Calipari- Lack of 'fearlessness' caused Hogs to falls one shot short vs Bama

The fearless mindset message Arkansas Razorback coach John Calipari has preached in his first year at Fayetteville to one of the youngest team's in the Southeast Conference may have reached a tipping point late in Saturday's 85-81 loss to No. 3 ranked Alabama.

With the home crowd at Bud Walton Arena on the edge of their collective seats after watching their Razorbacks come back from an 18-point deficit with 6:29 left in the game to.find themselves down by three with the ball in the final seconds, the hall of fame coach called a timeout. He drew up a play that could have sent the game into overtime — or even resulted in a chance to win in regulation.

Everything John Calipari and players said after loss to Alabama

At that point however, the same not-yet-ready-for-prime-time ghosts that have plagued the team all season — and to start the game — reared their ugly heads and kept Arkansas (14-9, 3-7 SEC) from rising to the occasion and taking a final shot at upsetting the visiting Crimson Tide (20-3, 9-1 SEC).

"(Playing fearless) is what they have to do, and I told them after," Calipari said anticipating Alabama would foul rather than allow Arkansas to tie the game with a shot behind the arc. "The last play — Nelly was supposed to shoot it or Z because we told them (Alabama is) fouling. They are going to foul you, so you couldn't run something where the guy was going away from the basket because he can't shoot it. So we looped him...Could have been (a four-point play) but he threw it to Z. Shoot it anyway. You get three shots. So, again, now that's a situation they absolutely understand. You win or you learn. We learn there."

Johnell "Nelly" Davis, who turned down the final shot, finished the game in double figures for the fourth-straight time since starting point guard Boogie Fland was lost for the season with a broken thumb. Davis finished with 13 while fellow transfers Zvonimir Ivisic (27-poinrts) and the team's leading scorer Adou Thiero (22) carried much of the load on a night where Arkansas looked more like the team that struggled offensively en route to a 1-6 start to SEC play.

Holding back the Tide

Alabama, which is known for a high-octane, high-three-point shooting offense under coach Nate Oats won the game thanks to 56 points scored inside the lane. Arkansas' defense held Alabama to an uncharacteristically low 26 percent shooting from long range, but continued a troubling trend of surrendering unusually high baskets inside.

"They did a pretty good job defensively, running us off the line, being super physical, and not letting our shooters come off some screens," said Oats who led his team to the national championship game last season. His tide came into the season picked to win it all this season, and is expected to be ranked No. 1 again after No. 2 Duke and currently top-ranked and bitter SEC rival Auburn lost on Saturday. "We've got to do a better job generating threes for guys. But when our threes aren't dropping, it's good to know we'd score in the paint."

The pain inside

Senior forward Grant Nelson and senior guard Chris Youngblood led the Tide with 15 points each in the game. Senior All-American point guard Mark Sears was held well below his season average of 17 with 11 points in the game. Also in double figures for Alabama was Sophomore forward Mouhamed Dioubate who scored 14 after averaging six points on the season.

"I thought D'Aubate gave us a huge lift," Oats said. "He plays fifteen minutes, has 14 points, doesn't take a three, seven-of-nine from from the floor. They were all right there at the rim. His physicality caused them some problems... Grant scores 15, you know, five with the free throw line, the other 10 are all at the rim. So, yeah, I we didn't take a non rim two all night. We're zero for zero."

Generation Z

Arkansas managed to stay in the game largely thanks to a career-high scoring night from Ivisic, who also recorded a double double in Wednesday's road victory over Texas. The 7'2 sophomore transfer from Croatia added seven rebounds, three blocked shots and three steals to his stat line against Alabama.

" (Biz Z) played great," said Razorback point guard D.J. Wagner who notched nine assists and eight points in the game. "You know, he had a lot of big shots. He played hard. That just shows he is the great player he is. I'm not really surprised the way he played because that's who he is...We all need him. He impacts our team everywhere."

Ivisic's rising impact wasn't lost on Oats who added, "Big Z, he killed us tonight. I thought we had decent game plan for him but then he executed great at times and he made some tough shots. He's super skilled player."

Rising Billy Richmond

Aside from the inability to fight through the fear factor at the start and the end of the prime time match up with Alabama, Calipari pointed to Alabama's depth as a deciding factor in the outcome.

"They what happened is two guys that were scoring, like, three, four a game ended up getting double digits against us," Calipari said. "They're averaging that. That happens. Now, I got some guys coming off the bench. I want them to do the same. 

With the loss of Fland, Arkansas' already short bench got even shorter, but Calipari did say he liked what he saw from versatile freshman wing Billy Richmond. Richmond narrowly missed double figures with nine points and contributed four rebounds and a pair of steals to help Arkansas stay close with one of the best rebounding teams in the country.

Alabama edged Arkansas on the boards 31-30.

"I thought Billy was really good today. I mean, Billy, he's playing," Calipari said. "And, you know, I like what I saw from him. DJ was in here earlier, and he mentioned the fight that (my) guys have had all season long. They're fighters. And if a guy didn't fight, I took them out. So, you know, you're not gonna dive on the floor and come up with that ball, then you're not gonna be in.

"And I let Billy get in there and dive and dunk and make free throws and do the stuff he did today. You know, we had one pass deep. He got anxious. He had a play where a dude was coming to screen. He moved too fast. That kind of stuff happens, but his effort, his toughness, his fight, was good today."

Finishing strong going into the stretch

Although the comeback against Alabama failed to result in a win, Calipari maintains the lessons learned in defeat could bear fruit as the SEC regular season enters into a stretch run with the Hogs desperately needing to accumulate quality wins. The Razorbacks get a chance to avenge their worst conference loss of the season when they welcome LSU to Bud Walton on Wednesday.

After that, Arkansas goes back on the road against a pair of top 10-ranked rivals in No. 10 Texas A&M (which won at No. 15 Missouri on Saturday), and current No. 1 ranked Auburn.

"(We) went from we gotta win this game. Now you can't make a shot to we have nothing to lose. Just go. Just go," Calipari said. "Now all of a sudden, we're making every free throw. We're making layups. We're making threes. I mean, the mindset and I saw it flipped. I mean, why are you guys sad? What what is happening here?

"This was a great experience for us because we're either in this mode or we're here, and it's gonna be hard to win any games in this league if we stay here. If we're over here, we can play with anybody in the league."

Still defining themselves

Oats seemed to agree and added that the loss of Fland has helped Arkansas better define themselves as a team.

"A lot of credit to Arkansas for not quitting," Oats said. "I mean, they fought. They stayed in it, took an 18 lead with 12 to go or so and cut that thing to three, there late. So, I thought our guys did a decent job closing once they cut it to three...We risked losing a road game that we were supposed to win by not closing that thing like we're supposed to. So a lot of credit to them. 

No Boogie Blues

"They've got they've got some pride. They didn't have a very good start. Obviously, Boogie's a really good player. You know, we recruited him, but I think when when he went out, it helped to find some roles maybe.

Sometimes despite how good of a player he personally is, I think it maybe helped to find some roles for some other guys. They were able to kinda get the rotation a little tighter. I think that they're playing hard for each other now. I think they're tough. They are physical. Thiero is one of the most athletic tough players in the league."