Arkansas-Minnesota post-mortem

[Biggus Piggus]

2-point field goal scoring: Arkansas 50, Minnesota 40. Hogs by 10.
3-point field goal scoring: Minnesota 27, Arkansas 3. Gophers by 24.
Free throw scoring: Arkansas 18, Minnesota 18. Tie.

Field goal percentages:
2-point - Arkansas 47%, Minnesota 49%.
3-point - Arkansas 12.5% (1-8), Minnesota 60% (9-15).

Rebounding - Arkansas was solid with 69% defensive rebounding, 44% offensive rebounding.

Turnovers - Arkansas 21, Minnesota 14.

Assists - Arkansas had assists on 31% of its field goals, 8 of 26. Minnesota, 59%, 17 of 29.

Minnesota blocked eight shots, but Arkansas still shot 47% from 2-pt range.

Nobody expected the Razorbacks to lose this game at the 3-point line. The inside game was supposed to be the problem. Well, it was that in the first half. Everything was.

This game reminded me of the Iowa State game two years ago, when the Razorbacks fell behind by 19 at half and traded baskets in the second half, never able to generate a run because the defense was not good enough.

The game was decided in the last 12:50 of the first half. After Jaylen Barford scored on a layup plus one, Arkansas led 13-7. When Akeem Springer made a 3-pointer that prompted a Mike Anderson timeout with about a minute remaining in the half, Minnesota led 41-21.

That was a 34-8 Minnesota run. During that span, 10 Razorback possessions ended with turnovers. The Hogs' possessions went like this:

***
C.J. Jones offensive foul, turnover
Arlando Cook turnover
Anton Beard missed 3-pointer
Manny Watkins missed 2-pointer
Beard turnover
Watkins missed 2-pointer
Barford missed 3-pointer
Trey Thompson turnover
Adrio Bailey missed layup, Dusty Hannahs offensive rebound, Hannahs turnover
***

That stretch was from 12:25 to 8:45. The Hogs only trailed 14-13, but that was when they lost control of the basketball game. Many reserves playing, second-line players wasting possessions, nine consecutive scoreless possessions. Five turnovers, five missed shots with one offensive rebound.

The rest of the first half:

Moses Kingsley layup on a pass from Barford
Kingsley made jump shot on an assist from Daryl Macon
Kingsley missed 2-pointer, Kingsley rebound, Kingsley missed 2-pointer
Macon turnover
Barford turnover
Kingsley missed 2-pointer
Hannahs missed 2-pointer, Watkins rebound, Watkins missed 2-pointer
Macon made layup
Watkins turnover
Kingsley turnover
Watkins missed 2-pointer
Macon missed layup
Barford made layup
Barford turnover
Beard missed layup, Kingsley rebound, Macon missed 3-pointer
Arkansas timeout at 1:06, trailing 41-21

From 12:25 to 1:06, the Razorbacks attempted three 3-point shots, missing them all. Arkansas was 3-14 from 2-point range. And the Hogs got to the free throw line one time.

Rest of the game, Arkansas shot 22-39 (56%) inside the arc.

Take the entire stretch above. Arkansas had 24 possessions and scored 8 points, 0.33 point per possession.

That's UAPB-level bad.

Over the same span, Minnesota had 25 possessions and scored 34 points, 1.36 points per possession. That included making 6-9 from 3-point range, with three in a row in three possessions right before that Anderson timeout.

Also during this critical stretch, the Gophers made 6-8 from 2-point range, 4-5 at the free throw line. The only thing they did wrong - seven turnovers. But the Hogs offset almost all of those with their own turnovers.

If you watched this game, you might have an opinion about what was wrong with the Razorbacks on the offensive end. As you know if you are a fan at all, when Arkansas struggles to score, the defensive end falls down too. Never being able to pick up opponents on the inbounds play cripples the Hogs' defensive effort.

It's not as though the Hogs lacked for opportunities after forcing turnovers. They wasted many of those. Did not matter who was on court at the time, Arkansas struggled to run its motion offense. I'd say many of the turnovers resulted from players not knowing what to do with the basketball. Passes were not whipping around the Minnesota man-to-man defense. Nobody was catching and shooting outside the arc. Never. Almost all of the Hogs' shots were coming off the dribble. Passes were not going to players in position to score. Players were not getting in position to score. Big man were not catching passes that came from guards driving into the line. Some turnovers on guards were as much failures by the frontcourt.

