It may have not been the prettiest victory, but it sure was a better result than the last time the Hogs opened a tournament in Puerto Rico.
I didn't get to see the game and would love to hear the observations of those that did. But in looking at the box score and reading the AP recap, I couldn't help but be struck by the eye-popping 26 turnovers; clearly, the Hogs have some work to do to rid themselves of one last year's weaknesses. Arkansas did, however, continue to display one of the strengths of the Heath era: rebounding. I'm guessing, however, that the disparity in that stat was due in part to the Hogs' size advantage.
Finally, I was glad to see that Sonny Weems had such a strong second half; if Pelphrey can get him to more assertive and even a little selfish at times, that would go a long way towards helping this team reach its potential. Sonny's performance in the early going is something I'll be keeping a close eye on.
Now, it's on to a Friday matchup against Temple and hopefully a Sunday appearance on ESPN2 in the tournament championship.
(By the way, if you're looking for more coverage of today's victory, check out the Hog Blogger's entertaining live blog of the game.)