I was at the KY game and here is what I saw

[HognotinMemphis]

An Arkansas team that ran its offense in a disciplined manner and played decent, not great, defense for first half.

An Arkansas team that did less than adequate job of blocking out, or even trying to block out, for rebounds for entire game.

An Arkansas team that for whatever reason, totally abandoned its offense in the 2nd half and left it to Macon driving badly 1 on 2 and 1 on 3 for bad shots, to Beard shooting 3's, and to Barford playing lethargically and throwing up poor shots. Barford 4 of 16 from field.

All in all, Calipari out-coached Anderson, KY stuck to its offense and got plenty of layups and dunks and its 4 freshmen out-fundamentaled Arkansas' 4 seniors (and rest of the team) with far superior rebounding, better run offense, better shot selection and measurably better FT shooting.

An 11-2 start by the Hogs in first 2 min of game ended up meaning nothing.  The Hogs were outshot from the field, from the 3 pt line and the FT line by the young visitors. How this KY team has lost 7 SEC games I do not know. They looked like they were so much better than Arkansas that if they played the Hogs 10 times this year, the Hogs would lose all 10. Hogs totally and completely overmatched.

[HF#1]

You forgot our bench sucked.

[The_Iceman]

I was there too. There is a clear way to defend this Kentucky team and win. Mediocre Mike was unable or unwilling to do that. He played right into their strengths. Anyone with any basketball knowledge could see this. Calipari exploited Mike and it was sad to watch.

[HognotinMemphis]

You forgot our bench sucked.

You are correct. I did forget to say that. I really did think it but forgot to list it. We even noted that in the stands about half way thru 2nd half. 6th through 8th men did absolutely nothing.

And i don't know if it was Arkansas' offense or KY's defense, I suspect the latter, but Gafford shot the ball only 6 times.

KY got so many offensive rebounds, I could not keep up with them. 2nd and 3rd shots many times. Outrebounded the Hogs in a big way.

[Hoggish1]

An Arkansas team that ran its offense in a disciplined manner and played decent, not great, defense for first half.

An Arkansas team that did less than adequate job of blocking out, or even trying to block out, for rebounds for entire game.


All in all, Calipari out-coached Anderson, KY stuck to its offense and got plenty of layups and dunks and its 4 freshmen out-fundamentaled Arkansas' 4 seniors (and rest of the team) with far superior rebounding, better run offense, better shot selection and measurably better FT shooting.

Calipari out coached Anderson —that's not saying much

Cats made their FTs Hogs didn't

Cats have six guys as big as Gafford two of which were always stationed on either side of the lane and when the guards penetrated one or the other took a lob for a dunk—simple.

ONE MORE THING KY — SHOOTS WELL FOR A CHANGE JUST WHEN THEY NEEDED TO.

[HognotinMemphis]

Calipari out coached Anderson —that's not saying much

Cats made their FTs Hogs didn't

Cats have six guys as big as Gafford two of which were always stationed on either side of the lane and when the guards penetrated one or the other took a lob for a dunk—simple.

ONE MORE THING KY — SHOOTS WELL FOR A CHANGE JUST WHEN THEY NEEDED TO.

KY's offense looked polished the entire game and they never wavered from it. Can't say same for Arkansas. For 4 guys who were playing high school ball this time last year, Mickey D's or not, pretty impressive in a SEC road game in front of 18,000 fans of the opponent. Maybe Anderson can learn something from the size and shape of KY's players who were far superior to our players.

[MountieDawg]

An Arkansas team that ran its offense in a disciplined manner and played decent, not great, defense for first half.

An Arkansas team that did less than adequate job of blocking out, or even trying to block out, for rebounds for entire game.

An Arkansas team that for whatever reason, totally abandoned its offense in the 2nd half and left it to Macon driving badly 1 on 2 and 1 on 3 for bad shots, to Beard shooting 3's, and to Barford playing lethargically and throwing up poor shots. Barford 4 of 16 from field.

All in all, Calipari out-coached Anderson, KY stuck to its offense and got plenty of layups and dunks and its 4 freshmen out-fundamentaled Arkansas' 4 seniors (and rest of the team) with far superior rebounding, better run offense, better shot selection and measurably better FT shooting.