Trey Thompson played 13 minutes and never attempted a shot. Dustin Thomas was 1-5 from the floor. Arlando Cook played 14 minutes without a rebound.

Made 3-pointers vs. Minnesota this season:

11 St. John's
10 UT Arlington
7 Louisiana-Lafayette
7 Mount St. Mary's
1 Arkansas

It was not a "bad shooting night" as much as a non-shooting night for the Razorbacks. Only attempted eight threes in the whole game. Needed to play catchup, unable to manufacture chances to take threes.

If Arkansas had made even seven threes in this game, it could have beaten Minnesota. It's not like the Gophers had been outstanding at perimeter defense, like, ever, prior to this one. The Hogs' motion offense was horrendously bad during the game-deciding stretch of the first half. Then when Arkansas needed to play catch-up, it hardly shot threes at all.

Dusty Freaking Hannahs attempted two in the entire 29 minutes he played. Daryl Macon was 0-4 in 26 minutes. Jaylen Barford and Anton Beard missed one apiece. Nobody else had an attempt. C.J. Jones got to play four minutes. He wasn't even in during garbage time. Fricking infuriating. Adrio Bailey got more time than Jones did. The whole player rotation is a mess though.

Hannahs led the Razorbacks with 20 points and the one made three. He had zero assists, zero steals, three turnovers.

Macon and Barford managed 12 points apiece, combined for 3 assists and 7 turnovers.

Kingsley put up 10 points, 10 rebounds, 3 blocks before fouling out in 27 minutes.

Thomas got his second foul at 15:07 in the first half. Cook came in and got two more fouls in a few minutes. Thomas came back in late in the half and got his third foul. Kingsley got his second foul right before halftime.

The tall, rangy combo forward for Minnesota, Amir Coffey, was featured in the postgame stories for his game-high 19 points. Coffey did not score in the first half. He kept the Gophers from having any scoring droughts when the Razorbacks were trying to cut into the lead.

Best the Hogs did, while the game remained competitive, was pulling within 55-40 with 12:27 left. Beard, Macon and Cook put up a 6-0 run. It took Arkansas almost seven minutes to score their next 10 points. Five more turnovers.

Just watching things, it did not appear to be a ballhandling problem. It was a "what to do with the ball" problem. The offense was not creating good chances, and players had to do something. Anything. I wish they would have taken more shots instead of giving away possessions.

The glaring, easy-to-find weaknesses of this Razorback team are 3-point defense (allowed 40% in four games) and defensive rebounding (ranking 312th in defensive rebounding %). Turnovers have become a major issue (245th in turnover frequency), and I attribute that to the Hogs' failings in halfcourt offense.

This team is shooting under 50% from 2-point range, and that should not happen. The Hogs' defense should generate easy layups and dunks. Kingsley and the big guards should get to the basket against opponents they should be beating one on one.

[FineAsSwine]

2-point field goal scoring: Arkansas 50, Minnesota 40. Hogs by 10.
3-point field goal scoring: Minnesota 27, Arkansas 3. Gophers by 24.
Free throw scoring: Arkansas 18, Minnesota 18. Tie.

Field goal percentages:
2-point - Arkansas 47%, Minnesota 49%.
3-point - Arkansas 12.5% (1-8), Minnesota 60% (9-15).

Rebounding - Arkansas was solid with 69% defensive rebounding, 44% offensive rebounding.

Turnovers - Arkansas 21, Minnesota 14.

Assists - Arkansas had assists on 31% of its field goals, 8 of 26. Minnesota, 59%, 17 of 29.

Minnesota blocked eight shots, but Arkansas still shot 47% from 2-pt range.

Nobody expected the Razorbacks to lose this game at the 3-point line. The inside game was supposed to be the problem. Well, it was that in the first half. Everything was.

This game reminded me of the Iowa State game two years ago, when the Razorbacks fell behind by 19 at half and traded baskets in the second half, never able to generate a run because the defense was not good enough.

The game was decided in the last 12:50 of the first half. After Jaylen Barford scored on a layup plus one, Arkansas led 13-7. When Akeem Springer made a 3-pointer that prompted a Mike Anderson timeout with about a minute remaining in the half, Minnesota led 41-21.

