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John Calipari says Arkansas players are ‘a little fragile’ after Texas A&M loss
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John Calipari knows Arkansas is running out of chances to move itself off the bubble and safely into the NCAA Tournament.
The Razorbacks lost to No. 8 Texas A&M 69-61 on Saturday. The game was tied on a Billy Richmond III layup with 9:24 to play in the second half, but that was the last shot Arkansas would make for nearly 5 minutes as A&M used an 11-2 run to take control of the game for good.
Arkansas (15-10, 4-8 SEC) has 3 games remaining against teams that are currently ranked in the AP poll. That includes a trip to No. 1 Auburn on Wednesday. While it’s technically true that Calipari’s squad still has time to add to its résumé, Calipari said Saturday that crutch is becoming flimsier. But, he added, he can’t tell his team that because his players are “a little fragile.”
Ever the motivator…
“For us to bust through, we’re going to have to beat somebody,” Calipari told reporters after the A&M defeat. “We can say what we want. Like, I wanted to make sure they weren’t happy (and thinking) we were gonna be OK. No. If we’d won that game, we’re in the Tournament. So it’s not OK to say we’ll be alright.
“Now, you’re gonna have to go get somebody else. I didn’t want to put that on them because I’ve got some guys a little bit fragile, so I’m having to hold them accountable but keep picking them up.”
Frustration with Calipari’s debut season in Fayetteville is starting to mount. Saturday’s loss to A&M was the latest sign of that.
At one point in the second half, Calipari was giving instructions to Adou Thiero when DJ Wagner threw a pass to Thiero. On different pages, the ball bounced off an unsuspecting Thiero and led to a dunk at the other end for A&M. Calipari kicked the scorer’s table and angrily called a timeout.
An out-of-bounds play that led to a triple for A&M and ignited that run in the middle of the second half also drew Calipari’s ire.
“My guy that was supposed to go didn’t go and he came over and said, ‘My fault.’ Was that like a turning point in the game? Yeah,” Calipari said. “Your fault? No shit. We’re all watching.”
Since starting 0-5 in conference play, Arkansas has gone 4-3 over its last 7. The Razorbacks have given themselves a chance, but their opportunities to actually break through are dwindling. And Calipari seems to know it.
But Bart Torvik gives the Razorbacks a 42% chance to get into the field. Joe Lunardi’s latest bracket projections for ESPN (which haven’t been updated with Saturday’s results yet) had Arkansas as 1 of the last 4 teams into the field. Several sports betting apps are taking wagers on specific teams to make the NCAA Tournament field, including Arkansas.
Derek Peterson does a bit of everything, not unlike Taysom Hill. He has covered Oklahoma, Nebraska, the Pac-12, and now delivers CFB-wide content.