An 11-2 start by the Hogs in first 2 min of game ended up meaning nothing.  The Hogs were outshot from the field, from the 3 pt line and the FT line by the young visitors. How this KY team has lost 7 SEC games I do not know. They looked like they were so much better than Arkansas that if they played the Hogs 10 times this year, the Hogs would lose all 10. Hogs totally and completely overmatched.

Is far more simple than that.... Gambling, over playing defense if steals are not made leaves to wide open 3 pointers or rebounds because the person underneath has to leave his man/position to help out on the person that got open due to his defender out of position going for the steal. 

[CiriusPorker]

you mean, I couldn't have possibly noticed that on my own last night on TV?

[hogsanity]

What I saw last night was the same thing I have seen in probably 90% the losses since Mike took the job.

[Letsroll1200]

I was surprised that Kentucky wore Arkansas down. Fatigue makes cowards of us all!  I know that our players run Cleveland Hill but there are some guys that I can outrun on the Razorbacks. That's not saying much. We looked like the Arkansas Razorbacks football team in the second half. It looked like we was running in mud with weights on and Kentucky was running right past these guys.

[code red]

I was there too. There is a clear way to defend this Kentucky team and win. Mediocre Mike was unable or unwilling to do that. He played right into their strengths. Anyone with any basketball knowledge could see this. Calipari exploited Mike and it was sad to watch.

Not really hard to do. Anderson would do well to just throw that ESPN mike in the Gatorade cooler, bc, he is embaressing himself.

[code red]

You are correct. I did forget to say that. I really did think it but forgot to list it. We even noted that in the stands about half way thru 2nd half. 6th through 8th men did absolutely nothing.

And i don't know if it was Arkansas' offense or KY's defense, I suspect the latter, but Gafford shot the ball only 6 times.

KY got so many offensive rebounds, I could not keep up with them. 2nd and 3rd shots many times. Outrebounded the Hogs in a big way.

Gafford shot 6 but shot 64% for the game....kinda makes you wonder why in the heck he doesn't touch the ball every position.

[raz1965]

Hopefully a learning experience for the team, Ky clearly is more talented, and when allowed to get confident with there shooting unstoppable.

[HF#1]

You are correct. I did forget to say that. I really did think it but forgot to list it. We even noted that in the stands about half way thru 2nd half. 6th through 8th men did absolutely nothing.

And i don't know if it was Arkansas' offense or KY's defense, I suspect the latter, but Gafford shot the ball only 6 times.

KY got so many offensive rebounds, I could not keep up with them. 2nd and 3rd shots many times. Outrebounded the Hogs in a big way.

After our 11-0 start, we stopped moving the ball. We started over dribbling and playing one on one. At the beginning of the game we were being praised by Joe Tess and company for our spacing. We completely lost that half way through the first half and never got it back.

The worst part was how many open dunks Kentucky had. But it's not like we haven't seen that before. They were slaughtering us on the backside and never once did I see us rotate over to help. We never adjusted. They dominated the paint because of our lack of knowing what was going on.

[HF#1]

Hopefully a learning experience for the team, Ky clearly is more talented, and when allowed to get confident with there shooting unstoppable.

I didn't think they were that much more talented. In fact, that was the most beatable Kentucky team I've seen at BWA in 10 years.

[HF#1]

Gafford shot 6 but shot 64% for the game....kinda makes you wonder why in the heck he doesn't touch the ball every position.

Because we can't throw an entry pass to save our life.

[Polecat]

You are correct. I did forget to say that. I really did think it but forgot to list it. We even noted that in the stands about half way thru 2nd half. 6th through 8th men did absolutely nothing.

And i don't know if it was Arkansas' offense or KY's defense, I suspect the latter, but Gafford shot the ball only 6 times.

KY got so many offensive rebounds, I could not keep up with them. 2nd and 3rd shots many times. Outrebounded the Hogs in a big way.

Gafford needs more strength in his legs. The book on him is to get underneath him and root him out of his spot. Also, our guards don't do a good enough job of finding him when he does get position down low. I spend half the game yelling at the TV "throw it to him!"

