There's Only 11 Seconds of Footage From the Razorback Game That Shouldn't Be Destroyed
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – There are games a team loses and it's important to make sure that game is played on loop and broken down frame by frame for learning opportunities.
Then there's the Arkansas 70-64 loss to Mississippi State in Bud Walton Arena.
There is no value in doing anything other than burning the tape, power surging the hard drive and burying anything, including any printed stat sheets under the Arkansas River.
From the very beginning, when the Bulldogs and Hogs traded blows for the first 12 minutes of the game, things felt off. The building was so eerily quiet that it was easy to hear the squeaks of the sneakers and the chatter among players as it echoed throughout Bud Walton.
That might be normal in several other arenas around the league, but in Fayetteville it was downright creepy.
As for the team, it was equally awkward.
To say there was no chemistry would be like saying President Joe Biden and Marjorie Taylor Greene don't like one another. It might have been the most out of sync any Razorback team has been since the early 1970s.
Players didn't know where others were on defense, leaving guys wide open on a regular basis, especially in the first half.
A group of Razorbacks who spent the past two weeks throwing perfectly placed lasers to guys they couldn't see were missing passes to teammates they were staring down.
Numerous wide open shots, including lay-ups and free throws, didn't go down. Sometimes shots got nowhere near the rim.
At one point, freshmen Jordan Walsh and Anthony Black stopped down to argue over how to throw in a basic inbounds pass.
Even Eric Musselman appeared to be off his game. Makhi Mitchell, who had been the most consistent Razorback through three quarters of the game with seven rebounds and six points, just fouled out with 10 minutes to go. It caught some people off guard because the signature Musselman foul management approach had signaled there was a potential issue.
Clearly, nothing anyone wants to or needs to remember.
There's only one thing that needs to be played on loop tied to this game. If placed strategically around the athletic facilities, the dorms and even well timed texts and e-mails, there won't be a need to worry about whether the team carries this with them or lose focus.
This.
If they have to watch this on loop until they put a boot in someone's backside on an SEC court, Musselman will have them focused for a proverbial fight sooner than later.
If being declared "Dog Food" in their own building doesn't get them fired up, there's a spot at the end of the bench where there's a Diet Coke that needs lid management.
