When Arkansas coach John Pelphrey returned to Fayetteville on Jan. 19 at 1:30 in the morning after his team lost to Georgia, he told his team to meet him in the gym in 30 minutes.

The Razorbacks proceeded to have a two-hour practice and responded with four consecutive victories - including blowouts against Mississippi State, Florida and LSU.

``They have become a better team since that night," Pelphrey said. "It was a beautiful practice. They couldn't have been any better. It was shocking."

``They made a decision," he added. "Because nobody's gotten any faster or taller."

Pelphrey admitted it's been difficult to coach a team loaded with seniors.

``We have one year to get through it all," he said. ``That's all we have to get to know each other."

Tonight, Pelphrey and his team travels to Knoxville to face No. 4 Tennessee. He knows the keys will be rebounding and taking care of the basketball.

His point guard situation, with senior Gary Ervin and combo guard Stefan Welsh, has been tenuous. However, it'll be much-improved next season with the addition of freshmen Courtney Fortson and Rotnei Clarke.

KENTUCKY CRASH

I was just starting to come around on Billy Gillispie at Kentucky. The Wildcats were 6-2 in SEC play and I was ready to, believe it or not, write something positive about Gillispie & Co.

Then came Tuesday night's you-know-what whooping in Nashville against Vanderbilt.

Kentucky scored just 11 points in the first half and wound up losing to Vandy, 93-52, in the program's worst SEC loss ever.

UMBC BENEFITS FROM ONE AND DONE

UMBC coach Randy Monroe wasn't sure how it would play itself out, taking a pair of transfers who had just one year of eligibility left.

Monroe is smiling now.

The Retrievers, who have finished under .500 all three seasons in the America East under Monroe, are 9-2 in conference play - two games in front of Vermont and Hartford.

Forward Cavell Johnson and guard Ray Barbosa both came over from James Madison and have been critical to the team's success.

``The chemistry has been terrific," Monroe said. "Everyone's been so unselfish and we've done a great job sharing the ball."

In fact, UMBC is among the nation's leaders in assist-to-turnover ratio with 5-foot-8 junior guard Jay Greene (3.36-1) leading the way.

``As a coach, you have to take risks," he added. "We did our homework and as a result, we made the right decision."