Arkansas basketball has issues that need to be addressed all over the court, and the latest headache for John Calipari and his coaching staff comes from the rim.
The Razorbacks (11-6, 0-4 SEC) are in a spiral, winless in conference play and in the midst of a four-game losing streak. The Hogs have had opportunities to win each of their last three games, and in the most recent losses to Florida and LSU, they simply didn’t finish enough layups and dunks in the paint.
In a 71-63 loss to the Gators on Saturday, Arkansas made 2 of 16 on layups, according to official statistics compiled by the university. This was the Razorbacks’ worst performance in the category all season. They missed wide-open rabbits and highly contested attacks toward the rim. Four more conversions would have, hypothetically, equalized the final score.
More: Arkansas basketball suffers nightmare loss to LSU with no solution to repeated problems
It was such an embarrassing stat that Calipari didn’t believe it after the game.
“No way. There’s no way a team is going 2-for-16 from near the basket,” Calipari said. “It’s not going to happen. That’s not true. Maybe it’s 2 for 10. Not 2 for 16.”
Still, Calipari knew Arkansas struggled against Florida’s bigs. It required a different mental approach when training to the rim in the future.
“You can’t foul when you’re making layups,” Calipari said. “You have to make the layup, don’t dodge, just make the layup and hope they call a foul. If you get in there to throw it, you don’t make it, and they don’t get it. Don’t call.”
Arkansas improved slightly against LSU. The Hogs made 11 for 28 on layups, tripling their efficiency since the loss to Florida, but a new problem arose when the Tigers blocked 11 shots.
Those 11 blocks directly led to 11 LSU points. Both the guards and the fat men were stopped at the edge. Jonas Aidoo and Zvonimir Ivisic saw two-handed dunks rejected by Corey Chest and Robert Miller III. Damion Collins, a former Calipari player at Kentucky, led the Tigers with four swats.
“We told them, ‘You better get into his body, because if you don’t get into his body, he’ll block it,'” Calipari said.
This quote seems to contradict the head coach’s disdain for foul-hunting after the loss to Florida, and it shows the growing frustration of Calipari and his team. The adjustments do not change the final outcome over the course of four games of SEC play.
Arkansas shot 35 free throws against Florida and lost. The Hogs focused on their layups against LSU and improved around the rim, but Arkansas made just 13 trips to the free throw line, and they once again came away winless.
One way or another, the shots have to start falling. The 3-point issues are more serious, but a few yards from the basket is a good starting point to monitor for any potential improvement Saturday at Missouri.
This article originally appeared on Fort Smith Times Record: Arkansas basketball, John Calipari has layup problem in SEC losses
