Just when you think we’ve finally turned the corner and Razorback basketball is coming out of hibernation, the Hogs have to play Ole Miss at the “Tad Pad.”
Since the 1994-95 season, Arkansas has a record of 2-10 in Oxford. That’s a stat over the last 12 seasons that boggles the mind and frustrates and angers me like no other opponent the Razorbacks play.
I mention that to make the point that getting out of Oxford with a win has been a problem dating back over a decade. And that some of the great Razorback teams have left Oxford with a loss.
Arkansas joined the SEC in 1991 and, for the first three years, the games against Ole Miss were not even close. But that all changed during the 1994-95 season. The defending national champions were defeated in Oxford, 76-71. And since then, the Hogs have won only twice in Oxford: a 63-62 win in the 1995-96 season and a 66-65 win during the 2004-2005 season.
So why have Razorback teams had such a problem winning in Oxford? Well, I believe it has to do with a style of play and a defense that at times seems to cross the line of what is allowed in NCAA basketball.
The Rebels under Rob Evans and Rod Barnes always had a very physical, in your face man-to-man play that made the Detroit Pistons of the 80s look soft by comparison. Couple that with home court advantage and you had a game that was not for the weak of heart or stomach. And so while Andy Kennedy, in his first year at Ole Miss, is trying to change the style to a more open one, he still has a roster of players from the Barnes era. Which in short means the same old physical, rough, in your face play.
The Razorbacks went into Saturday’s game with a lot to gain, and a lot to prove. A win would have given them a road victory over a team they were favored to beat, and confidence for future road games. It also would have proven to many doubters of this team and coaching staff that the Hogs had truly turned the corner.
But history repeated itself, as Ole Miss was able to get into a street fight and proceeded to out-physical the Hogs on the boards, offense and defense. In short, we went into a shell and didn’t come out of it until less than eight minutes left in the game.
Gary Ervin had one of his worst games of the season with seven turnovers and poor decision making down the stretch. Steven Hill and Darian Townes should have dominated the Ole Miss front-line players, but got outrebounded and whipped by a smaller, more aggressive foe. The Razorbacks were better than this Ole Miss team, but wilted playing in Oxford as so many other Hog teams have in the past.
The loss is no reason to panic or give up on this team. But the Hogs need to find a way to bring mental and physical toughness to the rest of their road games or the results will be the same. No game on the road in the SEC is easy, and hopefully this team learned that Saturday.