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Anderson stokes Hogs' inner fire into blaze

Arkansas coach Mike Anderson talks to players during the Razorbacks' 77-71 NCAA Tournament win over Seton Hall on Friday, March 17, 2017, in Greenville, S.C.
Arkansas coach Mike Anderson talks to players during the Razorbacks' 77-71 NCAA Tournament win over Seton Hall on Friday, March 17, 2017, in Greenville, S.C.

GREENVILLE, S.C. -- With eight minutes to play, Mike Anderson called for more pressure.

Arkansas' basketball coach wanted more grit-your-teeth, suck-it-up, get-after-them-with-all-you-have heat.

Seton Hall was on an 18-7 run, led 64-58, and Anderson wanted to see what the Pirates had left after the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville had controlled the tempo most of the game.

An Arkansas double team forced the Pirates into a turnover, and Dustin Thomas scored. But with 7:28 to play, Angel Delgado, Seton Hall's version of Tarzan, scored.

No one in Bon Secours Wellness Arena knew the Pirates would manage only 1 more field goal and 3 free throws the rest of the way. Despite a streak where they made 1 of 8 shots, the Razorbacks tied it, then fell behind by 1 when the Pirates got their final field goal with 1:45 to play.

Anderson still had the exhausting Razorbacks' heat on high, and Seton Hall's 14th turnover turned into a Jaylen Barford layup for a 72-71 lead.

The Razorbacks made 5 of their final 6 free throws -- including two on a flagrant foul that was so obvious it shouldn't have had to be reviewed -- for a 77-71 victory in their opening game of the NCAA Tournament.

They will now face North Carolina, the No. 1 seed in the South, on Sunday for the third time in their past three tournament appearances.

More on that in Sunday's edition.

Friday was all sweet for Anderson, the Razorbacks and their fans, although Anderson admitted some fans thought they were dead and buried Feb. 7 after losses at Missouri and at home to Vanderbilt. Since then, they have won 9 of 11 with the only losses coming to Kentucky and Florida, the 1-2 finishers in the SEC standings.

The biggest victory was the last victory, and many so-called experts thought a beast from the Big East could handle the Hogs. Instead it was a great basketball game, and the better team -- which was in better shape and had more depth -- survived and advanced.

The headliner was supposed to be Delgado, a man-child who led the nation in rebounding with more than 13 per game. He got his 13, 8 of them on the offensive end.

But Delgado was no match for Moses Kingsley, who perhaps played his best game as a Hog.

Kingsley led all scorers with 23 points on 10-of-13 shooting, and he added 6 rebounds. But it was his tenacious defense and unselfish play that made him the star.

He had 4 blocked shots, 2 assists and 1 steal in 33 minutes, and he worked the entire game.

In a game during which it became obvious the Pirates were not going to give Dusty Hannahs a chance to beat them long distance -- although he did score 14 -- Barford had a great game, gathering 20 points, 7 rebounds and 4 steals.

Hannahs attempted 3 three-pointers, 1 in the second half, but he did make 2.

While Hannahs was guarded as closely as the combination to Fort Knox, Thomas -- a junior transfer from Colorado who sat out last season -- tied his career high as a Hog with 13 points, making 6 of 9 from the floor, with 5 rebounds and 1 blocked shot.

Seton Hall turned it over 15 times, 4 of them coming in less than three minutes after Anderson hit the speed switch, and 12 of those were steals at the hands of 7 different Razorbacks.

Daryl Macon struggled from the floor in his first NCAA Tournament game, but he made 5 of 8 free throws, 4 in the final 17 seconds.

Kingsleyshined the brightest, but it was a team victory, and one that wouldn't have happened if the Razorbacks hadn't played great defense.

When Anderson called for the heat, the Hogs brought it hard and fast, and eventually a good team wilted.

Sports on 03/18/2017

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