OXFORD, Miss. -- The University of Arkansas basketball team has been playing from behind for practically all of its four-game losing streak.
The Razorbacks (10-7, 1-4 SEC) didn't lead in either of their last two games while losing at No. 3 Tennessee 106-87 and at No. 18 Ole Miss 84-67.
UP NEXT
Arkansas men vs. Missouri
WHEN 8 p.m. Wednesday
WHERE Walton Arena, Fayetteville
RECORDS Arkansas 10-7, 1-4 SEC; Missouri 10-6, 1-3
SERIES Arkansas leads 26-23.
TELEVISION SEC Network
RADIO Razorback Sports Network
UPHILL CLIMB
Arkansas has led for 4:34 of 165 minutes during its four-game losing streak.
Here is a breakdown:
Florida led 32:48;Arkansas led 4:04;Tied 3:08
LSU led 40:11;Arkansas led 30 seconds;Tied 4:19
Tennessee led 39:43:Arkansas never led;Tied 17 seconds
Ole Miss led 39:20;Arkansas never led;Tied 40 seconds
Opponents led 152:02;Arkansas led 4:34;Tied 8:24
Including Arkansas' losses at home to Florida 57-51 and LSU 94-88 in overtime the previous week, the Razorbacks have trailed for 152 minutes and 2 seconds out of 165 minutes in their last four games.
Arkansas led for 4:04 against Florida and for 30 seconds against LSU. In the last four games the score was tied for 8:24.
At halftime, Arkansas trailed Florida 33-22, LSU 50-42, Tennessee 55-34 and Ole Miss 46-35.
"It's definitely a lot tougher to win than it would be if we were to get off to a good start," Razorbacks freshman guard Isaiah Joe said. "We're always having to come from behind in the game.
"We're taught to step on the gas and punch them first. Don't get punched ourselves and get knocked down.
"It seems like in these last few games we keep getting punched in the mouth first. We've got to take that first swing and connect."
The Razorbacks forced an Ole Miss turnover 13 seconds into Saturday's game at The Pavilion when Mason Jones stole the ball from Blake Hinson. But the Rebels got the ball back three seconds later on a turnover by Daniel Gafford and Dominik Olejniczak scored inside to start an 11-2 run for Ole Miss.
"The first thing we did was get a stop," Arkansas Coach Mike Anderson said. "We deflected the ball and came up with it, and we ended up turning it right back over to them.
"If you come down and execute, maybe you get off to a much better start. That's something we've got to get better at.
"We've got to come out and deliver the first punch. I think that's got to be a big key. That's just something we've got to keep working on."
The Razorbacks have lost four consecutive games for the first time in Anderson's eight seasons as their coach.
It's the third time in Anderson's 17 seasons as a head coach that one of his teams has had a four-game losing streak.
Anderson's Alabama-Birmingham team lost four in a row to Louisville, TCU, East Carolina and Cincinnati during the 2004-05 season, but the Blazers finished 22-11 and played in the NCAA Tournament.
The 2006-07 Missouri team coached by Anderson had a losing streak to Iowa State, Texas, Kansas State and Kansas and finished 18-12 without a postseason bid.
Anderson's Razorbacks will try to end their losing streak against Missouri (10-6, 1-3) when they play the Tigers on Wednesday night in Walton Arena.
Missouri got its first SEC victory by winning 66-43 at Texas A&M on Saturday -- two weeks after the Razorbacks beat the Aggies 73-71 in Reed Arena.
"There's a lot of basketball left," Anderson said. "It's still a race."
The Razorbacks' first five losses were by a combined 19 points, then they lost at Tennessee by 19 and at Ole Miss by 17.
"It's definitely tough, but it's learning experiences -- trying to get better," Joe said. "We're trying to work on capitalizing on mistakes, and we're not doing a good enough job of that. We're just got to get it together as at team."
Anderson said the Razorbacks' confidence has been "kind of shattered" by their losing streak.
How does Anderson get a team relying heavily on newcomers to regain its confidence?
"We've just got to keep working," Anderson said. "We've got to play better for longer periods of time. Learn how to win.
"I think that's one of the difficult things with a young basketball team, but that's the hurdle we've got to get over."
Joe said the Razorbacks can't dwell on their latest loss to the Rebels.
"We've just got to put that in the past," Joe said. "We can't hang our heads on that game, because the sun's going to come back up tomorrow. We've just got to get back in the gym and get back to work.
"We've got warriors on our team. We're never going to give up. No matter how bad we're playing, we're always going to get our minds right for the next game."
Sports on 01/21/2019