[rude1]

Gafford shot 6 but shot 64% for the game....kinda makes you wonder why in the heck he doesn't touch the ball every position.

Gafford's NBA status isn't in doubt, but we have a couple of guards who are using the games to exhibit their offensive arsenal for NBA scouts, therefore rest is needed when on the defensive end, so it is used for taking a break until we get the ball back, and unfortunately Gafford is dependant on those guys to offer up some touches.

[Mo_Better_Hogs]

KY got so many offensive rebounds, I could not keep up with them. 2nd and 3rd shots many times. Outrebounded the Hogs in a big way.

Although, plenty of times they'd hit the shot. But on the other end, it was ugly, watching us put up a (so-so) shot and it was immediately in the hands of Kentucky. Terrible.

[Corkscrew Johnson]

Anderson's dogged commitment to Beard means we are going to live and die with his play.  Probably the latter.  His upside is capped.  In our offense, he is playing as a shooting guard, but he doesn't shoot as well as Macon, and he can't score/slash as well as Barford.  He routinely makes bad decisions, not just in turning the ball over, but in his shot selection.  While he hit last night, he has the lowest 3 point shooting percentage on the team.  He is tough kid, plays hard, and can score from time to time, but his role should be providing energy and defense off the bench.  We cannot win against the elite teams with him playing 32 minutes a game. 

Hall looks like a young Kawhi Leonard.  His upside is much higher.  We need to rip the bandaid off and get him as much PT as possible with Beard's minutes, because come tourney time, he has the potential to carry us much farther. 

[WMHawgfan]

Gafford shot 6 but shot 64% for the game....kinda makes you wonder why in the heck he doesn't touch the ball every position.

I agree he needs more touches but he also has to learn to take quality shots and how to pass out of the post. Not sure if anyone else notices but if he touches the ball he is going to make a move to shoot it whether its there or not. I think that is part of the reluctance of the guards to give up the ball to him. Not that they don't force up plenty of shots of their own.

I also agree with those that say he has to get stronger. Not that he is a beanpole but he tends to look a little weak and clumsy at times. He needs a stronger base and needs to get stronger in his hands.

[LJHOG]

I watched the last 10 minutes of the first half on TV.  Here is what I saw.  Kentucky has better players than we do and they do the fundamental things we don't, like blocking out.

[b_stackhouse]

I was there too. There is a clear way to defend this Kentucky team and win. Mediocre Mike was unable or unwilling to do that. He played right into their strengths. Anyone with any basketball knowledge could see this. Calipari exploited Mike and it was sad to watch.

Can you give some specifics on this? I'm not trying to pick an argument or anything like that. I wasn't able to watch most of the game and am looking for more details into this.

[riccoar]

Wonder if he means Zone defense.  No idea why you would try and match up against that many blue-chippers man to man.  We play man to man and our 3-ball defense is about the same as it is in backyard 21, wide open.

[hawgtime]

An Arkansas team that ran its offense in a disciplined manner and played decent, not great, defense for first half.

An Arkansas team that did less than adequate job of blocking out, or even trying to block out, for rebounds for entire game.

An Arkansas team that for whatever reason, totally abandoned its offense in the 2nd half and left it to Macon driving badly 1 on 2 and 1 on 3 for bad shots, to Beard shooting 3's, and to Barford playing lethargically and throwing up poor shots. Barford 4 of 16 from field.

All in all, Calipari out-coached Anderson, KY stuck to its offense and got plenty of layups and dunks and its 4 freshmen out-fundamentaled Arkansas' 4 seniors (and rest of the team) with far superior rebounding, better run offense, better shot selection and measurably better FT shooting.

An 11-2 start by the Hogs in first 2 min of game ended up meaning nothing.  The Hogs were outshot from the field, from the 3 pt line and the FT line by the young visitors. How this KY team has lost 7 SEC games I do not know. They looked like they were so much better than Arkansas that if they played the Hogs 10 times this year, the Hogs would lose all 10. Hogs totally and completely overmatched.

what I feared.  We need the big three to continue HOT shooting or we seem to fall apart.  we need to keep passing and pushing and playing tough D.  EVEN when it is not going our way. 

come on HOGS

[Sow Lancelot]

An Arkansas team that ran its offense in a disciplined manner and played decent, not great, defense for first half.

