Two down – four to go
Despite a poor attempt by referees officiating without bias on Saturday afternoon in Rhode Island, the underdog Arkansas Razorbacks stayed the course, overcame the odds and dusted off St. John’s University and pesky Ricky Pitino in convincing fashion –75-66 – to advance to the quarterfinal round of March Madness for the fourth time in the past six seasons.
No doubt about it – this was a team dub. Big Z$ was only able to clock 10 minutes of PT, before being whistled for his 5th and final foul very early in the contest, but every second he spent on the hardwood was crucial, as it all added up to a winning formula that shone the brightest over the weekend – One Heartbeat.
Coach Cal spoke after Saturdaze game about that very mindset, and how every member of this team finally plays with such. “They make each other better. When we were playing poorly, each guy was worried about himself. Now, they’re worried about each other. Now, they cover for each other. Did you see like Billy Richmond and Karter Knox block shots? And Trevon Brazile doing the things that he’s doing? All those little things – creating good shots for each other, making the easiest play. We weren’t doing any of that to start the year. And the other thing – we weren’t tough enough. We weren’t guarding well enough, and we’re in a league that is unforgiving. We lost five, but they hung together. They’re good people and good kids, raised right… they figured out they could go fast alone, but to go far they had to get together.”
He added in a subsequent interview, “The hungry dog runs fastest.” That statement seems to encapsulate the attitude of these Razorback cagers more than any other. The idea of a group of wolves running unitedly wild and free is precisely the pack ethos that Calipari hoped to instill.
Bottom line -–the Razorbacks completely out-dawged both KU and SJU
Calipari has always stressed doing the dirt, any time this team has struggled to score and find its identity. Play defense, dive on the floor, do whatever it takes. If you devote yourself to the incidentals, everything else should work itself out.
Preach on, preacher man
Boogie Fland’s return to the lineup, after sitting out 15-straight SEC games with a bum thumb, is a blessing. His presence allows DJ Wagner to get some much-needed relief in the form of PT at PG, not to mention he’s a threat from the suburbs.
Ultimately, having more bodies to throw at opponents has allowed the Hogs to stretch their defense the full 94-feet and keep intensity turned all the way up for most of the past two games. The 7-0 run the Hogs laid on ‘em to close out the first half was poetry in motion, since it was predicated on this brutally physical form of pressure defense, one that seemed to shock St. John’s.
Pitino had this to say in his postgame presser: “Congratulations to Arkansas. They were very athletic, played a great game and took away a lot of what we do.” Yeah, like your lunch money and identity, coach. Red Storm, indeed.
Former multi-sport Razorback turned radio journalist, Matt Jones, stated over the weekend that he has not seen one player in the tournament who can stay in front of Wagner when he is dribbling the rock, and I concur. He played PG for Calipari at Kentucky last season; he’s a basketball machine who comes from a long line of ballers.
Speaking of Richmond, he put forth his most complete effort of the season, filling up most boxes on the stat page – and as always, brought a strut and swagger few can match. The baseline floater he hit late in the game with the shot clock expiring that put the Hogs up 68-64 was oh so sweet.
“I’ve dreamed of this, my teammates dreamed of this,” the freshman said. “Being able to be a part of it, is all I could ask for.”
And then there’s Knox and Aidoo and Davis…
Next stop – the Bay Area, home of the Grateful Dead and Rice-o-Roni, the San Francisco treat, where the Hogs will face Texas Tech late Thursday night.
And to those who moaned that 14 teams were too many to hail from one conference, seven outta the remaining Sweet 16 call the mighty, mighty SEC home.
WooPig!