If Hogs Turned Corner, They'll Have to Prove it Tonight

Arkansas adjusting to loss of Fland, but showed determination against Georgia

Arkansas Razorbacks forward Adou Thiero (3) grabs a rebound in front of Georgia Bulldogs freshman forward Asa Newell (14) during the second half at Bud Walton Arena on Wednesday. The Hogs won the board battle by 10 and topped Georgia 68-65 for their first SEC victory. | Nelson Chenault-Imagn Images

Lesson learned or simply an anomaly? That's the big question as Arkansas heads into tonight's home game against Oklahoma. Can the Hogs play hard for 40 minutes and do the little things that add up to victory or will the team revert to its previous standard of mediocrity?

The Razorbacks talked like they turned a corner with Wednesday's home victory against Georgia. They trailed by 12 at halftime and by 15 with 15:24 to play. That's when they got serious, went to work, and closed with an impressive 35-17 run.

Their determination took the fight out of the Bulldogs and even forced some silly errors by the visitors, including an egregious turnover that resulted in a Nelly Davis steal when it was tied and less than a minute remaining.

Arkansas Razorbacks guard Johnell Davis (1) made only 3-of-14 shots against Georgia, including 1-of-10 treys but Calipari is confident his grad transfer will be a spark down the stretch. | Nelson Chenault-Imagn Images

The Hogs also had their best rebounding game of the season, the key to victory as coach John Calipari said. They beat the Bulldogs by 10 on the glass and felt they proved a point.

"We had to take pride," said Adou Thiero, who scored the Hogs' last five points in the 68-65 win. "Word around the SEC, you know, we’re soft. They’re going to try to come here and punk us. Nah. We had to fix that and show we have fight in us. You’re not going to come in here and punk us around, no matter what."

The Hogs prevailed without point guard Boogie Fland, their second leading scorer who is second in the SEC in assists. They celebrated the win in the locker room and called Fland in New York City where he underwent successful surgery on his right thumb earlier that day so he could join in the fun.

The win was also a huge relief for this Arkansas team that started 0-5 in the SEC, a surprising development — albeit against a tough schedule — that grabbed the attention of the college basketball world and made the team, and especially Calipari, the butt of ridicule and derision.

"Having to deal with a lot of outside noise, everybody saying we’re soft, we don’t rebound, so we had to buckle up and really get to it," Thiero said, doubling down on his contention the Hogs are not a "soft" team. "I’d say also, having Boogie out, we had to realize that we got to step up, each one of us. He’s a big part of our team and we got to do other little things to help us win. Everybody stepped up today and we were able to do that."

Still, playing without Fland likely for the remainder of the season is a tough task. The freshman point guard handled the ball most of the time and directed the offense while, more often than not, taking over at crunch time. Thiero said the Hogs are adjusting, but have confidence they can still win.

"We’re trying not to focus on it," he said. "We know that there is outside noise going on. We know that after everybody heard that Boogie was out, everybody just lost hope in us. We knew that and everybody doubted us, but we told each other we’re going to stick through this together. We’re going to have each other’s back and we’re just going to fight through it. We’re going to get through it. You see what we did out there [against Georgia]."

After getting whipped at Tennessee in their SEC opener, the Hogs returned home and led Ole Miss by nine in the first half, but lost by seven. Then they jumped to an 11-2 lead at home against Florida and were within three with less than six minutes left but lost by eight.

They traveled to LSU and led by 12 in the first half, eight in the second, but lost by four. At Missouri, they scored first, but got blitzed by an 18-0 Mizzou spurt and never recovered.

So, while Calipari and the players claim they've been in about every game, they're not wrong. But Tennessee and Mizzou pretty much dominated wire-to-wire.

"The games we lost in SEC play, we were a couple minutes away from winning the game or being in the game," Thiero said. "We go on dry spells, that’s our fault. Shots not falling. Offensive rebounds that we’re giving the other team.

"So, (against Georgia) we just had to buckle down and tell each other, like, to win a game, you’ve got to do the things we haven’t done to win yet, and that’s why we haven’t won. Today, we decided to buckle down and really go out there and fight and show everyone we’re here to stay. We can (start) 0-5, but we’re going to keep fighting. We’re not going to give up."

As the old saying goes, actions speak louder than words. Arkansas has a chance to fashion a mini-winning streak before getting a week off prior to a much-anticipated game at Kentucky, Calipari's former school.

Is total effort and a refuse-to-lose attitude now the norm for Arkansas or will the players revert to inconsistency and acting like an NBA team while coasting and taking off possessions?

Feels like the Hogs (12-7, 1-5 in the SEC) will prevail against the Sooners (14-4, 1-4) tonight at 7:30 p.m. in Bud Walton Arena. The fans helped the Hogs sustain momentum against Georgia. It'll take a total team effort to do it again against a talented Oklahoma team.

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