Razorbacks Follow Recipe, Still Fall Short Against Alabama

Arkansas' furious rally fell short against Alabama despite having many of the necessary ingredients

Razorbacks' coach John Calipari on what changed after two straight wins

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — All the ingredients were in place to cook up an upset at Bud Walton Arena on Saturday, but Arkansas' furious rally fell short against No. 3 Alabama, 85-81.

The losses have been few and far between for the Crimson Tide (20-3, 9-1 SEC), but there have been a trio of patterns on each defeat.

In setbacks against Purdue, Oregon and Ole Miss, star senior guard Mark Sears was held to 15 or fewer points on a combined 3 of 21 shooting from three.

Arkansas limited Sears to just 11 points on a 1 of 4 clip from beyond the arc, while forcing six turnovers out of the Preseason SEC Player of the Year.

The Crimson Tide averaged just over 14 turnovers per contest in their three losses, which was the exact number Nate Oats' squad finished with against the Razorbacks on Saturday.

When Alabama has lost, an opposing front court player has been the difference maker. Purdue's Trey Kaufman-Renn went for 26 points and 8 rebounds, Oregon's Nate Bittle had 19 and 9, and Ole Miss' Malik Dia put up 23 and 19.

Arkansas doubled down with big games from its forwards as Zvonimir Ivisic erupted for a career-high 27 points to go along with 7 rebounds, 3 blocks and 3 steals to go along with a 22-point, 6-rebound performance out of Adou Thiero.

BIG Z BIG 3 pic.twitter.com/0dcDGyyvPD

— Arkansas Razorbacks Men’s Basketball 🐗 (@RazorbackMBB) February 9, 2025

Check, check and check...

Of course, there are no moral victories at this stage with Arkansas' razor-thin margin for error when it comes to NCAA Tournament hope.

But there is something to be said for a team that has gone from the worst SEC start in program history to checking most of the key boxes to knocking off a team that may well be ranked No. 1 when the AP Poll updates on Monday.

The Razorbacks have a ways to go and plenty of work left to be done, but there is no questioning the strides that have been made since being forced to reinvent the wheel in the absence of freshman standout Boogie Fland.

Arkansas Razorbacks head coach John Calipari reacts during the game against the Alabama Crimson Tide at Bud Walton Arena. Alabama won 85-81. | Nelson Chenault-Imagn Images

Sure, Arkansas' backcourt could have picked up some of the slack offensively for a vast majority of the game, but it was also a major catalyst for a defensive effort that limited the high-octane Alabama offense to just five made three-pointers on 19 attempts.

Foul trouble, frustration and a lack of shot-making led to a seven-minute stretch to start the second half that saw a four-point deficit turn into 18 before Arkansas flipped the switch and put Alabama on its heels and into survival mode in the final stretch.

An air-ball offensive rebound allowed, a missed free throw and the inability to secure a defensive rebound following an Alabama missed free throw kept Arkansas from finishing off the comeback by stealing a victory, but the valiant effort to fight back actually gave the Razorbacks a slight bump in its KenPom efficiency ratings.

Welcome to life on the bubble where all the math matters. Every win is precious, but style points also matter in losing efforts in the unforgiving gauntlet of the SEC.

Arkansas' four-point loss to Alabama stings less than Oklahoma's blowout home loss to Tennessee, it is less costly than Georgia's home loss to Mississippi State and certainly not as damaging as Texas blowing a double-digit lead at Vanderbilt.

The Razorbacks (14-9, 3-7 SEC) return to action Wednesday night at Bud Walton Arena with revenge on the mind in a must-win rematch against LSU.

HOGS FEED:

• Good news from Big Z likely to help Razorbacks in NET rankings

• REACTION: Razorbacks' grit sparks huge run despite falling short to Tide

• Razorbacks' Comeback Falls Short Against Alabama; Win Streak Ends

• Razorbacks' Peppi looks to impact line-up with elite energy

• All-American Sears drives No. 3 Alabama's high-octane offense

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