That was a 34-8 Minnesota run. During that span, 10 Razorback possessions ended with turnovers. The Hogs' possessions went like this:

***
C.J. Jones offensive foul, turnover
Arlando Cook turnover
Anton Beard missed 3-pointer
Manny Watkins missed 2-pointer
Beard turnover
Watkins missed 2-pointer
Barford missed 3-pointer
Trey Thompson turnover
Adrio Bailey missed layup, Dusty Hannahs offensive rebound, Hannahs turnover
***

That stretch was from 12:25 to 8:45. The Hogs only trailed 14-13, but that was when they lost control of the basketball game. Many reserves playing, second-line players wasting possessions, nine consecutive scoreless possessions. Five turnovers, five missed shots with one offensive rebound.

The rest of the first half:

Moses Kingsley layup on a pass from Barford
Kingsley made jump shot on an assist from Daryl Macon
Kingsley missed 2-pointer, Kingsley rebound, Kingsley missed 2-pointer
Macon turnover
Barford turnover
Kingsley missed 2-pointer
Hannahs missed 2-pointer, Watkins rebound, Watkins missed 2-pointer
Macon made layup
Watkins turnover
Kingsley turnover
Watkins missed 2-pointer
Macon missed layup
Barford made layup
Barford turnover
Beard missed layup, Kingsley rebound, Macon missed 3-pointer
Arkansas timeout at 1:06, trailing 41-21

From 12:25 to 1:06, the Razorbacks attempted three 3-point shots, missing them all. Arkansas was 3-14 from 2-point range. And the Hogs got to the free throw line one time.

Rest of the game, Arkansas shot 22-39 (56%) inside the arc.

Take the entire stretch above. Arkansas had 24 possessions and scored 8 points, 0.33 point per possession.

That's UAPB-level bad.

Over the same span, Minnesota had 25 possessions and scored 34 points, 1.36 points per possession. That included making 6-9 from 3-point range, with three in a row in three possessions right before that Anderson timeout.

Also during this critical stretch, the Gophers made 6-8 from 2-point range, 4-5 at the free throw line. The only thing they did wrong - seven turnovers. But the Hogs offset almost all of those with their own turnovers.

If you watched this game, you might have an opinion about what was wrong with the Razorbacks on the offensive end. As you know if you are a fan at all, when Arkansas struggles to score, the defensive end falls down too. Never being able to pick up opponents on the inbounds play cripples the Hogs' defensive effort.

It's not as though the Hogs lacked for opportunities after forcing turnovers. They wasted many of those. Did not matter who was on court at the time, Arkansas struggled to run its motion offense. I'd say many of the turnovers resulted from players not knowing what to do with the basketball. Passes were not whipping around the Minnesota man-to-man defense. Nobody was catching and shooting outside the arc. Never. Almost all of the Hogs' shots were coming off the dribble. Passes were not going to players in position to score. Players were not getting in position to score. Big man were not catching passes that came from guards driving into the line. Some turnovers on guards were as much failures by the frontcourt.

Trey Thompson played 13 minutes and never attempted a shot. Dustin Thomas was 1-5 from the floor. Arlando Cook played 14 minutes without a rebound.

Made 3-pointers vs. Minnesota this season:

11 St. John's
10 UT Arlington
7 Louisiana-Lafayette
7 Mount St. Mary's
1 Arkansas

It was not a "bad shooting night" as much as a non-shooting night for the Razorbacks. Only attempted eight threes in the whole game. Needed to play catchup, unable to manufacture chances to take threes.

If Arkansas had made even seven threes in this game, it could have beaten Minnesota. It's not like the Gophers had been outstanding at perimeter defense, like, ever, prior to this one. The Hogs' motion offense was horrendously bad during the game-deciding stretch of the first half. Then when Arkansas needed to play catch-up, it hardly shot threes at all.

Dusty Freaking Hannahs attempted two in the entire 29 minutes he played. Daryl Macon was 0-4 in 26 minutes. Jaylen Barford and Anton Beard missed one apiece. Nobody else had an attempt. C.J. Jones got to play four minutes. He wasn't even in during garbage time. Fricking infuriating. Adrio Bailey got more time than Jones did. The whole player rotation is a mess though.

Hannahs led the Razorbacks with 20 points and the one made three. He had zero assists, zero steals, three turnovers.

Macon and Barford managed 12 points apiece, combined for 3 assists and 7 turnovers.

Kingsley put up 10 points, 10 rebounds, 3 blocks before fouling out in 27 minutes.

