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Razorbacks' win over Ole Miss made old man raise eye brow for first time in 30 years

Arkansas' SEC win Wednesday more impressive than when Calipari's Hogs knocked off Texas Tech
Kent Smith|
Arkansas Razorbacks head coach John Calipari reacts to a call in the second half of the game against the Tennessee Volunteers at Bud Walton Arena.
Arkansas Razorbacks head coach John Calipari reacts to a call in the second half of the game against the Tennessee Volunteers at Bud Walton Arena. | Nelson Chenault-Imagn Images

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Arkansas Razorbacks

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Since the mid-1990s, Arkansas teams have come and gone that at some point in the season found the bluster to try to convince college basketball fans that the dominance of the late '80s until the 1995 Razorbacks team was back in Arkansas.

There was some elite talent that blew into town or a homegrown star who was going to be the backbone of the next run of greatness. There was also a coach or two who either was supposed to hold promise or at least had a little something about him.

However, as time progressed, a few things became evident.

1. Most people had forgotten how much of an unstoppable force the Hogs had forged themselves into in 1994 and 1995 to become THE national power.

2. It takes a larger than life coach who has the respect of his players to allow themselves to be pushed beyond their limits whom happens to be reaching his own ultra focused level of magic.

That's why for those of us who witnessed it first hand, nothing has really raised an eyebrow even though Eric Musselman and John Calipari are quality coaches who have achieved a good level of success with the Razorbacks this decade.

That was until Wednesday night. 

Where most expected a ho-hum midweek game against a struggling Ole Miss team featuring a fan base with far bigger things to prepare for than the Hogs coming to town (and it showed in the already typically empty stands), the thought for those who have logged countless years of watching SEC basketball was a loss was coming and there wasn't much that could be done about it.

And it played out like it should have. The eerie silence of the gym was bothersome in stretches and each time Arkansas tried to put the game away, Malik Dia or one of his buddies would hit a timely shot and climb right back in it.

At one point, Calipari had his team up by 16 in the second half, and Chris Beard, who was perfect against the Hogs, subbed his whole line-up out of frustration and suddenly the march was on. After yo-yoing back and forth, Arkansas was about to run out of gas and drop this one late.

However, the Hogs did something less than a handful of teams in Razorbacks history could have done — win that game. Not even the 1994 national championship team managed to survive its Ole Miss moment.

There simply aren't that many teams that possess the roster talent needed to win that game, much less be able to pull together the level of execution required to keep holding onto the lead.

Forward Billy Richmond didn't miss a shot — that doesn't mean a field goal, that means a shot of any kind — and it still wouldn't have been enough to get a win without extraordinary efforts taking place around him.

Freshman guard Darius Acuff threw together a 26-point, nine assist night with a couple of steals and a block thrown in for good measure and it still wasn't enough when paired with Richmond's heat check.

As soon as Ole Miss would get a Razorback somewhat under control, another would start filling the stat box. Forward Trevon Brazile, who finished with 18, buried two quick threes off assists from Acuff and freshman guard Maleek Thomas to close the half, which ultimately proved a major factor in the win, but at the time was just a burst to stretch a four-point lead to 10 at the half.

Even though five Hogs managed double digits in points, no other stat category went above single digits for any Razorbacks, yet the box score was absolutely stuffed with intangible team play.

Five Hogs came away with steals, including a pair each by Thomas and Acuff.

Arkansas had four players with at least five rebounds, four Hogs came up with blocks even though Ole Miss didn't play a game that was conducive for it, six Razorbacks posted assists and the Hogs shot a smokey 10-of-24 from three while knocking down 22 free throws.

Most importantly, no matter how temporarily cold a player went or how much play began to flow through another player, like when the game started going through Karter Knox for a while in the first half, literally everyone hustled and found a way to have an impact on the game.

Neither the ball, nor the players, stopped moving at any point. That's ultimately why they came out on top on the scoreboard.

Ole Miss won a game Wednesday night, it just somehow didn't get the victory.

For the first time since 1995, Arkansas has a team that is legit. For the first time since 1995, there is a vortex of Hall of Fame quality coach who also happens to be living up to what he knows he can truly be deep inside.

Does that mean Arkansas is going to win a national championship? No. Cam Boozer and the Duke Blue Devils have a little bit of an unstoppable force thing going on that can be harnessed.

Does that mean Calipari will at least lead the Hogs to the finals? That depends on whether he is willing to hold himself as accountable as he holds his players, especially come March where he has a history of getting sloppy.

All it means is for the first time in 30 years Arkansas feels like it can plow its way to the finals rather than need to luck its way in.

Wednesday made that much perfectly clear.

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Kent Smith
KENT SMITH

Kent Smith has been in the world of media and film for nearly 30 years. From Nolan Richardson's final seasons, former Razorback quarterback Clint Stoerner trying to throw to anyone and anything in the blazing heat of Cowboys training camp in Wichita Falls, the first high school and college games after 9/11, to Troy Aikman's retirement and Alex Rodriguez's signing of his quarter billion dollar contract, Smith has been there to report on some of the region's biggest moments. 

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