Heath shifts to big, SEC-style lineup, even against small Jacksonville State

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (AP) - Two of Arkansas&#39; largest players Darian Townes and Steven Hill could be the Razorbacks&#39; key for a victory over Jacksonville State on Wednesday, coach Stan Heath says.<br> <br> ``I&#39;m leaning towards going huge with Darian Townes and Steven Hill,&#39;&#39; Heath said. ``I like the combination of Steven and Darian. It&#39;s a very strong inside team for us defensively. With Darian scoring so well, it gives us a serious threat&#39;&#39; close to the basket.<br> <br> For Heath, bringing Rashard Sullivan off the bench and using the twin towers of Townes and Hill is a no-brainer in Southeastern Conference play, but a little dicier against smaller schools, who also tend to employ smaller, four-guard lineups.<br> <br> Arkansas (10-1) expects to see more of that from Jacksonville State (4-7), but Heath is still likely to go to the big lineup because his smaller post player, 6-foot-7 Charles Thomas, will miss the game. Thomas stayed in Jackson, Miss., after the Christmas break for the birth of his first child.<br> <br> Heath said Thomas is expected to be back with the team Thursday.<br> <br> Heath noted that Jacksonville State is not off to a good start. But Arkansas assistant Darren Sorenson used to be at Jacksonville State, so Heath believes the Gamecocks are familiar with some of the Razorbacks&#39; schemes. Also, Gamecocks coach Mike Laplante was at Auburn for five years before taking the Jacksonville State job.<br> <br> ``Their leading scorer, Walker Russell is a kid I&#39;ve watched a lot,&#39;&#39; Heath said. ``He can play and he can score.&#39;&#39;<br> <br> Russell puts up 15.1 points per game to lead Jacksonville State.<br> <br> Heath will ask Townes to guard a much smaller, probably quicker player against the four-guard sets. But Townes has displayed a surprising quickness for someone his size.<br> <br> ``He has stepped up big and is starting to draw more attention,&#39;&#39; Heath said. ``He&#39;s been targeted for double-teams and that is a sign of respect for your offensive game.&#39;&#39;<br> <br> The Razorbacks returned to practice after the holiday with ``a lot of bounce in our legs again,&#39;&#39; Heath said. Now, if only Heath can keep his team from looking past anyone to SEC games.<br> <br> ``We&#39;re a little eager to get to SEC play, but we don&#39;t want to lose our focus,&#39;&#39; he said. ``I watch this team every day and the best challenge we have is every day in practice because there&#39;s so much competition. We practice well and that has carried over into games.&#39;&#39;