Three takeaways from Kentucky basketball’s lopsided home loss to Arkansas
Three takeaways from Kentucky basketball’s 88-73 loss to the Arkansas Razorbacks at Rupp Arena on Tuesday night:
1. In a big game, Kentucky came up small
Heading into this bubble rumble at Rupp, Kentucky and Arkansas both sported 16-7 records. UK was 7-3 in SEC play. Arkansas was 5-5. Kentucky had won six straight conference games. Arkansas was riding a four-game league win streak.
As for the all-important metrics, UK entered the game 28th in the all-important NCAA NET rankings. The Cats were 1-6 in Quad 1 games. Arkansas entered the contest ranked 29th in the NET. The Razorbacks were 1-5 in Quad 1 games.
As of Tuesday morning, ESPN bracketologist Joe Lunardi had both Arkansas and Kentucky on his “last four byes” list. UK was the South Region’s No. 10 seed in Lunardi’s bracket projections. Arkansas was the East Region’s No. 11 seed.
In other words, Tuesday’s outcome held huge implications for both teams. And when it was over, only one team met that challenge.
That team was Arkansas. Up by one at halftime, the Razorbacks rose to the occasion in the second half. And then some. Eric Musselman’s team shot a ridiculous 72 percent from the floor over the final 20 minutes. The Razorbacks were 17 of 22 on two-point shots for 77.3 percent.
Much of that had to do with the Razorbacks aggressively taking the ball to the rim, but much of it had to do with Kentucky doing little to stop the visitors from taking the ball to the rim.
“We had no rim protection,” UK Ccoach John Calipari said after the game. “I couldn’t get our guys to body up.”
Just past the midway point of the second half, Kentucky fans had given up. Suddenly realizing the 9 p.m. start was way past their bed time, they flooded the exits. Arkansas fans stuck around to celebrate by “calling the hogs” at game’s end.
It was the first time Arkansas had won back-to-back games at Rupp Arena. The Razorbacks edged the Cats 81-80 at Rupp in 2021. This time, they dominated.
2. Oscar Tshiebwe has all but disappeared
You remember Oscar Tshiebwe, the reigning national player of the year who was a scoring and rebounding machine a year ago. While the 6-foot-9 center has not quite been able to duplicate his 2021-22 production — who could? — Tshiebwe had still been a major factor to the Cats’ cause this season.
Until now. Last Saturday, Tshiebwe missed 12 of 14 shots and scored just four points against visiting Florida. He did grab 15 rebounds before fouling out with 1:38 left in UK’s 72-67 win. Tuesday night, however, Tshiebwe was held to a single-single, scoring just seven points and collecting just seven rebounds in the Cats’ third home loss of the season.
“He’s got to be better for us,” Calipari said. “And he will.”
He has to be for Kentucky to play its way into the NCAA Tournament. Tshiebwe came into Tuesday’s game averaging 15.9 points and a nation-leading 13.6 rebounds per game. Purdue’s Zach Edey was second at 13.2 per game.
His four points against Florida tied his season low of four points in the 78-52 rout the Cats suffered at Alabama. He scored 30 points and grabbed 18 rebounds against Arkansas last season. So the thinking was surely Oscar would reassert himself against the Razorbacks.
It didn’t happen. Arkansas was the more physical, more aggressive team. While Tshiebwe struggled, Arkansas’ 6-10 center Makhel Mitchell was scoring 15 points on 7-for-9 from the floor. Mitchell entered Tuesday averaging all of four points per game.
3. Eric Mussleman has John Calipari’s number
In the first Calipari vs. Musselman head-to-head matchup back on Jan. 18, 2020, in Fayetteville, Calipari got tossed from Bud Walton and the Cats proceed to a 73-66 win over the Razorbacks.
Since then, it’s been all Musselman. Arkansas won 81-80 on Feb. 9, 2021, at Rupp Arena when Jalen Tate made two free throws with 4.3 seconds left before the Razorbacks’ Davonte Davis picked off UK’s inbounds pass. Last season, Arkansas won 75-73 behind JD Notae’s 30 points at Bud Walton Arena.
This year, Musselman got a standout game from his 6-7 freshman point guard Anthony Black, who scored 19 points, grabbed four rebounds and dished five assists. Ricky Council popped in 20 points and Davis added 15 points and a game-high seven assists as the Razorbacks boosted their regular season résumé.
As for Kentucky, it’s back to the drawing board. The six-game SEC win streak is gone. Now 7-4 in conference play, the Cats must regroup with just seven games remaining before the conference tournament. Calipari’s club is not just fighting for a first-round bye in Nashville, but a spot in the field of 68 come Selection Sunday.
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