Thomas got his second foul at 15:07 in the first half. Cook came in and got two more fouls in a few minutes. Thomas came back in late in the half and got his third foul. Kingsley got his second foul right before halftime.

The tall, rangy combo forward for Minnesota, Amir Coffey, was featured in the postgame stories for his game-high 19 points. Coffey did not score in the first half. He kept the Gophers from having any scoring droughts when the Razorbacks were trying to cut into the lead.

Best the Hogs did, while the game remained competitive, was pulling within 55-40 with 12:27 left. Beard, Macon and Cook put up a 6-0 run. It took Arkansas almost seven minutes to score their next 10 points. Five more turnovers.

Just watching things, it did not appear to be a ballhandling problem. It was a "what to do with the ball" problem. The offense was not creating good chances, and players had to do something. Anything. I wish they would have taken more shots instead of giving away possessions.

The glaring, easy-to-find weaknesses of this Razorback team are 3-point defense (allowed 40% in four games) and defensive rebounding (ranking 312th in defensive rebounding %). Turnovers have become a major issue (245th in turnover frequency), and I attribute that to the Hogs' failings in halfcourt offense.

This team is shooting under 50% from 2-point range, and that should not happen. The Hogs' defense should generate easy layups and dunks. Kingsley and the big guards should get to the basket against opponents they should be beating one on one.

So we really didn't play well and looked out of sync. Guess my eyes didn't deceive me after all.

[dhizzle]

Probably shouldn't play so many damn players. Also I thought the hogs were the ones that were suppose to create turnovers. The hogs will never be a able to guard the three. Every freaking year 3333333333333 from the other team.   

[OutlawHawg]

Where do you think Jones transfers to in the off-season?

[FineAsSwine]

Where do you think Jones transfers to in the off-season?

Hazen more likely, IF there were to be a transfer.

[Biggus Piggus]

Probably shouldn't play so many damn players. Also I thought the hogs were the ones that were suppose to create turnovers. The hogs will never be a able to guard the three. Every freaking year 3333333333333 from the other team.   

The real weakness is in the frontcourt. Dustin Thomas got in quick foul trouble last night. After he went out, the Hogs really struggled to score. Thomas isn't a scorer, so why this happened is a bit of a puzzle.

Cook came in and got two fouls. Thompson came in, got a foul, and did his usual refusal to get position for shots and/or take shots. Arkansas ended up relying on four guards, and when they did they gave up a huge run by Minnesota.

The game could have been in reach at half. With less than 3 minutes before half, the Hogs were down by 11. Minnesota made three straight treys without an Arkansas score, and the lead was 20. Gave up open shots, their guards made 'em. At the end of the half, when opposing guards are supposed to be tired.

[The_Iceman]

We lost this game because of turnovers. Of all the problems we could have, I feel that is the most correctable with experience. Lot of new pieces working together. I'd expect to see a different team when we play @ Texas.

[Biggus Piggus]

We lost this game because of turnovers. Of all the problems we could have, I feel that is the most correctable with experience. Lot of new pieces working together. I'd expect to see a different team when we play @ Texas.

Why the turnovers are happening is my concern. The Hogs do not have enough big men who play like big men. Collectively, Kingsley, Thomas and Cook are shooting poorly and turning over the ball, or creating turnovers for the guards. Thompson won't take shots, and he also loses the ball a lot.

Get greatly outscored from 3-pt range and have a negative turnover margin, you are going to lose. Sure. They can make tremendous progress if they fix those two problems.

In my view, the turnovers are coming from how well the Hogs are running halfcourt offense. The offense isn't flowing. They are not generating good shots in the flow of the offense. They aren't tossing things up, rebounding them and putting them back either.

Arkansas forced a good number of turnovers last night but didn't turn them into points. Overall, the lack of 3-point attempts was weird. People passed up shots. The offense was not whipping around the ball and finding anybody completely open, but players were passing up shots they could have taken too.

[Soooie21]

Kingsley should be a major force..but he seems worse than last year..not sure why he is always away from the basket...too many drives to the basket end up looking like they have no clue how to finish...

[Biggus Piggus]

Kingsley should be a major force..but he seems worse than last year..not sure why he is always away from the basket...too many drives to the basket end up looking like they have no clue how to finish...

If this team had even one good low-post scorer who would allow Kingsley to play the high post, everything else might click into place. Kingsley is trying to be the low post, and that really is not his game.