An Arkansas team that did less than adequate job of blocking out, or even trying to block out, for rebounds for entire game.

An Arkansas team that for whatever reason, totally abandoned its offense in the 2nd half and left it to Macon driving badly 1 on 2 and 1 on 3 for bad shots, to Beard shooting 3's, and to Barford playing lethargically and throwing up poor shots. Barford 4 of 16 from field.

All in all, Calipari out-coached Anderson, KY stuck to its offense and got plenty of layups and dunks and its 4 freshmen out-fundamentaled Arkansas' 4 seniors (and rest of the team) with far superior rebounding, better run offense, better shot selection and measurably better FT shooting.

An 11-2 start by the Hogs in first 2 min of game ended up meaning nothing.  The Hogs were outshot from the field, from the 3 pt line and the FT line by the young visitors. How this KY team has lost 7 SEC games I do not know. They looked like they were so much better than Arkansas that if they played the Hogs 10 times this year, the Hogs would lose all 10. Hogs totally and completely overmatched.

We never TRY to block out. For some reason our strategy is to out-jump the opponent for rebounds. It's always been this way.

[The_Iceman]

Can you give some specifics on this? I'm not trying to pick an argument or anything like that. I wasn't able to watch most of the game and am looking for more details into this.

If you are playing the worst 3ot shooting team in the SEC, don't run a defense that allows the other team to get uncontested dunks and tip ins.

See: http://www.hogville.net/yabbse/index.php?topic=657739.0

[steveaustin69]

Calipari out coached Anderson —that's not saying much

Cats made their FTs Hogs didn't

Cats have six guys as big as Gafford two of which were always stationed on either side of the lane and when the guards penetrated one or the other took a lob for a dunk—simple.

ONE MORE THING KY — SHOOTS WELL FOR A CHANGE JUST WHEN THEY NEEDED TO.

They shot well because our defense gives open look after open look.  D1 basketball players are gonna knock down wide open threes.

[rude1]

We never TRY to block out. For some reason our strategy is to out-jump the opponent for rebounds. It's always been this way.

We can't block out, because we are out of position with our defense broken when many shots go up, one ball screen and our center is out 25' trying to defend a ball handler, meanwhile our 6' guard is inside trying defend their post player, when the shot goes up, Beard has no chance on the boards against the other teams big. IMO it is one of the reasons Gafford's rebounding numbers aren't better, we let the other team take him away from the basket with a simple ball screen that he has been  taught to switch immediately!!!

[GoHogs1091]

I watched the last 10 minutes of the first half on TV.  Here is what I saw.  Kentucky has better players than we do and they do the fundamental things we don't, like blocking out.

According to Nolan Richardson, rebounding is overrated.

Anderson may feel the same way even though he probably won't publicly admit it that he feels the same about rebounding as Nolan.

[TNhawgfan]

you mean, I couldn't have possibly noticed that on my own last night on TV?

Nope, if you weren't there you aren't a real fan. And if you question MA, you aren't a real fan. Real fans will tell you we're awesome. Just ask real fan FCJ

[golfinpig]

Is far more simple than that.... Gambling, over playing defense if steals are not made leaves to wide open 3 pointers or rebounds because the person underneath has to leave his man/position to help out on the person that got open due to his defender out of position going for the steal.

Finally! I thought I was the only one who is sick of the half ass full court press that we "try" to play. We end up chasing the ball up the floor leaving the other team with a 4on 3 or 3 on 2 advantage 75% of the time. Thus the open 3's and dunks.

[HognotinMemphis]

We never TRY to block out. For some reason our strategy is to out-jump the opponent for rebounds. It's always been this way.

That is a good strategy...to get the HC fired.

Anderson has 7 years at Arkansas and not much to show for it. Starting 4 seniors and having what I call a very boring, average season that may get them a lower seed in the NCAAT, if they make it at all. Just boring.

