have to do."
Sports on 01/30/2016