If there were a nuclear silo located in the depths of Bud Walton Arena, it would be time to push the lever to DEFCON 1.
Arkansas’ fourth consecutive loss pushed John Calipari and the Razorbacks to 0-4 in SEC play after a fellow 0-3 team in LSU took down the Hogs in Baton Rouge, 78-74.
The nature of Arkansas’ SEC losses are becoming repetitive: Arkansas is usually able to get out to a solid first-half advantage before coughing up its lead. The Razorbacks surrender far too many offensive rebounds, and when tasked with getting back into a game, they usually see their offense go cold.
Turnovers were also costly for Arkansas in the loss. The Razorbacks turned the basketball over 12 times, including an oddity of a play where guard Johnell Davis simply dribbled the ball off his knee after grabbing a rebound.
Layups continued to be a point of contention for Arkansas, who had a host of shots blocked at the rim in Tuesday’s loss. After struggling to finish around the rim in its loss to Florida, Arkansas had 11 shots blocked in the loss.
It’s tough to point at one issue that’s plaguing Arkansas the most, but Calipari has his work cut out for him to turn things around. Expectations of a deep NCAA Tournament run in Year 1 were lofty, but an 0-4 start at a school with a rich basketball history won’t sit well with Razorbacks nation.
Four games into SEC play, Calipari and his staff can officially press the panic button.
Arkansas will travel to Missouri on Saturday in what is undoubtedly a must-win game for a Razorbacks squad searching for any semblance of momentum.