[HogsonHicks]

I was surprised that Kentucky wore Arkansas down. Fatigue makes cowards of us all!  I know that our players run Cleveland Hill but there are some guys that I can outrun on the Razorbacks. That's not saying much. We looked like the Arkansas Razorbacks football team in the second half. It looked like we was running in mud with weights on and Kentucky was running right past these guys.

We wore OURSELVES down with pointlessly pressing, trapping, and insisting on man defense the entire night.  When your bench isn't helping, you MUST preserve your starters. Further, when a team is killing you in the paint, you must collapse and force them to change approach.  We stubbornly refused to do so.  Again.

That Kentucky team is certainly beatable, as has been shown multiple times.

[fieldturf]

Anderson's dogged commitment to Beard means we are going to live and die with his play.  Probably the latter.  His upside is capped.  In our offense, he is playing as a shooting guard, but he doesn't shoot as well as Macon, and he can't score/slash as well as Barford.  He routinely makes bad decisions, not just in turning the ball over, but in his shot selection.  While he hit last night, he has the lowest 3 point shooting percentage on the team.  He is tough kid, plays hard, and can score from time to time, but his role should be providing energy and defense off the bench.  We cannot win against the elite teams with him playing 32 minutes a game. 

Hall looks like a young Kawhi Leonard.  His upside is much higher.  We need to rip the bandaid off and get him as much PT as possible with Beard's minutes, because come tourney time, he has the potential to carry us much farther. 

Thank you, been my thinking all along!  Diminish Beard's minutes and give more to Hall, Gabe and CJ.

[BoarnSupremacy]

An Arkansas team that ran its offense in a disciplined manner and played decent, not great, defense for first half.

An Arkansas team that did less than adequate job of blocking out, or even trying to block out, for rebounds for entire game.

An Arkansas team that for whatever reason, totally abandoned its offense in the 2nd half and left it to Macon driving badly 1 on 2 and 1 on 3 for bad shots, to Beard shooting 3's, and to Barford playing lethargically and throwing up poor shots. Barford 4 of 16 from field.

All in all, Calipari out-coached Anderson, KY stuck to its offense and got plenty of layups and dunks and its 4 freshmen out-fundamentaled Arkansas' 4 seniors (and rest of the team) with far superior rebounding, better run offense, better shot selection and measurably better FT shooting.

An 11-2 start by the Hogs in first 2 min of game ended up meaning nothing.  The Hogs were outshot from the field, from the 3 pt line and the FT line by the young visitors. How this KY team has lost 7 SEC games I do not know. They looked like they were so much better than Arkansas that if they played the Hogs 10 times this year, the Hogs would lose all 10. Hogs totally and completely overmatched.

Mike and his staff are less than average

[Pigsear]

Hopefully a learning experience for the team, Ky clearly is more talented, and when allowed to get confident with there shooting unstoppable.

Hopefully a learning experience for our coach.

[rude1]

Hopefully a learning experience for our coach.

No, it's the same ole same ole, "we are going to impose our will on them". Translated that means, "no matter how many dunks, layups, or wide open 3s you bury, we are going to continue to do this until you get tired"..............

[TNhawgfan]

Thank you, been my thinking all along!  Diminish Beard's minutes and give more to Hall, Gabe and CJ.

CJ? You like wide open misses and no defense do you?

[Letsroll1200]

CJ? You like wide open misses and no defense do you?

CJ is lost on defense and want rebound if his life depended on it. He has to make those open looks.

[HognotinMemphis]

No, it's the same ole same ole, "we are going to impose our will on them". Translated that means, "no matter how many dunks, layups, or wide open 3s you bury, we are going to continue to do this until you get tired"..............

It's only a flesh wound. They can keep fighting.

[SSFrazorback]

Man, people twist themselves into knots trying to find reasons to blame Mike. He got absolutely nothing from his bench forcing him to play the starters way more than they could handle. Meanwhile, Kentucky had some foul trouble in the 1st half meaning they had players resting. They also got good production from their bench.
All this adds up to a fresh Kentucky and a worn out Arkansas down the stretch.
Now back to your regularly scheduled Mike bashing.

