Calipari Must Avoid Falling to Same Fate as Arkansas Football Team

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. -- On what coincidentally is the biggest weekend in the world of football, Arkansas basketball coach John Calipari is left with one nagging question that he can only hope will be answered in a positive way against Mississippi State and LSU over the next few days.

Are his Arkansas Razorbacks in danger of becoming the hardwood equivalent to the Hogs' 2025 football team? Now, the snarky fan is already snapping "That's not possible, stupid! Look at how many games they have already won."

And, yes, it must be conceded that no matter the outcome, the overall record will not have the same winning percentage. However, look back at the question.

It says in danger of becoming like the 2025 football team. That means moving forward, and there is a very real possibility the answer to the question in that format is yes.

The comparison is becoming uncanny. Early in the football season there were hints there were problems on the Arkansas defense.

While teams weren't scoring at will yet through much of the non-conference play, it was clear once conference play got rolling, SEC coaches would notice the weaknesses and take advantage. They would eventually reach a point where they could score at will, leaving the offense with the weight of needing to play a perfect game so it could have the ball at the end with a chance to get the Hogs a win.

Now look at the basketball team. Throughout the early parts of the season there were moments where it became clear the Razorbacks were going to have to improve on interior defense or SEC teams were going to start to torch the Hogs down low.

As the year moved forward, it became obvious that's exactly what was going to happen.

Georgia went after Arkansas down low when needed and got everything it needed to win. There were easy baskets and rebounds, especially on the offensive end, were available to be had when the moment required it.

They also took advantage of turnovers and created numerous opportunities for fast break points. The Bulldogs put up 29 points off turnovers, 26 points off fast breaks and 36 points down in the paint, almost all the result of bad rebounding and poor defense.

Meanwhile, desperate for a win to get a seriously unstable Kentucky fan base off his back for only winning five of the Wildcats' past six games, Mark Pope took Georgia's blueprint and simplified it.

He saw easy pickings inside and had his team go after the Hogs' weak interior defense time and time again. By game's end, his Wildcats put up 46 of their 85 points by attacking the paint relentlessly while snatching 35 rebounds.

Ten points, literally the difference between winning and losing, came on second chance points created by coming away with 10 offensive rebounds.

There was nothing Arkansas could do to stop it. Not only did Kentucky rack ups points at will, they drew fouls that helped soften things even more.

The Hogs racked up 24 fouls, nearly twice what they posted at Oklahoma days earlier, all because they couldn't hang inside. While Kentucky shot horribly at the line, the mass of 30 free throws generated allowed the Wildcats to still put up 19 points, giving them a solid statistical edge.

The game became about both extreme Razorbacks weaknesses — interior defense and free throw shooting. The latter is the equivalent of special teams and right now the Hogs are bombing in that category and not in a good way.

What this has done is put immense pressure on guards Darius Acuff and DJ Wagner (who is expected to miss Saturday). They now have to find a way to put points on the board every time down the floor.

Much like forner Arkansas quarterback Taylen Green, they can't afford turnovers or missed opportunities going forward. It's reached a point where a single slip-up can cost the game because the backcourt has become so easy to exploit.

If Chris Jans can convince Mississippi State to attack the rim and really focus on rebounds, the losing streak in Starkville is going to continue.

Same case for LSU. The Tigers nearly took down Arkansas in Bud Walton a couple of weeks ago where the Bayou Bengals have lost all seven games this decade.

Now the blueprint has been made clear by Kentucky. If they go hard in the paint, they are likely to score so easily and often that the Arkansas offense simply can't keep up.

Calipari has had a little extra time to work on the Hogs' defense after getting Tuesday night off. Unfortunately for him, Mississippi State got the night off also to prep how to take down Arkansas.

"When you get a break in the season, normally, your team needs it, and we'll regroup," Calipari said. "I like my team ... We've had some stinkers like this. We've had three or four of them. But then there's other times you look at us and you're like, 'We can beat anybody,' so we just got to get back in that. And then there's some things defensively we got to, you know, figure out."

If the Hogs' offense is really rolling, the team is likely to find itself in a one-shot game in favor of either side. The pressure will be heavy to get the last shot and make it because if it doesn't work out that way, the opposing team is either going to get a clean shot at the rim or draw a foul.

Arkansas loses either way. Either Calipari finds a way to fix the Hogs' interior defense beginning this weekend, or he watches while his team drops close game after close game with a big blowout mixed in every now and then.

This team can easily become the basketball counterpart to the 2025 football team. People will be shocked at how much talent was on the roster at the NBA combine and openly ponder how it all fell apart.

The answer will be simple. The defense just didn't have it in the tank.

The offense put up numbers that made everything look kind of shiny, but not enough to overcome the black hole on the opposite side.

If Mississippi State's Josh Hubbard is held under 30, that will be a start. If the Hogs can plug the holes against the Bulldogs and Tigers there's still a shot at a deep run.

If not, making the tournament is going to be a chore.

Much like bowl games didn't honor the football team for being the best 2-10 team in college football history, the selection committee isn't going to honor Calipari's Razorbacks for being the best 2-8 team in college basketball down the stretch either.

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