STARKVILLE, Miss. — University of Arkansas men’s basketball Coach John Calipari has ceased box-out drills. He’s done it in the past and the message is clear: “You either get the ball or you come out.”

Starting forward Nick Pringle played 28 minutes in Saturday’s 88-68 win at Mississippi State. He hadn’t played that many since a nonconference game on Nov. 18, and there was a reason for the uptick.

The sixth-year senior grabbed a season-high 11 rebounds.

“Coach has been talking all week, ‘Don’t even worry about boxing out, just go rebound,’ ” Pringle said. “You don’t want to give up rebounds, so I’d make it a focal point to box out. But boxing out hasn’t really been that important. It’s go get them. You’re athletic, you’re long, go get the ball.”

Arkansas outrebounded Mississippi State 38-33, with the help of eight from forward Trevon Brazile and five from guard Darius Acuff Jr. Pringle hadn’t grabbed more than four rebounds since a 108-74 win on Jan. 14 against South Carolina, his former team.

“I’m just watching (Brazile), really,” Pringle said. “He goes and gets them every game. I want to continue getting rebounds. I feel like that’s the way I can impact this team, especially me getting defensive rebounds, getting the ball out and us playing our best basketball in transition. We’re the best transition team in the country. We want to continue that, but we have to rebound.”

Pringle played 13 minutes in Arkansas’ previous game, an 85-77 loss to Kentucky on Jan. 31, and he turned in a bare stat line.

With forward Karter Knox and guard D.J. Wagner ruled out Saturday with injuries, the shorthanded Razorbacks benefited from veterans stepping up more than usual.

Brazile, a redshirt senior, scored a career SEC-high 19 points. Billy Richmond III took Knox’s place in the starting lineup and made 7 of 11 shots for 14 points. Richmond snatched two offensive rebounds to Pringle’s three.

Knox and Wagner are two of Arkansas’ four returning players, alongside Brazile and Richmond, from a deep postseason run a year ago. The freshmen flourished beside Brazile, Richmond and Pringle. Acuff posted game highs in points (24) and assists (8), Meleek Thomas added 17 points and Isaiah Sealy joined the rotation for the first time in SEC play.

Sealy impressed with three blocks and bolstered what would have been a six-player rotation — without Knox and Wagner — to seven. Thomas and Brazile played all 40 minutes, Acuff 38, Pringle 28 and Richmond 25. Sealy and forward Malique Ewin got 15 and 14 off the bench, respectively. Ewin played his fewest minutes, slightly, through 10 SEC games as his shoulder was later put in a wrap.

“I’ve done this before,” Calipari said. “I did it at (Massachusetts). We played five-to-six guys. I did it at Memphis. I did it at Kentucky. Guess what? Those teams were those teams — that had a chance to do whatever they wanted. So if this is what it is, this is what it is, but it would be nice to have a full team.”

If the Razorbacks (17-6, 7-3 SEC) are still shorthanded for an 8 p.m. Central tipoff at LSU (14-9, 2-8) on Tuesday, minutes will fall on everyone’s shoulders. Frontcourt production would rely on the Brazile-Richmond-Pringle trio again, should Ewin have a second quiet performance in a row.

Brazile and Richmond proved before how important they can be on the road. They totaled 31 points, 12 rebounds and 10 of 11 made shots in a 94-87 win at Ole Miss on Jan. 7. Like against Mississippi State, that game served as the front leg of Arkansas’ last two-game road trip in the SEC.

Pringle grabbed three offensive rebounds against Ole Miss and ended with five total. He more than doubled that count at Mississippi State (11-12, 3-7).

“It’s a difference for us,” Calipari said of Pringle. “We had four returners, but two of those guys are out now. Now, we’ve got a brand new team again. If you asked the guys that played 40 minutes, would you rather play 40 than 28? They’re saying yes, let me play 40 minutes.”

Matt Byrne is the Bob Holt Razorback Reporter, named in honor of the longtime reporter who covered University of Arkansas sports. This position is funded by the ADG Community Journalism Project.

Tuesday’s gameARKANSAS MEN AT LSUWHEN 8 p.m. CentralWHERE Maravich Assembly Center, Baton RougeRECORDS LSU 14-9, 2-8 SEC; Arkansas 17-6, 7-3TV SEC NetworkRADIO Razorback Sports Network