[razoredge178]

So we really didn't play well and looked out of sync. Guess my eyes didn't deceive me after all.

It appears that it doesn't matter how much talent you chunk on the court if the schematics, or lack thereof, don't work.

[Soooie21]

If this team had even one good low-post scorer who would allow Kingsley to play the high post, everything else might click into place. Kingsley is trying to be the low post, and that really is not his game.

If that is what they have in mind for him, then it is a waste...since they don't have that low post banger, then he should be...but all he looks like is a guy who blocks a few shots and misses jump shots..

[JIHawg]

Bottom line, we just looked like a poorly coached team that couldn't do anything well.

[TexArkHogFan]

I had to listen to the game on the radio but what was really frustrating when we fell behind, I don't know how many times the announcer said "........missed a gimmee."

[nwahogfan1]

The real weakness is in the frontcourt. Dustin Thomas got in quick foul trouble last night. After he went out, the Hogs really struggled to score. Thomas isn't a scorer, so why this happened is a bit of a puzzle.

Cook came in and got two fouls. Thompson came in, got a foul, and did his usual refusal to get position for shots and/or take shots. Arkansas ended up relying on four guards, and when they did they gave up a huge run by Minnesota.

The game could have been in reach at half. With less than 3 minutes before half, the Hogs were down by 11. Minnesota made three straight treys without an Arkansas score, and the lead was 20. Gave up open shots, their guards made 'em. At the end of the half, when opposing guards are supposed to be tired.

Mike has IMO done a bad job of recruiting bigger more physical front court players.  He tries to counter that with TOs and shooters.  But when you do not have consistent scoring from your inside guys then you have to rely on your guards to create their own shots or set some very good screens for each other.  Mike put in some combinations in the first half that were horrible.  We were throwing the ball away because no one was open on the outside and Moses was not getting the job done because lets face it he is not a true post up Center but More of a 4/5 combo man.  This is on Mike and his philosophy.  Either recruit tougher 4/5 players who can score more and will get  after you the whole game or run more set plays to get your shooters open.   Hannahs will never consistently be able to create his own shot.  Set some picks for him.  Him only getting a few 3s is totally unacceptable.  Is the Big 10 so much better than us that a bottom feeder from their conference totally destroyed us.  OUCH.

Remember that Nolen's best teams were when he had a very physical inside game who could both rebound and score.

All that said there will still be some games that we shoot well, force TOs and we will be very happy but lets get ready for more of these games also. 

I saw Georgia play against Kansas and even though they do not shoot the ball well or have gifted offensive players they love to get physical on the boards and will get points off of offensive put backs.  If our skinny team does not learn to create more TOs and get some easy points  we will get killed by those type teams.   

[Soooie21]

Minn. had some corn feed wide bodies..they were a physical bunch.

[Biggus Piggus]

That was the glaring weakness of Nolan's last teams too. He was unable to recruit a solid low post player. Those teams would have been much better with even one widebody in the rotation who wasn't 6-4.

We have a widebody, but he's inert.

[nwahogfan1]

If that is what they have in mind for him, then it is a waste...since they don't have that low post banger, then he should be...but all he looks like is a guy who blocks a few shots and misses jump shots..

Mike knew this.  Why is he so dead set on not having 4 or 5 big men on his roster every year I just do not get it.  I am talking about 6'7+, 235+ bangers not skinny kids who love to mix it up down low. 

I said after watching the two exhibition games.  We do not have a true 4.  All of our guys we have playing the 4 are more like 3/4 types.  We need some true bangers who love it down there.

Even though we were killed last night when we play those teams where we shoot the 3 ball well, can create TOs and get easy baskets we will look pretty good.  But to get back to the top 10 again we need to sign more true big men.    We need a mix of players like was on that 93-94 team.  Big men who can score down low, bang on the boards and defend. 

[Soooie21]

Does Corliss Williamson have any kids....Oliver Miller...

[nwahogfan1]

Does Corliss Williamson have any kids....Oliver Miller...

But would Mike recruit them?   He likes the skinny guys.

[Atlhogfan1]

Mike knew this.  Why is he so dead set on not having 4 or 5 big men on his roster every year I just do not get it.  I am talking about 6'7+, 235+ bangers not skinny kids who get beat up down low. 

