UAPB’s Zone Defense Gave Arkansas an Early Test Before Meeting Virginia On Sunday

Calipari's Razorbacks adjusted to zone well after not practicing against it often in preseason

Arkansas Razorbacks guard Jordan Smith Jr (23) dribbles the ball against UAPB Golden Lions guard Braylon Johnson (20) during the first half at Bud Walton Arena. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

FAYETTEVILLE — When UA-Pine Bluff rolled out a 1-3-1 zone in the first half against Arkansas, it made it so much harder for Arkansas to adjust on the offensive end.

Up until that point, the Razorbacks have seen mostly man-to-man defenses and that was mostly at coaches request because they hardly practiced against it. Last season, teams wouldn't dare to run much zone against coach John Calipari's squad because they understood how to overcome that.

So, when Golden Lions coach Solomon Bozeman opted to introduce the 1-3-1, it finally broke off the Razorbacks' 25-0 run from the opening minutes of the first half to the 11:54 mark. It forced Arkansas guards Jordan Smith Jr., Jeremiah Wilkinson and Billy Richmond III to slow down and operate in the halfcourt instead of getting out in transition for every basket.

The three-point attempts slowed down a bit, but Calipari's team adjusted on the fly and figured out how to attack them from the rim to actively knocking down midrange jump shots.

For the game, Arkansas shot well from the field, knocking down 35-of-64 (54.7%) attempts, but were only able to connect on just 6-of-18 shots from three. But where the Razorbacks were able to capitalize the most on Tuesday night was around the rim, outscoring UAPB 54-30 in the paint and blocked seven shots compared the Golden Lions' one.

"How much have I worked on zone," Calipari asked rhetorically. " Like what, two days, literally. I went and watched some of [UAPB's] tape from a year ago. I didn't have tape for this year but I saw them play that 1-3-1 (zone defense). So we worked for two days on how you can attack a 1-3-1 and be aggressive. But it didn't matter.

Arkansas Razorbacks guard Jordan Smith Jr (23) shoots the ball while falling to the floor during the first half against the UAPB Golden Lions at Bud Walton Arena. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

"They put us on our heels a little bit. Now, we got drives and lobs and dunks after we got going. And then the other thing, they went to a 2-2-1 (zone). And usually, you stretch the court on us, we're usually pretty good because we'll always have a a dunker near the basket. So, you're either giving us a three or a dunk or a layup."

Arkansas still left some points around the rim, finishing 10-of-16 on layups and dunks. However, the Razorbacks made 17-of-23 other attempts in the lane to finish with 54 points in the paint.

The Razorbacks will return to the hardwood on Sunday, Nov. 8 in Washington D.C. at the Capital One Arena for a Noon CT tip-off against the Virginia Cavaliers of the ACC. This will be the first meeting between the two storied basketball programs since Nov. 18, 1998 in Fairbanks, Alaska.

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