Mizzou Tigers pounce on Razorbacks, John Calipari discusses flailing Hogs

Saturday's 83-65 loss in Columbia to the Missouri Tigers marked a career low in John Calipari's nearly four-decade-long and storied college-coaching career. At 11-7 overall with an 0-5 start to Southeastern Conference play, the 18-point loss at Mizzou Arena increased Calipari's career-high winless streak to start conference play, and left Calipari and his highly-regarded team looking for something to hold on to.

Everything John Calipari said after Arkansas' loss to Mizzou

"We had a couple of chances against some good teams to win some games, but we didn’t," said the the Naismith Hall of Famer in his first year at Arkansas. "Then you start like this today? (The Razorbacks) didn’t stop playing. They kept fighting. We gave ourselves a chance, and then let go of the rope."

Arkansas scored the first basket of the game, but never led again when Missouri responded with an 18-0 run. The Tigers, who didn't win a conference game last year under third-year coach Dennis Gates, went on to lead 52-35 at halftime.

Led by another solid effort from leading scorer and rebounder Adou Thiero (12 points and six rebounds) and freshman reserve center Zvonimir Ivisic's 14-point and 10-rebound double double, Arkansas got the game under double digits in the second half before fumbling down the stretch.

"At the end of the day we are a disruptive team when it comes down to our defense but we wanted to keep these guys in a shell on defense and push the tempo," said Gates whose team seems on a redemption tour with multiple impressive wins already this season in hopes of replicating the success he had in his first season with the Tigers. "Our guys — one at a time — ended up taking care of business. These guys enjoy each other. It’s a player led program and I’m just glad these guys let me coach them."

The Tigers — with wins over then No. 1 Kansas and at No. 5 Florida — had five players score in double figures — led by Mark Mitchell and Caleb Gril with 17 each.

Calipari reiterated previous assertion that his team requires a similar all-hands-on-deck effort with every player in Arkansas' highly-touted nine-man rotation pulling in the same direction.

"All I can tell you is how do I keep this team in a mind set where they understand that it’s the team that beat Michigan," said Calipari referring to his team's lone quality non-conference win. "It’s the team that went on the road and won. It’s a team that’s won tough games. They lost a couple of tough ones and then you get in this league and it can demoralize you."

Boogie Fland's injury

Calipari also revealed after the game that the team's second leading scorer, freshman point guard, Boogie Fland, has been playing through an injury suffered Jan. 8 against Florida.

"We’ve got nine guys and if Boogie can’t go for a while, we may have eight guys," he said. "Well guess what those eight guys have got to do? Play well. All of them. We can’t have four of the eight and get it done."

Free throw disparity

Poor foul shooting remains something else the Razorbacks will have to over come going forward. Arkansas made only four of their eight free throw attempts at Missouri. However Calipari couldn't help but point out that opponents continued to get to the free throw line more often than his team — especially on the road.

"My guess is that we touched that lane 55 times," said Calipari whose team has been out outshot 28-13 at the foul line in their last two road games. "We had 35 lane touches in the first half. Maybe some of these teams are really good at guarding the bumps but we are driving the ball. The idea is to get fouled. We’re the only team that does this. Everybody else seems to do that with the body checks and all that stuff. We’re going to keep driving it and see if they will call them.

"The last couple of games, they’ve gotten so many more free throws and that’s hard," he added later. "We’ve got to either stop fouling or we’ve got to get some fouls. The last two games the margin of free throws has not been close.

Calipari, who may need a similar redemption tour the rest of this SEC season or in 2026, did credit Gates and the Tigers for the way they have been able to bounce back so far this season.

"You’re calling time outs and you’re doing everything you can to stem the tide," Calipari said. "On 50-50 balls, kick-out threes and all those things, (Missouri) made those shots and some of them were us. But they had to make them. You have to give Missouri credit. They are a good team. They shoot the ball well. They will physically fight."

How much fight remains in this rendition of the Razorbacks will be telling the rest of the way. The Razorbacks return home to host No. 23 Georgia and Oklahoma next week. Another home loss to start the season would almost certainly nail down any hopes of resuscitating any salvaging efforts in year one of the John Calipari expedition in Arkansas.

The rise of Big Z?

"Z stepped up and did some good things. I thought Adou fought," Calipari said. "We’ve just got to get good play out of a lot of people. We just can’t just have guys play poorly and turn it over and do those things. We’re not one of those teams. 

Arkansas had 13 turnovers in the game. All but two of them were committed by three players. Thiero and fellow junior Kentucky transfer D.J. Wagner had four each. Missouri transfer forward Trevon Brazile had three.

"The whole league is physical," Calipari said. "They’ve got good players and they’ve got good coaches. This is a hard league. We are going to have to figure stuff out. It’s not like, ‘Okay you’ve got this game coming up.’ It’s everybody — not just Arkansas. Everybody has got games against really good teams, and you’ve got to figure it out.