Arkansas seems to be peaking at the right time, and that could be trouble for Indiana when the teams meet Friday in a NCAA tourney first-round game in Raleigh, N.C.

The ninth-seeded Razorbacks are coming off a Southeastern Conference tourney runner-up performance in which they beat nationally ranked Tennessee and Vanderbilt before losing to Georgia in Sunday's title game.

Arkansas (22-11) is an uptempo team that relies on an eight-player rotation to dictate pace. It scored at least 90 points three times this season, including the memorable 92-91 victory over Tennessee that cost the Volunteers a No. 1 seed.

“I've seen them play a few times,” Indiana senior forward Lance Stemler said. “They're good. They're athletic. They're from the SEC. It should be a good game.”

The Razorbacks average 74.2 points while allowing 67.1. They shoot 46.6 percent from the field and 67.4 percent from the line. Their athleticism has allowed them to block 168 shots.

By comparison, IU has blocked 122 shots.

Their one Achilles heel is ball security. They have 495 turnovers on the season compared with 472 assists.

Arkansas is led by All-Southeastern Conference guard Sonny Weems. He averages a team-leading 14.3 points, plus 4.6 rebounds.

“He's spoiled us a little because he's capable of making some tough shots,” coach John Pelphrey said. “He has a mental toughness to him.”

Another guard, Steven Hill, made the SEC's all-defense team. He also hit the shot that beat Tennessee in the SEC tourney.

“Defense is what Steven does best,” Pelphrey said. “He's certainly our best defensive player.”

Arkansas is no NCAA tourney stranger. This is the Razorbacks' third straight NCAA tourney appearance, their 30th overall. They won the 1994 national championship and were runners-up in '95. They reached the Final Four in 1941, '45, '78 and '90.

Pelphrey was hired to continue that tradition. He spent the previous five years at South Alabama and turned that program from a Sun Belt Conference also-ran to a powerhouse. Pelphrey was 44-12 in his last two years there.

He is a former Kentucky standout who coached under Billy Donovan and Eddie Sutton before becoming a head coach.

Arkansas is one of six SEC teams to make the NCAA tourney field. The others are Tennessee, Vanderbilt, Kentucky, Georgia and Mississippi State.

“Our team needs to be on edge and hungry,” Pelphrey said. “We need to play and focus like the next two minutes could be our last.”