I said after watching the 1st two exhibition games.  We do not have a true 4.  All of our guys we have playing the 4 are more the 3/4 types.  We need some true bangers who love it down there.

But saying that when we play those teams where we can create TOs and get easy baskets we will look pretty good.  But to get back to the top 10 again we need to sign more true big men.

Hawg Ball  - A system created for undersized, underdog teams driven by guards, wings and versatile forwards.  When blended by a HOF coach with some post players with size, strength and great hands did something special.  We don't have the HOF coach in his prime hungry for success now. 

That was the glaring weakness of Nolan's last teams too. He was unable to recruit a solid low post player. Those teams would have been much better with even one widebody in the rotation who wasn't 6-4.

We have a widebody, but he's inert.

Mike was lead assistant and recruiter.  Coincidence? 

[Biggus Piggus]

Mike knew this.  Why is he so dead set on not having 4 or 5 big men on his roster every year I just do not get it.  I am talking about 6'7+, 235+ bangers not skinny kids who love to mix it up down low. 

Arkansas has tried to recruit these players, tried and failed. They know they need 'em.

[Atlhogfan1]

Arkansas has tried to recruit these players, tried and failed. They know they need 'em.

What would attract them to the program?   To learn to try and guard 20 feet and out? 

[Razorod]

Here's the player we missed on last year that we could really use:

http://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/player/_/id/4066367/tyler-cook

[lynbug]

I said in a post a couple of days ago that if we don't improve our post presence and Dusty doesn't either hit his threes or drive and get fouled we're in trouble when the SEC starts.  Well the problems surfaced a little early. And you're all right with the size problem.  As soon as I saw our little guys beside their bruisers I knew it would be a long night.  My low points were when Moses had the ball under the basket and turned around to hand it off to one of our players, but instead he handed it to their player..........and when the camera went to Macon standing looking  like a totally confused 14-yr. old.  It looked like a jr. high team playing a college team.  Bottom line......if we're up against a worse team where we can scramble, play street ball, etc., we might win.  Otherwise, when strategy and preparation is called for...............

[hogwood]

Why the turnovers are happening is my concern. The Hogs do not have enough big men who play like big men. Collectively, Kingsley, Thomas and Cook are shooting poorly and turning over the ball, or creating turnovers for the guards. Thompson won't take shots, and he also loses the ball a lot.

Get greatly outscored from 3-pt range and have a negative turnover margin, you are going to lose. Sure. They can make tremendous progress if they fix those two problems.

In my view, the turnovers are coming from how well the Hogs are running halfcourt offense. The offense isn't flowing. They are not generating good shots in the flow of the offense. They aren't tossing things up, rebounding them and putting them back either.

Arkansas forced a good number of turnovers last night but didn't turn them into points. Overall, the lack of 3-point attempts was weird. People passed up shots. The offense was not whipping around the ball and finding anybody completely open, but players were passing up shots they could have taken too.

The TO's were my concern last night as well. The whole team looked like it just lacked any confidence at all to get to the hole or put up a shot. Too many stupid passes that resulted in steals. I remember when the Hogs were coming up the court and I think Barford passed it to Thompson to help advance the ball - TT wasn't even looking! The ball bounced off his back and I think Barford picked it back up again. Then there was the Dusty drive where he scooped the ball around the D to pass it to Adrio Bailey. Bailey was blinded by the defenders and thought Dusty was going up with it - wasn't even looking! In reality Dusty was in great position to have gotten around the D and easily made a reverse layup but he wasn't thinking to take the ball to the hole. The only evidence of real aggressive offensive play making I saw was when Macon drove to the hole and made a spectacular layup. He was invigorated afterwards, but obviously it didn't transfer to anyone else or even to Macon thereafter.

The TO's are why we lost the game. Yeah our D was horrible but if we hadn't turned it over so much and would have been confident with the ball instead, we could have matched their scoring. The TO's are a result of lack of cohesiveness as a team, a sign of inexperience and discomfort. I would expect this to improve as the season goes on and be almost non-existent in our future home games.

