Razorbacks Surely Aren't 'Arrogant' After Last Performance

Calipari era at Arkansas set to begin Wednesday with season opener at Walton Arena

Arkansas Razorbacks Adou Thiero warming up before exhibition with the Kansas Jayhawks / Andy Hodges-Hogs on SI Images

Expect Arkansas to play well for a couple of reasons in the first official game of the John Calipari era Wednesday. The Razorbacks host Lipscomb at Bud Walton Arena at 7 p.m. with the action scheduled to stream on SEC+.

Reason one the Hogs will play well: Lipscomb nearly beat Arkansas last December, losing by three after trailing by eight at halftime in North Little Rock. Only one player remains from last season's UA squad, Trevon Brazile, but you can rest assured Razorback coaches have reminded their players more than once that Lipscomb is no pushover.

Reason two the Hogs will play well: This one's obvious, but it's the season opener in front of a sellout home crowd that'll be fired up to give their new Hall of Fame coach a rousing "official" welcome. Players will feed off that energy.

Arkansas Razorbacks cheerleaders lead a big Bud Walton Arena crowd in calling the Hogs. The Razorbacks played their first game in Walton Arena to begin the 1993-94 season, which culminated with Arkansas beating Duke for the national championship in Charlotte, N.C. / Brett Rojo-Imagn Images

Reason three the Hogs will play well: One word rang loud and clear to me from Calipari's short press conference following Arkansas' one-point loss to TCU in last Friday's exhibition game three miles from the Horned Frogs' campus. That word was "arrogant."

In their first exhibition game in Walton Arena a week before losing 66-65 to TCU, the Hogs were sensational, whipping No. 1 Kansas 85-69. KU was without two starters, the Hogs one. But the biggest and baddest Jayhawk, 7-foot-2 All-American Hunter Dickinson, didn't play.

Calipari, the 65-year-old wily veteran, said he had a feeling following the takedown of Kansas that his kids might not equal that performance the next time out. Now I'm wondering if all of his premonitions are always correct.

"All the stuff I felt, I was right. Which was, we beat Kansas, and all of sudden … and they had the big guy out. And I told everybody, ‘Look, it was an exhibition and it was neat at home.’ But we got arrogant after it, and it was an exhibition game, like this."

In the olden, oftentimes golden, days of yore when folks got their information from something called newspapers, Coach Cal probably told his players to quit reading their press clippings. Especially when the Kansas game didn't count in any way that matters. Hey, don't be arrogant.

"Going to beat Kansas and then losing this game helps everybody realize, even the young guys, like you got to bring it every game," said Arkansas junior forward Adou Thiero, who scored a team-best 20 points against TCU to go with seven rebounds and four assists.

"This is college basketball, anything could happen. So definitely, definitely a little bit of a, I wouldn't say a wake up call. We knew we expected it, but definitely something we got to work on."

Arkansas Razorbacks guard Adou Thiero bringing the ball upcourt in an exhibition matchup with the Kansas Jayhawks. / Andy Hodges-Hogs on SI Images

Calipari might've preferred it all go down just as it did, though. He's certainly had the Hogs' undivided attention after they blew a 13-point second-half lead against TCU and only one or two Razorbacks appeared to play well.

Respect every opponent. Bring your 'A' game every night. Even if it's against TCU, a team picked by both media and coaches to finish 10th of 16 teams in the competitive Big 12 Conference. Who was picked first? Kansas, of course.

"I liked that some of the guys struggled," Calipari said, "because I told them, ‘This is really good. Now are you going to get your swagger back or does this knock you in a hole?’ I mean, these kind of games, you’re either winning or learning. And we’re learning.

"Both teams walk away knowing — and it’s the same with us and Kansas. You walk away knowing, ‘Okay, we have a chance, but there are some holes.’"

Prior to the TCU exhibition, Calipari said the short-handed Hogs were limited on what they could do in practice due to some players being hurt. He shouldered the blame for not being ready for late-game situations and said they simply hadn't worked on that.

"What I’ve got to do with this group," Calipari said, "is teach them how to win and how to finish off games. I mean, TCU gave us every opportunity to win the game. We missed layups, we missed free throws, we took a bad 3. We gave up a rebound. We had another wide-open 3 that could have ended the game. 

"I mean, we had no daggers. And so we’ve got to figure it out. I think we had 10 turnovers in the second half. When the ball moved, we looked really good. When the ball didn’t move and it became 1-on-1, we weren’t as good. I can’t blame the players. We didn’t look organized.

"We didn’t get the kind of shots you need to get to win a game. The ball didn’t go to where it needed it to go. We held (it). We didn’t pass enough. … So a lot of work to do and they kind of hit us in the mouth, which was, ‘OK, what are we going to be?’"

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