Through misses or blocks, Arkansas basketball has a layup problem in SEC losses

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Arkansas basketball has problems that need fixing all over the court, and the latest headache for John Calipari and his coaching staff originates at the rim.

The Razorbacks (11-6, 0-4 SEC) are spiraling, without a conference victory and in the midst of a four-game losing skid. The Hogs had opportunities to win each of their last three contests, and in the most recent defeats to Florida and LSU, they simply aren’t finishing enough of their layups and dunks inside the paint.

In a 71-63 loss to the Gators on Saturday, Arkansas went 2 for 16 on layups, according to the official stats compiled by the university. That was the Razorbacks’ worst performance in the category all season. They missed wide-open bunnies and heavily-contested attacks to the rim. Four more conversions would have, hypothetically, tied the final score.

More: Arkansas basketball suffers nightmare loss to LSU with no solutions for repeating problems

More: Arkansas basketball vs LSU score: Razorbacks collapse in second half, drop to 0-4 in SEC.

It was such an embarrassing stat that Calipari didn’t believe it after the game.

“No way. There’s no way a team goes 2 for 16 next to the basket,” Calipari said. “Won’t happen. That’s wrong. It’s 2 for 10, maybe. Not 2 for 16.”

Still, Calipari knew Arkansas struggled against the Florida bigs. He demanded a different mental approach on drives to the rim moving forward.

“You cannot draw fouls when you’re driving for layups,” Calipari said. “You have to make the layup, don’t avoid, just go make the layup and hope they call a foul. If you go in there to throw it, you’re not making it, and they’re not calling it.”

Arkansas slightly improved against LSU. The Hogs went 11 for 28 on layups, tripling their efficiency from the loss to Florida, but a new problem emerged as the Tigers blocked 11 shots.

Jan 11, 2025; Fayetteville, Arkansas, USA; Arkansas Razorbacks forward Zvonimir Ivisic (44) drives against Florida Gators forward Alex Condon (21) during the first half at Bud…

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Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/misses-blocks-arkansas-basketball-layup-100746281.html

Author : Ft. Smith Southwest Times Record

Publish date : 2025-01-16 10:07:00

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