[spahoopsfan]

The TO's were my concern last night as well. The whole team looked like it just lacked any confidence at all to get to the hole or put up a shot. Too many stupid passes that resulted in steals. I remember when the Hogs were coming up the court and I think Barford passed it to Thompson to help advance the ball - TT wasn't even looking! The ball bounced off his back and I think Barford picked it back up again. Then there was the Dusty drive where he scooped the ball around the D to pass it to Adrio Bailey. Bailey was blinded by the defenders and thought Dusty was going up with it - wasn't even looking! In reality Dusty was in great position to have gotten around the D and easily made a reverse layup but he wasn't thinking to take the ball to the hole. The only evidence of real aggressive offensive play making I saw was when Macon drove to the hole and made a spectacular layup. He was invigorated afterwards, but obviously it didn't transfer to anyone else or even to Macon thereafter.

The TO's are why we lost the game. Yeah our D was horrible but if we hadn't turned it over so much and would have been confident with the ball instead, we could have matched their scoring. The TO's are a result of lack of cohesiveness as a team, a sign of inexperience and discomfort. I would expect this to improve as the season goes on and be almost non-existent in our future home games.

It is all about coaching.  On offense our players seems to just "winging it" no method to their play, easy to cover, then go driving into the lane.  We the first shot of the game is your all sec center shooting a three pointer with plenty of time on the shot clock, then you have no plan.

[Soooie21]

But would Mike recruit them?   He likes the skinny guys.

As long as they play like Todd Day,..Sidney, Darrell Walker...you get the picture..

[Biggus Piggus]

When we talk about comparisons between Nolan and MA, one major factor is the change in weekly practice time.

Coaches are limited to four hours' "countable athletically related activities" per day, 20 hours per week. Game days are counted as three hours, regardless of how many hours are involved. Players must be given one day off per week during the season.

Daily/weekly hour limits do not apply when classes are not in session. Hogs should be getting in a lot of practice between now and Monday.

I wonder how many fewer cumulative practice hours this team has had compared with a similar team 20-30 years ago. They need all that work to get to speed on MA's systems.

[HogBreath]

When we talk about comparisons between Nolan and MA, one major factor is the change in weekly practice time.

Coaches are limited to four hours' "countable athletically related activities" per day, 20 hours per week. Game days are counted as three hours, regardless of how many hours are involved. Players must be given one day off per week during the season.

Daily/weekly hour limits do not apply when classes are not in session. Hogs should be getting in a lot of practice between now and Monday.

I wonder how many fewer cumulative practice hours this team has had compared with a similar team 20-30 years ago. They need all that work to get to speed on MA's systems.

Hopefully Mike will come to see that his exciting fast 40 system is just so darned complicated that he just doesn't have enough time to teach it to these young men.

[hawginbigd1]

The real weakness is in the frontcourt. Dustin Thomas got in quick foul trouble last night. After he went out, the Hogs really struggled to score. Thomas isn't a scorer, so why this happened is a bit of a puzzle.

Cook came in and got two fouls. Thompson came in, got a foul, and did his usual refusal to get position for shots and/or take shots. Arkansas ended up relying on four guards, and when they did they gave up a huge run by Minnesota.

The game could have been in reach at half. With less than 3 minutes before half, the Hogs were down by 11. Minnesota made three straight treys without an Arkansas score, and the lead was 20. Gave up open shots, their guards made 'em. At the end of the half, when opposing guards are supposed to be tired.

IMO people always spend too much time focusing on our offense, when we are playing good to better defense we will always score enough to win. Same thing happened Friday, poor defense put us behind, defense picked up intensity, quit giving as many wide open looks and we came back and won. Now I didn't get to watch last night because I guess my parents have the equivalent of AOL dial up from their Dish service, but I bet it was the same kind of issue.

[MemphisBossHog]

I hate to say this because I have been pulling for Mike ever since he got the job.  I remember the day he came back and the announcement and his speech/talk at BWA.  Everyone was happy thinking MA was going to bring back the glory from a previous era, but now, I honestly wonder just how good of an actual coach Mike is.  I watch the team play and they make bad decisions.  They dont seem crisp.  I honestly have a hard time figuring out what kind of offense they actually run.

But what is even more painfully obvious is that MA just doesnt have the talent.  We all look at Mike and compare him to what Nolan did.  Well Nolan had some hosses starting with Ron Huery, Todd Day, Corliss, et al.  Mike struggles to get big time talent, therefore he needs to be able to "coach em up" as they say and I just dont see it.

