By Robbie Neiswanger
Arkansas News Bureau • rneiswanger@arkansasnews.com
FAYETTEVILLE — Arkansas guard Rotnei Clarke couldn’t get out the words to describe the 80-73 win at No. 18 Ole Miss during Sunday’s postgame press conference.
The Razorbacks had just won a Southeastern Conference road game for the first time in his career, snapping a 15-game losing skid. It was the second straight win for Arkansas, too, improving the Hogs to 3-3 in league play after their well-known 2-14 performance last year.
But when Clarke was asked how it felt to enjoy some long-awaited success, Arkansas coach John Pelphrey interrupted. He didn’t want the sophomore to respond.
“Don’t fall for the bait,” Pelphrey told Clarke. “This is six games. Not 16. We’ve got a lot of work to do.”
Two wins against Ole Miss and Mississippi State have quickly flipped expectations for the Razorbacks (10-11, 3-3), whose season appeared to hit rock bottom after the embarrassment at Kentucky. Suddenly, Arkansas is getting good news on the court, thrusting itself into the SEC Western Division race as they prepare to play at Georgia (9-10, 1-5) in Athens, Ga., on Wednesday night.
But Pelphrey — as evidenced by his response after the Ole Miss win — wants to temper the success. Sure, it’s nice, but he doesn’t want anyone getting carried away with 10 games remaining on Arkansas’ league schedule.
“We’d much rather be where we are today as opposed to where we were a year ago at this time,” Pelphrey said Monday. “But at the same time we’re not satisfied and content. We can be better. Many challenges lie ahead.”
The good vibes created by two wins can’t be overlooked, though. Arkansas topped its SEC win total from last year with one of its best stretches under Pelphrey.
Point guard Courtney Fortson led the way with a 35-point effort against Mississippi State on Thursday, while forwards Michael Washington and Marshawn Powell were instrumental in beating the Rebels three days later.
The latter was Arkansas’ first win in Oxford, Miss., since 2005 and just the program’s second in the last 14 tries. It also was Arkansas’ first win against a ranked opponent this season after going 0-4 to start the year.
But Powell said that didn’t matter to the Razorbacks.
“Everybody is happy,” Powell said Sunday night. “We’re just happy to get the win. We don’t look at who is ranked or who is not. We just want to win.”
Arkansas left an impression along the way in doing so.
“I look at their record now, 10-11, immediately people say they must not be any good,” Ole Miss coach Andy Kennedy said. “But they’re a different team with Courtney Fortson. … I think they have a lot of weapons and I think they played exceptionally well (Sunday).”
It was a far cry from Arkansas’ last road game when the Razorbacks were whipped during the 31-point loss at Kentucky. The Hogs fell behind seconds after the opening tip and trailed by as many as 46 points in the second half en route to the program’s worst SEC loss.
The performance fueled frustrations around the state early last week, but Pelphrey said he wasn’t too consumed by the disappointing loss. Apparently, his team wasn’t wallowing in the blowout at Kentucky, either.
“I didn’t think the season ended there,” Pelphrey said. “I think that’s what some may have implied.
“I’m happy those guys did what I thought they would do, come back and work. But by the same token, just because we’ve won two in a row doesn’t mean anything either. It’s time to work. That’s where we’re at. It’s time to work.”
Arkansas’ next three opponents — Georgia, Auburn and LSU — are a combined 3-17 in SEC play.
The Bulldogs are 1-5, but have been much improved under first-year coach Mark Fox. Four of its SEC losses have been by eight points or less and Georgia’s lone league win came at home against Tennessee on Jan. 23.
So grabbing another SEC road win — which would be the program’s first consecutive league road wins since 2006 — could be easier said than done for Arkansas.
Which is precisely the point Pelphrey is trying to stress to his team after its recent success.
“It doesn’t guarantee you anything for the future,” Pelphrey said of the wins. “Just like maybe past failures doesn’t guarantee them anything for the future. Now you could take both experiences as fertilizer for future growth and hopefully we’ve done that with our failures and hopefully we’ll do that with our successes.”
