Razorback Three-Point Trend Mirroring Calipari's Kentucky Teams

Arkansas following patterns from previous Wildcat teams under Calipari

Arkansas Razorbacks' Adou Thiero rises for a shot against Lipscomb. The Razorbacks won 76-60. / Nilsen Roman - Hogs On Si Images

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Arkansas' early three-point shooting woes appear to be a surprise to everyone except its own fans who have grown accustomed to winning despite a lack of perimeter firepower.

Through a four-game sample size of exhibitions and early regular season competition, the Razorbacks are a combined 22 for 87 (25.3%) from beyond the arc.

The efficiency is an eyesore, but as college basketball analyst Gary Parrish pointed out on the Eye On College Basketball Podcast, it is the volume that stands out as a familiar trait of a John Calipari team.

"The Razorbacks shot 25 percent from three (against Baylor)," Parrish said. "That's not the most concerning number as much as they had just 20 three-point attempts in the game.

"When I turned it on, I felt like I was watching a Calipari Kentucky team at Arkansas. Only 20 three-point attempts, and on the season now only 32.2% of Arkansas' field goal attempts have come from three. That ranks 288th nationally."

Parrish furthered his point by pointing out the consistent theme of Calipari's teams not adapting to a new analytical landscape in college basketball that prioritizes the three.

"Last season at Kentucky, the Wildcats had 37.5% of their field goal attempts that came from three. That ranked 179th nationally, and he had Reed Sheppard. Still just didn't take them."

"UConn is your back-to-back national champion, and 40% of its field goal attempts last season came from three. The year before it was roughly 42 percent.

"John never had a team at Kentucky, not one, launch more than 37.5% of its field goal attempts from three. Most of his teams were in the high 20s or low 30s. He just doesn't adapt to it."

The reason Razorback fans are not having the same reaction to the lack of three-pointers as other national analysts or Big Blue Nation is because they experienced the exact same thing — albeit with a great deal of success — under Eric Musselman.

In the last five seasons beginning with 2019-20, Kentucky has ranked 350th, 292nd, 351st, 358th and 179th nationally in three-point attempts per field goal attempted. Not ideal.

Arkansas Razorbacks guard Boogie Fland (2) attempts a three-point basket against the Baylor Bears during the second half at American Airlines Center / Chris Jones-Imagn Images

Arkansas, on the other hand, has been right there with the Wildcats ranking 114th, 260th, 260th, 348th and 292nd over the same stretch, according to KenPom.

When it comes to the percentage of overall points scored coming from beyond the arc over the last five years, Kentucky has ranked 349, 266, 350, 323 and 108. Arkansas has been right there at the bottom as well at 189, 279, 325, 358 and 335.

Calipari and Musselman have effectively been the mirror image of each other — kind of like the viral Spider Man meme — when it comes to not prioritizing the three.

Arkansas' roster was not constructed to be a high-volume bunch from the perimeter in 2024-25, so expecting the Razorbacks to suddenly start hoisting 30-plus threes per game is probably unrealistic.

With that in mind, efficiency will be key for the Hogs moving forward. Calipari's Kentucky team led the country in three-point percentage (40.9) to counteract a lack of volume.

Arkansas will not get to that number, but it will need to do far better than its current mark to neutralize what has emerged as an early trend to watch.

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