Its always fun to always play in front of your home fans but the first time you go on the road against a NON cupcake opponent and some adversity pops up and you just fold like tent tells me that the coach is not preparing these kids for little things like say....ROAD GAMES.  Now they have gotten their arses handed to them by a decent Minnesota team and they go back and play their next 5 games at BWA to further inflate their record.  What this does is keep MA's record decent so that he cant be fired for lack of wins, but it is so predictable.  We have seen it every year under MA.  He pads his record with home wins over nobodies and then goes on the road and gets waxed--see Iowa State last year.  Sooner or later he needs to take his team on the road and toughen them up so they dont look like deer in headlights every time they play in a hostile gym. 

I had hoped that with the injection of the JUCO players that going on the road would not be a debacle, but it made no difference.  They looked out of sync, not very well coached while the other team was jacking 3s and building a big lead.  Then in the 2nd half, after the Hogs maybe were not as scared and nervous, they played fairly even, but the damage had been done in the first half and there was not enough heart shown that would give anyone the impression that we could come back from that kind of deficit.

[FineAsSwine]

Give the jucos a minute to get their legs up under them and if it becomes apparent later that they just can't cut it, then go ahead and bring out your pitchforks and torches. Too early for that right now, too small of a sample size.

[rickfahr]

I'm not a coach or a basketball strategy expert, but I know these things:

1. The game has changed since Nolan's players were able to hand-check and physically trap opponents and cause turnovers.
2. If you can't rebound well, you can't often get your fast-break going.
3. Running some sort of recognizable offense could get key players better looks.

This team will be the same as we've seen for the past few years. No reason to believe differently.

[FineAsSwine]

This team will be the same as we've seen for the past few years. No reason to believe differently.

This is true. This team might look like the 27 win team of a few years ago, minus 3-4 wins. I'll take that win total with the bad defense, no halfcourt offense, no discernable strategy and all. Just win baby. 

[CDBHawg]

Scrap the full court press and play fundamental basketball. This is a complete team and can do so. By pressing and being the "#fastest40" we force teams into transition points & quick three's, the style we want on offense. The problem is that the other team forces us to play half court. So, we might as well just do it, practice it, learn it, repeat it.

[pigsooie1000]

I don't really think they folded like a tent, we just had a bad lineup out and they got really hot for about 8 minutes. the biggest worries to me are as usual the 4 spot. Thomas brings a bit of the Coty Clarke game, I like him, but Cook and Bailey and Hazen look like pretty big whiffs to go along with Thompson, who continues to improve at a snails pace and ridiculously is still out of shape. we need to hire UTA's strength coach, there is no excuse for Watkins and Thompson to be carrying 10 extra pounds and not improved their vertical leap at all during college or for Hannahs, Bell, and Beard to not get any stronger over their careers which has massively limited their defense (though I still like Beard on that side).

Macon's decision making is still like he's the best player on the court and can do whatever he wants, if he tones it down he should be a great contributor. Barford has made a ton of great plays and then just hasn't quite finished, but he's flashed best player on the team, difference-making talent. Kingsley doesn't seem in sync yet, when he does get in sync I still think this is a high-single digit tourney team with a very good starting lineup. playing super fast gets Kingsley in foul trouble, exposes our weak man-to-man defense, and means we see more Thompson, Cook, Bailey, etc so I'd like to see a slower game and more zone this year.

I'd also love to see a lot more CJ Jones, because he actually looks like an offensive player in the very limited sample we've seen

[Exit Pursued by a Boar]

It's only one game, Biggus, but I do recall you saying we had a "pressure offense" a week or so ago.  This game, not so much.  Not every possession is going to be a fast break opportunity. And you ably support an argument that our motion offense is not yet a glittering finished product.  MA needs to spend a lot of time on that.

EFBAB

[HF#1]

These sort of performances are all to common under Mike. Especially on the road. Not just Iowa State.

[Biggus Piggus]

Minnesota lost at Florida State 75-67. The deficit was as large as 19 late in the game. Gophers led slightly at half but got swamped right away in the second half.

They shot

32% inside (49% vs. Arkansas)
33% outside (60% vs. Arkansas)
with
-2 turnover margin (+7 vs. Arkansas)

Amir Coffey scored 7 (19 vs. Arkansas); nobody had more than 11.

Florida State starts four bigs and a guard. They bring three more big men off the bench.

They are pretty much everything we wish we were. And FSU is a middle-of-the-pack team in the ACC.

[FineAsSwine]

Teams sometimes play pretty badly on the road.

[PonderinHog]

The road really does separate the men from the boys.