FAYETTEVILLE, ARK. ? Stan Heath has remained loose while fielding questions about his future, smiling and saying he hopes his players aren’t worried about it.

Freshman Patrick Beverley, though, is sick of hearing about his coach’s uncertain job security.

“Arkansas is supposed to be a big family,” said Beverley, the Razorbacks’ leading scorer. “The media brought up the issue of coach Heath – that really put a lot of pressure on us.”

Beverley and his teammates played like their backs were to the wall Wednesday night in a 67-58 victory over Mississippi State. Afterward, Beverley insisted Arkansas was going to the NCAA Tournament – a run that might be needed to save Heath’s job.

The Razorbacks (17-12, 6-9 Southeastern Conference) likely need an SEC tournament title to make the NCAA field, but that hasn’t deterred Beverley.

“I was just basically telling the media that I really think we have a strong chance,” Beverley said Thursday. He was calmer than he’d been the previous night – but then again, so were most of the Razorbacks.

The Hogs were feisty against Mississippi State. They appeared to be sparked by an altercation early in the second half. Point guard Gary Ervin was fouled, then said something in the direction of Bulldogs center Charles Rhodes. Rhodes then walked toward Ervin and bumped him – starting a skirmish that quickly died down.

“It just took something to get us going,” Ervin said.

Beverley finished 2-of-11 from the field but made a pair of late three-pointers and ended up with 10 points. Ervin scored 20.

The Razorbacks had a brief clear-the-air session after Saturday’s loss to Tennessee, and Heath in particular has appeared in good spirits since then. He again declined to address reports that his job is on the line.

“I’m going to talk about Vanderbilt,” Heath said Thursday. The Razorbacks face the No. 19 Commodores (20-9, 10-5) in their regular-season finale Saturday in Nashville, Tenn.

Forward Charles Thomas said the Razorbacks’ meeting helped – and that everyone is on the same page now.

“Everyone has our differences, but when it comes down to it, we’re a team,” Thomas said.

Beverley said the Razorbacks needed to talk things over.

“I think if we would have done that earlier in the year, we would have been a better basketball team,” Beverley said.