Another day, another tough loss for the Arkansas Razorbacks. On Saturday night against the Gators, John Calipari’s team found themselves caught in familiar mistakes. Every time it seems like the Hogs are making progress, a game like this derails their momentum. Their defense was lackluster, rebounding was practically nonexistent, and their shot attempts just wouldn’t fall. To make matters worse, the Razorbacks bench had a quiet night, contributing only 7 points. Despite repeated calls from Calipari for players to step up, the team just couldn’t seem to answer the call.

In the post-match conference, Calipari had a lot to say about the team. “It’s a tough game when you’re not playing well,” the Arkansas head coach said, empathizing with his players predicament, “Like there were guys on the team that were missing shots, and I created a couple more shots for them trying to build their confidence and they missed those. It happens.” 

The thing is, he’s said all of this before. In the last few games, John Calipari has been very vocal about what has been going wrong inside his team. He dedicated the last two press conferences to trying to give his players a wake-up call, and it doesn’t look to be working so far. This time, he was very upfront with what he wanted to say. “It’s early in the season. Step on the gas, start playing better.” Cal said with a shrug. “Make open shots, make your freethrows. You don’t have to make them all, just can’t miss them all. So you know, we’ve got some stuff to work on.”

It really is that simple. The Hogs got plenty of open looks and even started the game with an explosive 11-2 run. But what hurt them was their inability to capitalize on second chances. They were out-rebounded by 10, with key offensive boards coming at crucial moments toward the end of the game. The Gators’ dominance on the glass gave them 19 second-chance points, while Arkansas could only muster up a measly 6.

Calipari made the decision to focus on just 8 or 9 players this season, and it seems he’s now regretting that choice. He attributed the Razorbacks’ inability to scrimmage as a major reason behind their performance. According to coach, Arkansas isn’t turning the ball over frequently. They’re just missing. On top of that, they keep getting out-numbered in transition. The Gators were swinging the ball, and cutting off-ball a lot better than their Hog counterparts.

“You gotta get in the game and perform,” Coach Cal said to his team. “That’s your job… Your job is to perform, and my job is to coach.”

It will be interesting to see whether the team learns from Calipari’s call-out Calipari’s call-out, as while the Razorbacks aren’t in an insurmountable position, their losing streak will definitely affect morale. The Razorbacks’ next game is against LSU on the 15th. Will they finally snap out of their slump? If their heads are in the right place, they just might.

Mentality an issue for the Razorbacks?

While discussing the pitfalls of his team, Calipari made some interesting comments. According to him, the immense amount of pressure that college players receive nowadays on social media is a major contributor to pressure related pitfalls.

“Free throws, open shots, most of that stuff is mentality, and we can talk and go… We grew up, we didn’t have the social media barrage that these guys have. There’s a lot of stuff coming at them, from around them. I’ve just gotta hold them accountable, and let them know what’s acceptable and what is not.” The Razorbacks head coach said about the mentality of his team. Fans are beginning to wonder whether mindset and mentality is the issue behind Boogie Fland’s recent shooting slump.

The six-foot-two guard managed to score 15 points on Saturday, but the issue lay in his shooting. Fland only shot 30% from the field, including two three-pointers out of three attempts. This marks the third straight game where he hasn’t found his rhythm, and Coach Calipari called him out for it last game. The reason for his cold streak might be the immense pressure he’s under. After all, being a projected NBA first-round pick is a lot for an 18-year-old to handle—it invites scrutiny from every angle. Hopefully, Fland can find his rhythm and get into the right mental space. He could be the key to turning things around for both the Razorbacks and Coach Calipari.