The Arkansas Razorbacks faithful aren’t in the best of moods right now. The John Calipari-led side’s shocking winless run in the South Eastern Conference continues as they fall short to the Florida Gators 63-71. The Arkansas fans turned up in big numbers at the Bud Walton Arena only to witness Alex Candon score 12 crucial second-half points for the Gators and carry them across the finishing line. Result? Calipari is not ready to believe some numbers.

This is the worst start to conference play for John Calipari in over thirty-six years as a coach. He was particularly unhappy watching a similar script from the last two SEC games unfold again in front of his eyes: Razorbacks’ struggles with rebounding and shooting.

A similar scenario unfolded at Bud Walton Arena, where Arkansas opened the first half with an 11-2 run, only to falter as the game progressed. The Razorbacks missed 11 free throws and shot 18.8% from behind the arc, showcasing their below-par shooting performance.

Addressing the issues at the post-game conference, John Calipari was in disbelief after a reporter pointed out that they only made 2 of 16 from the paint. He said, ‘‘No way, there’s no way a team goes two for sixteen next to the basket, won’t happen. That’s wrong. It’s two for ten maybe not two for sixteen, no way!” Such was the performance from the team that even a national champion with over thirty-six years of coaching experience couldn’t believe it.

When asked about Florida making it difficult for his team to shoot, he continued, ”I’ll look at the tape, but we were spreading the court so we could get to the rim. We were taking bigs out you know? or it was a big going up against one of their bigs.”

While Arkansas did begin the game 4-4 from the field, they converted only five of their next thirty shots. The Razorbacks shot 28.8% from the field and let the Gators collect 16 offensive rebounds which helped them seal the victory.

While Arkansas came roaring back into the game with 6:12 minutes remaining on the clock, two quick threes from the Gators sealed the deal for them. With star player Adou Thiero fouled out, the Razorback players pretty much gave up hope as Alex Candon’s five-point run took the Gators to a 70-58 lead with 1:23 remaining on the clock and sealing the tie. This shows severe confidence issues among the squad.

Even Calipari agrees that underconfidence might be a factor in the misses. ”Maybe, maybe, this is a tough game when you’re not playing well, there were guys on the team who were missing shots and I created a couple more shots for them, trying to build their confidence and they missed those. It happens” 

While the Hall of Famer coach continues to keep his trust in the squad and not give up hope just yet, the schedule for the Razorbacks might also give them some breathing space for now, or will it?

What next for Calipari’s Arkansas?

First-year Arkansas’ head coach has his job cut out as his team travels to the Pete Maravich Assembly Center, the home of the LSU Tigers. Calipari will hope to see a much better shooting performance from his side. The Tigers, just like the Razorbacks, are winless in the SEC with a 0-3 record.

Both will be itching to get their first win on the board as this game promises to be a thriller. According to the ESPN matchup predictor, the LSU Tigers have a 58.7% chance of emerging victorious and sealing their first win of the season.

Big things will be expected from the likes of Adou Thiero, the junior forward, who is averaging 16.9 points and 5.9 rebounds per game this season. Johnell Davis who went 0-8 against Florida will be looking to bounce back and contribute to the team’s offense.

As the pressure mounts, Calipari will be counting on his players to rise to the challenge rather than buckle under the weight of expectation. Desperate for his first SEC win of the season, he knows his team must break free from the frustrating pattern that has troubled their conference play so far. Can the Razorbacks finally rewrite the script, or will the same mistakes haunt them yet again? Only time will tell.