Razorbacks fans have finally earned a brief reprieve, as John Calipari’s team finally secures their first SEC win of this season. Adou Thiero shines with a double-double, leading his team to an important victory against Georgia. Interestingly, this comes right after the star freshman Boogie Fland is ruled out for the season with an injury. As happy as the fans are with their first win, trouble brews in the Arkansas locker room.

On The Field of 68: After Dark, show hosts John Fanta, Mike LaTulip, and CJ Moore had a lot to say about the Arkansas victory. LaTulip talked about how Fland’s injury affected the offensive strategy for the Razorbacks. “When I first saw this team against lipscomb to start the season, my question was individually, I like the pieces, but how is it gonna work? What’s the identity of this team gonna be? Because I see four guys that you could look at like ‘The Guy’. I’ve always thought that when you have four guys that could be ‘The Guy’, you don’t have ‘A Guy’.”

Boogie Fland’s injury was a major setback for the Arkansas Razorbacks. The star freshman was projected to be a one-and-done player, and contributed heavily to their three-point scoring. A fall in the game against Florida really messed his hand up. This was a heavy blow for the Razorbacks, but according to Mike LaTulip, things might simplify without Fland. CJ Moore chimed in with his own points as well.

“Arkansas is a poorly constructed team, in that there are too many guys that are ball dominant guards. You might be right that taking one away kind of helps them,” Moore agreed, but gave the Razorbacks the flowers that they deserved. He pointed out that even with offense lacking, the Hogs put in the effort defensively to pull through. “I will give it to him that his kids are continuing to battle, and they’re continuing to play hard, and guys aren’t checking out. That’s pretty much what won them the game tonight.” 

To put it simply, Arkansas might have won, but they are still deep in the hole that they dug for themselves. A SEC comeback is unlikely for the Razorbacks, but not completely off the cards so far. If they manage to level up offensively, Arkansas might end up doing the impossible.

Calipari’s focus on mindset and mentality for Razorbacks

In the post-game interview, John Calipari finally looked like he shed some stress. His responses were a lot more lively than before, and he looked a slightly different man as he addressed the news. However, Calipari went on with business as usual.

“It’s [First SEC win] huge for the kids. For their mindset. Did you see how we started the game? They’re not robots, they’re not computers, they feel. All I’ve been working on is mindset, and talking to them how I’m working on my own mindset.” The Arkansas head coach said, emphasizing his focus on the mental aspect of the game. “We’ve cut back on practice time, we’ve cut back on some different things. I want them to be fresh mentally and physically.”

He praised his team, saying that they ‘did good stuff today’, especially Karter Knox, DJ Wagner, and Adou Thiero. Their three-point shooting was off, but Coach Cal was adamant in reassuring them that it’s not something to worry about.

John Calipari’s focus on mindset has been evident since day one, it just did not bear fruit till the game against Georgia. A major change that he did this game, however, was grinding it out more. Coach Cal talked about drawing fouls, and heading to the line more in a lot of his previous losses. This time, they managed to do it.

If Arkansas can build momentum from this win, they might just be able to work their way out of the SEC struggle they’ve been facing. Coach Cal seems determined to respond to all the criticism on the court, and we’re eager to see how it plays out. What do you think—can the Razorbacks pull off a comeback? Only time will tell.