Calipari Hopes Honesty Will Wake Arkansas Up in December

Razorbacks winning, but treading water in first season heading to Madison Square Garden for game

Arkansas Razorbacks coach John Calipari on the sidelines against the UT-San Antonio Road Runners at Bud Walton Arena in Fayetteville, Ark. / Nilsen Roman-Hogs on SI Images

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Following a 75-60 win over Texas-San Antonio, Arkansas is 7-2 through its first nine games in the John Calipari era, by no means a disaster. Last season, the Razorbacks had already lost to UNC-Greensboro and Memphis and went to double-overtime with Stanford on its way to a 16-17 finish.

However, the Hogs have been ravaged by injury and looked lethargic for large stretches of games, needing comebacks in its last two games against Miami and UTSA. They have also fallen out of the Top 25. After the Illinois game, Calipari got straight to the point.

"Don’t give them excuses," Calipari told the parents of the players. "Don’t alibi for them. Don’t enable. I can’t either and if they go through this and have to deal with it, they’ll gonna be better for it. You can’t give them 10 excuses, it’s somebody else, the coach didn’t run this. No, you’re playing like crap, you’re better than this."

The Razorbacks have looked better in the second half of games and experimenting with new lineups. With the addition of Jonas Aidoo, Calipari put Aidoo and forward Trevon Brazile on the floor together, giving the team much better interior presence.

"It’s a little comforting," Brazile said. "I know I’m not the only big out there. I got help with rebounds and blocking shots. When we go big, also Adou’s in there at the three. When we do that, I feel like our defense is a lot better just because we’re so long."

Trevon Brazile (4) during Arkansas' 75-60 win over UTSA inside Bud Walton Arena. / Nilsen Roman - Hogs On SI Image

Players will have to take Calipari's words to heart. Arkansas faces a Michigan team that has won seven games in a row, including back-to-back conference wins over Iowa and No. 11 Wisconsin.

"We know they’re going to be physical," Brazile said. "We know they’re going to do pick and rolls with the four and five, so we’ll go over that for the next couple days."

Tipoff from Madison Square Garden in New York is scheduled for 8 p.m. Tuesday and will be broadcast on ESPN.

HOGS FEED:

• Razorbacks lose sophomore linebacker to transfer portal

• Hogs' offensive transfer portal board boasts promising targets

• Razorbacks' starting defensive end to enter transfer portal

• Welcome to Hogs' Thiero-Davis Show, a big hit in second half

• Aidoo inching closer towards impact Arkansas needs

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