Calipari Making History in Debut Season + More from LSU Loss

John Calipari, Arkansas basketball, Arkansas vs LSU
photo credit: Craven Whitlow

Arkansas squandered two opportunities to step on LSU’s neck and botched a late-game rally Tuesday night.

The result was yet another disappointing loss, as the Razorbacks fell to the Tigers 78-74 inside the Pete Maravich Center in Baton Rouge, La., to remain winless in SEC play.

It’s just the second time Arkansas has ever started 0-4 since joining the league in 1991-92 and only the third time over the past 54 seasons — a span that started before Eddie Sutton took over — that it lost its first four conference games. The Razorbacks also sputtered to that mark in 2008-09 (SEC) and 1985-86 (SWC).

Given the hire of Hall of Fame coach John Calipari and ultra-talented roster funded by one of the biggest NIL budgets in the sport, it’s certainly not the kind of start anyone expected before the season.

“I’m just disappointed in myself that I’m not getting through to get these guys where we have to get over the hump,” Calipari said. “I may have to drag them to the finish line in some of these games. If I have to coach that way, I will.”

While the first three losses were to legitimate top-25 opponents, Tuesday was a gut-punch because LSU was also 0-3 in SEC play and it was viewed as one of the most winnable Quadrant 1 opportunities remaining on Arkansas’ schedule.

It will also be a game the Razorbacks look back on and regret losing if they turn things around only to fall just outside the bubble for the NCAA Tournament.

No Knock-Out Punch

That’s because Arkansas was seemingly in control of things twice — once in each half.

Even after essentially wasting LSU’s 1-of-13 start to the game, the Razorbacks used a 12-0 run to jump out to a 28-16 lead with 7:02 remaining in the first half.

Instead of building upon — or at least maintaining — that lead, Arkansas let it almost completely evaporate before the break. The Tigers out-scored Arkansas 18-8 the rest of the way and capped the half with a last-second 3 by Cam Carter, who also snapped the earlier run by drilling a tough jumper with a defender in his face.

It was the Razorbacks’ first second-half lead in an SEC game this season, but it didn’t last long. LSU needed less than a minute to give them their first deficit of the night. After a brief back-and-forth, though, Arkansas used a 13-1 run to give it some breathing room, 52-44.

This time, the Tigers responded with 14 straight points and never relinquished the lead. Turnovers were a huge factor in the run, with back-to-back mistakes by Trevon Brazile directly leading to the last half of those points.

First, Brazile tried to force a pass into traffic and it was knocked away. On the ensuing fast break, Daimion Collins’ thunderous dunk put LSU on top. On the very next possession, Brazile tried to set a screen and was whistled for an offensive foul that was then upgraded to a Flagrant 1. Carter made both free throws and Jordan Sears buried a deep 3.

“I look at this team and I know we’re better than we’re playing,” Calipari said in his postgame interview on the UA radio broadcast. “I mean, we’re making some back-to-back turnover, flagrant, all stuff that just wipes you out.”

Clock Management Issues

As frustrating as it was to see both leads vanish, LSU still nearly choked the game away down the stretch. Fortunately for the Tigers, mental mistakes prevented Arkansas from fully taking advantage of their semi-collapse.

It looked like it was all but over when Mike Williams III made two free throws to make it a seven-point margin with 46 seconds left.

However, Brazile made a quick 3 — his second of the night — and the Razorbacks forced a turnover in the back court. Adou Thiero ended up at the free throw line and made both get them within 76-74.

With the shot clock off, Arkansas was forced to foul and Sears knocked down both to improve LSU to 26 of 28 (92.9%) from the charity stripe. Still a two-possession game, the Razorbacks needed a quick bucket and another foul to keep extending the game.

Instead, nearly 13 seconds ran off the clock before Fland finally drove and got a shot off. Even though Arkansas ended up with the ball after he missed and Brazile failed to tip it in, too much time had come off the clock for the Razorbacks to have much of a chance of making up the four-point difference.

“Trying to just space the court and get something and Boogie got it going, so we just let him keep going,” Calipari said when asked about the clock management after the game.

It’d be one thing if this was an isolated incident, but the lack of urgency when trailing late in games appears to be a trend:

Pattern Continues for Davis

There also seems to be a pattern developing with Johnell Davis.

The heralded transfer has now followed up two scoreless outings — at Tennessee and against Florida — with really encouraging first-half performances, only to disappear in the second half.

