Battle Confirms Everything Fans Thought About Roller Coaster Season
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. - A season with a rich amount of hope ended with a thud against South Carolina Thursday at the SEC Tournament in Nashville. The Gamecocks displayed an incredible game plan full of half court sets which decimated Arkansas' defense with each possession.
Even on the offensive side of the court, a lot of endless dribbling, standing around the perimeter and a lack of effort reared its ugly head again. Players weren't getting back after solid defensive stops. The Razorbacks started the contest with an 11-3 lead but before a blink of an eye, South Carolina stormed back on top and never trailed again.
Razorback guard Khalif Battle, who's been on a scoring rampage over the last month of the season, was pretty candid on Arkansas' struggles against the Gamecocks.
"I think we're as talented as anyone in the country," Battle said following the game."[South Carolina] played together. They were a team out there...they were a team."
Noted is Arkansas' terrific performances against the blue bloods of the sport. A victory over once top ranked Purdue in an exhibition home game had fans assured a special season was underway. Sprinkled in was a loss to UNC-Greensboro before dropping games to North Carolina and Memphis in the Battle For Atlantis. A huge victory over Duke Nov. 29 dismissed any struggles the team had in the Caribbean. However, the next ten games unraveled a season of promise.
Arkansas lost five of its next six games by double digits. Many of those games saw lackadaisical performances with little to no effort. Several coach decisions were issued to keep Battle and El Ellis on the bench due to turnover and defensive issues.
When the Razorbacks defeated Missouri Jan. 31, things seemed to be turning the corner. Only one game had a deficit of more than nine points and that was a humdinger of a game on Valentine's Day against Tennessee.
Effort, energy, and enthusiasm returned to the Razorback bench although they finished with a 4-6 record in the final 10 regular season games. The six game stretch before the South Carolina loss saw Arkansas' offense operate fluidly scoring more than 80 points per game.
The teamwork which led to the buildup of momentum Thursday quickly left the sails of Arkansas' team. The special 'player's only' meeting certainly helped them defeat Vanderbilt in a monumental comeback. Sadly, the perk-up didn't last long as the team seemed disinterested in competing against a hungry, physical South Carolina team.
14 turnovers, being dominated in the paint 52-38 and allowing the Gamecocks to score a 19-6 edge in second chance points was a microcosm of the Razorbacks season.
A big question moving forward this offseason is what's next for Battle. He finished the game with 20 points on 7-of-12 shooting, and 5-of-5 from the free throw line. When asked of his plans to play basketball next season at Arkansas, he remains undecided.
"I don't know, we just lost," Battle said. "Right now, my mind is getting ready for next year. I don't know."
