FAYETTEVILLE -- John Calipari got an impressive 76-60 win over Lipscomb in his Arkansas coaching debut Wednesday night in Bud Walton Arena.
Lipscomb had already played a game on Monday defeating Duquesne and Calipari has only one returning player from last season in the rotation. He acknowledged after the game it was a difficult opener.
"That is a very, very hard game to play out of the gate," Calipari said. "Because you’ve got to be disciplined, and you better be in shape, because they’re going to run you for 25 seconds. And then we play fast and pressure. So we had guys exhausted three minutes into the game.
"I come back to, defensively we did some good things. But we had to create a gap by creating turnovers. Well, against good teams you’re not going to just go create a turnover. You can’t. How about this thought — make a three. How about that thought."
Arkansas shot 54% (34-63) from the field, but only 21.1% (4-19) from behind the 3-point line.
"You make 7 or 8 today, you get 3 or 4 more today, I want you to think of the score," Calipari said. "And we had 19 threes. I’m glad we didn’t shoot more, because we’d have missed more. But the good news is, we threw the ball inside today and we did some good stuff. So we know we can do it.
"But we’re throwing it around the perimeter trying to shoot the three. That’s not how you do it. You get in the lane, you throw it, you make that three. You throw an extra pass and they’re wide open. If you can’t make those, I get it. You know how you get better? You get in the gym and you’re disciplined how you’re shooting the ball. So you shoot it the same way every time. And then you go in the game and you shoot it that way. And then demonstrated performance — you go in the game and you make threes — builds your confidence."
Counting the two preseason games and the opener, Arkansas hasn't allowed over 66 points in a game so what they are doing is working defensively.
"If you can guard the ball and you’re not in a bunch of rotations, you’re going to be pretty good," Calipari said. "If you can guard the ball — are you ready for this statement — occupy your man’s eyes, we’ve got all these guys behind you that will block shots.
"There were a couple today, and TB (Trevon Brazile) didn’t go after it. It was right there. Go block that ball. And got on him about it. Because, again, that could have changed the game and blew the game wide open. But you have to guard the ball. The other thing is you have to have some toughness and rough. I thought Nelly (Johnell Davis) did some good stuff today physically. And it’s nice to have him and Adou (Thiero)… Adou just got tired. He was exhausted. But he still did some good stuff."
Zvonimir Ivisic scored eight straight points late in the game to help the Hogs pull away for the win in what was a close game much of second half. He finished the game with 12 points, 3 rebounds, 3 blocks and 1 steal.
"Because we were throwing him the ball," Calipari said. "We just said, ‘We’re throwing him — ‘ D.J. (Wagner) threw two away. Throw the ball… You want to throw it by his feet? He’s 7-2. Where do you think you would throw it? Up high. He’s 7-2. Don’t throw a spinner. Throw it up high. Then he physically bent over, moved the guy, got to the rim — he’s really skilled. He’s got to want to play rough. He made a 3, which was a big 3 that stretched out the game. That’s all fine. If he does that post stuff and rebounds and blocks some shots and gets it better shape, I don’t mind him shooting 3s. As a matter of fact, he’s probably making more 3s than anybody on this team. How ‘bout that statement?"
The Razorbacks won the battle of the boards 35-29, but where they really stood out was 54 points in the paint compared to only 22 for Lipscomb. The Hogs forced 19 turnovers and scored 25 points off of them.
Boogie Fland topped the Razorbacks in scoring with 17 while also adding 3 rebounds, 3 assists and 1 steal. Davis was next with 15 points and 6 rebounds. Thiero added 8 points, 4 rebounds and 3 steals. Wagner had seven points, 2 rebounds and pair of assists. Brazile added six points, team-high 8 rebounds and 2 steals. Karter Knox added 5 points and 2 rebounds, Billy Richmond had 4 points, 2 rebounds and pair of assists. Jonas Aidoo playing in his first game of the season scored 2 points and pulled down 3 boards in seven minutes of action.
Davis is rounding into shape after battling injuries much of camp showed what made him a key portal target from Florida Atlantic.
"Well, you know what he did? He went at the rim," Calipari said. "Like we need, I kept saying, why are you shooting jump shots? Go to the rim, and he did it. Karter did it in the first half. You know, just go by people. Now, you may get bumped. It’s a harder play than shooting a jump shot. You go in, there’s a chance you might lose it. He may block it. He might bump you. How about this thought? I may miss a layup. If I miss a jump shot or a three, I’m okay. But if I miss a layup, that’s embarrassing. You can’t be in that mode. Just go."
Davis agreed with his coach.
"Getting to the basket and not settling," Davis said. "Not trying to just settle for threes. Try to get to the basket and get fouled, but I didn’t get fouled that much."
Lipscomb was led by Jacob Ognacevic with 16 points. Will Pruitt chipped in 12 and 8 boards while Gyasi Powell also added a dozen points.
Arkansas (1-0) will be in Dallas at the American Airlines Center on Saturday night at 6:30 p.m. to face Baylor (0-1). The Bears were humiliated by Gonzaga 101-63 Monday night. Saturday's game will be on ESPNU.
Photos Courtesy of Craven Whitlow CW3 Sports Action