[TomasPistola]

Man, people twist themselves into knots trying to find reasons to blame Mike. He got absolutely nothing from his bench forcing him to play the starters way more than they could handle. Meanwhile, Kentucky had some foul trouble in the 1st half meaning they had players resting. They also got good production from their bench.
All this adds up to a fresh Kentucky and a worn out Arkansas down the stretch.
Now back to your regularly scheduled Mike bashing.

Seems like I remember Mike recruiting said bench. I'd say he's at least partially culpable.

[rude1]

Man, people twist themselves into knots trying to find reasons to blame Mike. He got absolutely nothing from his bench forcing him to play the starters way more than they could handle. Meanwhile, Kentucky had some foul trouble in the 1st half meaning they had players resting. They also got good production from their bench.
All this adds up to a fresh Kentucky and a worn out Arkansas down the stretch.
Now back to your regularly scheduled Mike bashing.

Then the question becomes, when a coach knows he is going to shorten his bench because he realizes the bench isn't producing, then why does said coach continue to press, trap, and scramble on defense, forcing his players who are going to play extended minutes to expend lots of energy playing a defense that isn't even working, while the opposition is playing it's bench and getting great production? Thanks for pointing out our coaching problem.

[riccoar]

Mike seems hell bent on forcing a square peg through a round hole.  Pressing when our players are ill prepared for it.  It's not producing as much points as it's giving the other team easy baskets, yet we still do it.  Playing man to man against a team of blue chippers instead of zone so they get easy uncontested 3 point shots. 

We need 2 of these last 3 games.

[Ex-Trumpet]

Legit question:  if MA were the Hogs' football coach, do y'all think he would he have been fired a long time ago?

[HogInThaGrove]

I hear that they chart everything, from touches/deflections, to steals, etc...

So, if we are so numbers driven, how can they not see that we give up more points when we press than we score off of the potential steals we get?  And if that's so, then we shouldn't do it.  It's simple stuff, if what you're doing is more beneficial for the other team, you stop doing it.  But Mike is stubborn and refuses to see things like that.  He continues to think that we will all of a sudden be forcing 20 turnovers a game and having tons of steals and fast break points when this team is his lowest turnover generating team ever.  Just absolutely can not understand his thinking.  I would be staying up for weeks at a time trying to think of ways to adjust to fix the problems.  I'm sure he sleeps like a baby.  Paying coaches millions and rewarding them with extensions for mediocrity will do that. 

[ChicoHog]

Mike seems hell bent on forcing a square peg through a round hole.  Pressing when our players are ill prepared for it.  It's not producing as much points as it's giving the other team easy baskets, yet we still do it.  Playing man to man against a team of blue chippers instead of zone so they get easy uncontested 3 point shots. 

We need 2 of these last 3 games.

That's Anderson in a nutshell.  Another poster mentioned Nolan said rebounding is over rated.  Nolan was a great coach but he was wrong about that.  Rebounding is very important.  You cannot keep giving the opponent 2 and 3 shots every time.  Pretty simple concept.   Another poster said college players make wide open 3's.  I agree as it seems each year more teams shoot more and more three's and even though the percentages may go down a little they score more because they shoot more.  So why give up open 3's?  No reason at all. Play straight up man to man, stop switching and double teaming so much, don't guard a guy closely 35 feet from the basket when he can just drive right by you, and we will stop giving up so many easy baskets.

[Kevin]

here is what I heard then saw.

cma tell his team in a timeout, pass the ball, and move.  right after timeout, barford goes right out take 4 dribbles & shoots the guarded fade away. then cma turns to his coaches and shrugs. 

[hawgtime]

just rewatched the game.

9 times out of 10  Talent will beat Teams.  KY has Talent, do doubt.  I was hoping this was our year.  it was our best chance yet.

second was night and day.... we went cold and were still jacking up threes.  i LOVE threes, but if you aren't hitting, ratchet up the D and drive to the bucket!  we needed steals, easy buckets and fouls.

i love the HOGS and always will but geeeeesh.

i think a few McD all americans will go a long way with his game plan.