Not Enough Valentine's Candy to Sweeten Another Blowout Loss

Apathy has set in with Hogs being dominated on home floor again in second half

Author:
Jacob Davis
Updated:
Feb 15, 2024 9:12 AM EST
Original:
Feb 15, 2024

In this story:

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Same song, eighth verse. Arkansas continued to find ways to squander first-half hope with second half woes. Tennessee was given a run for its money during the first 20 minutes before running the Hogs straight out of Bud Walton in a 92-63 decision.

The Volunteers were able to do anything they liked on the offensive end, dominating the Razorbacks in the post with a 48-22 edge. A strength in previous games turned into the exact opposite. Tennessee was a perfect 9-of-9 on dunk attempts and connected on 12-of-21 point blank shots.

Although Arkansas forced Tennessee into 12 turnovers, the Volunteers still held a 28-12 lead in points off turnovers Wednesday night. The Hogs scored only 23 points in the second half on 25% shooting from the field and 2-10 mark from three.

Razorbacks coach Eric Musselman on sideline against Tennessee

Those less than desirable numbers came after one of the Razorbacks' best offensive performances of the season during first half. The team scored 40 points, 52% from the field and 6-of-13 made three-point attempts. When things snowballed out of control, it was like an avalanche of issues to overcome.

Maybe the Razorbacks should be better than this considering the collective individual talents who specialized in offensive ability. Some transfers not panning out as expected can happen time to time, but it's hard not to think certain players have regressed. El Ellis, Keyon Menifield and Khalif Battle were thought to be alpha's with scoring mentalities, but the trio is averaging a smidge over 24 points per game, way below the 46 per game they scored last season.

There may not be a true answer for the Razorbacks moving forward with road games against Mississippi State and Texas A&M on the horizon. Sadly, fans' reaction to Wednesday's loss looked fully apathetic as the Razorbacks have lost their 12th game of the season, one more than the Sweet 16 team from 2022-23.

Doug Shows' crew found themselves at the review table multiple times throughout the eventual blowout. One call that was mightily ridiculed was Jalen Graham being whistled for 'basket interference' despite not actually touching the ball while it was on the rim. The Tramon Mark basket did not count initially going into the locker room, but that wasn't due to the lack of arguing from Eric Musselman.

The call was eventually overturned and ended up not mattering in the big scheme of things.

Most of the sporadic minutes were in the second half, right? With the Razorbacks down six at the half it seemed like the team would continue to fight to the end. Richard, Arkansas has seven more games left in the regular season with an extra match-up coming in the SEC Tournament.

When the Razorbacks found themselves down 12 before the under-16 media timeout, it sort of felt like the game would soon get out of hand. Within a minute the feeling was valid as the lead swelled to 20 with 15:07 to go. Arkansas found itself down 32 with seconds remaining before a three-point play by Joseph Pinion kept his team from being beaten by 30 at home again.

Tennessee is a good team. Guard play and size in the post will be a solid combination for a deep run in the NCAA Tournament. The Volunteers could find themselves in a lot of brackets as a Final Four pick.

One final note, over the previous four years Eric Musselman and his staff prided themselves on halftime and in-game adjustments to pull out wins. While the Razorbacks seem to keep up a fight for a majority of the first 20 minutes, they can't find similar energy for the final stanza. This Arkansas team might be broken. A fragile group that's hit in the mouth once cowers quickly. Sadly, that hasn't been a trait of any of Musselman's teams in the past.

Arkansas will have to choose to fight Saturday against Mississippi State on the road. Considering the Razorbacks previous history at The Hump, perhaps they'll just roll over and throw another pity party again.