Oklahoma 83, Arkansas 72
December 15, 2007 at 6:03pm by TipsterHog
Filed under Arkansas Razorbacks, Basketball, Recap
Hogwired.com: Sooners Snap Arkansas’ Six-Game Winning Streak
Oklahoma made 11-of-25 three-pointers and shot 80 percent from the free throw line in posting an 83-72 victory over Arkansas on Saturday.
Also:
- Hogwired.com: Game Stats (PDF)
- ESPN.com: Oklahoma 83, Arkansas 72
- Ryan Malashock: Oklahoma Hot, Arkansas Not in Razorbacks’ Loss
- Ryan Aber: Washington’s Big Effort Not Enough For Hogs, Sooners Shut Down Beverley
- Bob Holt: Hogs humbled on road
- Democrat-Gazette: In the lane
- Chris Cocoles: Three-pointers give Sooners a lift
- Tulsa World: Sooners bounce back
Updated 12/16/07 9:20 a.m.
Missed opportunity!
They shot threes as well or better than we shot free throws. Hard to win that way!
Tough loss…anyone know if the boys paid attention to Coach Pelphrey and limited their turnovers and fouls?
On a much better note: have they set up the “Fire Gillespie” website yet? ;^)
If I have to watch Gary Earvin drive in the lane and do his tripple pump shot attempt over a 6′7 player one more freaking time I’m going to kick my own ass. I thought Coach P had the thumb on him but he still plays out of control and more concerned with finding his shot than the open man. He reminds me of Kareem Reid who is my least favorite Hog of all time for the same reasons.
On a brighter note; what a joy it is to watch Townes play with consistency and intentsity. The guys a beast!
Carolina Hog: I agree with you on Irvin, although he has toned it down some for the most part. I think he had a bit of a relapse today. There is one guy though I just can’t put my finger on. Steven Hill is a Sr., and still, to this day, hasn’t developed an inside shot. (8 to 10 ft.) He is still nothing more than an inside defensive presence. Why is he not dominating on the boards? He can block 3 to 5 shots in almost every game, but cannot seem to hit double digits in rebounding for even 1 game. I do not understand. I think his average is somewhere between 5 and 6 rebounds per game. Go figure.
As for me I will be glad when all these seniors have left. If there were ever a group of underachievers it is this bunch. After watching them now for 4 years I just wonder how coachable these guys really are?
Is Vincent Hunter on the 10 year plan, dang it seems like he was here when Sutton coached.
I also agree about Ervin. But Weems seems to have his head up his rectum this year.
I have complete convidence once Coach gets HIS players in them watch out.
As I see it so far we will have another short trip to the NCAA this year. go hogs?
I don’t want to pass complete judgement just yet. The Sooners do have a good team. They’re much like we were last year, playing up to thier competition. I believe they’re a team on the rise under Coach Capel. Since the Sooners definately came to play in this one, and it was our first real test on the road, I’ll be patient.
This was an odd game. Arkansas pressed continually, trapped well at times, but didn’t seem to get into the passing lanes enough to take advantage of the pressure. Perhaps the coaching staff and players should see some films of John Wooden’s games at UCLA to understand how it’s done. At the end of the game I thought that Pelphreys startegy of continually going inside was not effective. The reason for this is to draw fouls and kill the clock. But I learned a long time ago that trying to draw fouls at the end of a game in somone else’s barn is not a good idea. At the end of the game it looked like the Hogs had given up by the lack of intensity in transition defense. I didn’t keep track of timeouts, but if Arkansas had any, then I’m surprised that Pelphrey didn’t use them when the “Backs defense was falling apart. With less than a minute left and 9 points behind, the 3 point shot was abandoned. i would have had Washington try some 3s at the end, It couldn’t have been any worse. The Hogs were outcoached. Period
I put last night’s post up without the benefit of the facts, so here they are:
FT%: Ark-52.9%; OU-80.0%
3 pt %: Ark-21.7%; OU-44.0%
Hard to overcome that with superior coaching, a department that OU is not lacking in. Of course, John Pelphrey intimated that he might fire the shooting coach, which happens to be him?
Despite poor shooting and the lack of free throws, Arkansas was still in the game near the end. Sorry, T-Towner, but giving up on the 3 is not an option when your behind by 9 with a minute to play while on the road. You can live by the 3 or die by it. The previous game for Oklahoma was a good example of that is where they lost to S. F. Austin when Austin was hitting 3s and the Sooners were not. The 3 pointer in college, like the spread offense in football, is the great equalizer for teams with less overall talent. Consider that the announcers were saying, in somewhat puzzled tones that, Arkansas was still going inside. I didn’t hear the commentators once say , ‘Well thats’s a good strategy at this point.”.
If you think that Arkansas’ transition defense allowing wide open 3s and layups was not falling apart at the end then you must have been watching a different game from myself.
If your team is not shooting well ithe from the field or the free throw line then it’s up to the coach to adjust to that. The adjustment might not work, but at least one tries. Keeping your fingers crossed that the opponent will stop hitting threes is not good coaching option. Nor is trading free throws at the end which is nothing more than last resort desperation.
In the NCAA game with Bucknell there was a similar situation But I thought that Heath had the right coaching strategy there. Go Iinside where Bucknell did not have the depth to play intense defense. However, Bucknell was throwing in 3s behind screens with shooters.totally off balance. Weird, but plasuable. Heath’s strategy of going inside got the Hogs to the line, but they failed to come through. There wasn’t anything that Heath could do, The players’ blew that one. On the other hand, as I said before , in someone elses’s place the refs are not going to let you win the game at the end on their calls. they have to be obvious fouls. Arkansas was not getting to the foul line enough to effect the game. Going inside and crashing the boards can be disasterous for transition defense if the other team is boxing out and has the speed to get down the court. as was evident In the Oklahoma game. I felt that something could have been tried to give the Hogs a better chance at the finish. Might not have worked, but it would have given some evidence of coaching.