Coming off the bench at LSU, Davis looked about as comfortable as he’s looked all year early on. He had the ball in his hands more and was making plays. Not only did he knock down some shots, which resulted in 10 points, but he also made a great pass to Jonas Aidoo cutting to the basket. On defense, he played with excellent effort, deflecting passes and diving for loose balls.

However, much like he did against Ole Miss, Davis looked like a completely different player after halftime.

In addition to failing to score, the Gary, Ind., native had one of the most costly sequences of the game, ranking up there with Brazile’s aforementioned stretch.

Down by just four with about 7 minutes left, Davis grabbed a defensive rebound to give the Razorbacks the ball with a chance to make it a one-possession game. However, as he started to make his way up the court, he dribbled the ball off his leg and it went out of bounds for an unforced turnover.

It was the second straight game he’s committed a turnover that way and LSU made the most of the opportunity, with Carter drawing a foul and making a pair of free throws.

Making matters worse, Davis threw the ball away on the ensuing possession, too. That led to a 3 by Carter and suddenly the Tigers were back up by 9.

It has been an extremely disappointing season for the consensus top-3 transfer, even when factoring in the wrist injury he dealt with before the season and into non-conference play. Now healthy, though, Davis has made a field goal in just two of eight halves through four SEC games.

Take out the first halves of the Ole Miss and LSU games, Davis is 0 of 17, including 0 of 11 from beyond the arc, with 10 rebounds, 1 assist and 7 turnovers. In his 77 minutes of action, again excluding those two halves, Arkansas is minus-41.

Fact Checking Calipari

If you look at the shooting numbers in the Arkansas vs LSU game, you might think the Razorbacks came out on top.

The Tigers shot a slightly higher percentage — 40.0% vs. 39.1% — but they took 14 fewer shots. Arkansas also shot better from beyond the arc, going 9 of 20 (45.0%) compared to 8 of 22 (36.4%).

The difference in the game came at the free throw line. Both teams missed only two attempts from the charity stripe, but LSU took 15 more than Arkansas. It went 26 of 28 (92.9%) and the Razorbacks were 11 of 13 (84.6%).

“You got to get to the foul line and we are a team that normally gets to the foul line,” Calipari said. “We just didn’t this game.”

That statement simply is not true.

While Arkansas did attempt 35 free throws in its previous game against Florida, that was easily a season high, topping the 27 it took against both Little Rock and Illinois.

Through 17 games, the Razorbacks are averaging just 18.3 free throw attempts, which ranks 234th nationally and dead last in the SEC. They’re also 243rd in the country with a 30.5% free throw rate — which has continued a recent trend of Calipari’s teams at Kentucky.

Up Next for Arkansas Basketball

It’s not getting any easier for Arkansas moving forward, as it heads north to Columbia, Mo., for another road game Saturday evening.

Missouri will enter that game with a 14-3 overall record and 3-1 mark in SEC play after knocking off No. 5 Florida 83-82 in Gainesville. The Tigers’ only losses this season have been to current top-25 teams Memphis, Illinois and Auburn.

Tipoff is scheduled for 5 p.m. CT and the game will be televised on SEC Network.

Other Arkansas Basketball Tidbits

  • Entering Tuesday’s game, Arkansas opponents had only 38 total blocks in 16 games. Against LSU, the Razorbacks had 11 shots blocked. That was a season high, surpassing the 10 by both Tennessee and Pacific.
  • Boogie Fland had a nice game for Arkansas, scoring a team-high 19 points on 6 of 17 shooting with 5 assists and 2 turnovers. He’s now averaging 15.7 points, which currently ranks fifth among freshmen in UA history. He’s also up to 97 total assists this year, which moves him past Ronnie Brewer for sixth among freshmen in UA history.
  • Adou Thiero (13 points, 10 rebounds) and Jonas Aidoo (12 points, 10 rebounds) each posted double-doubles for Arkansas. According to HogStats, it’s the first time the Razorbacks have had a pair of points-rebounds double-doubles in an SEC game since Jaylen Barford and Danield Gafford did it against Auburn in 2018.
  • It was a bit of a revenge game for Daimion Collins, who played his first two years under John Calipari at Kentucky. Now in his second season at LSU, the former five-star recruit posted 7 points, 10 rebounds and 4 blocks against his former coach. The latter two of those were career highs.

Check out complaints about John Calipari among some media here:

Arkansas vs LSU Highlights

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Calipari Postgame Interview

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Arkansas vs LSU Box Score

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