ArkansasRazorbacks.com: Razorbacks drop 73-51 decision to Auburn
The Arkansas men’s basketball team’s recent struggles continued Saturday afternoon with a 73-51 loss to Auburn at Bud Walton Arena.
Also:
- ArkansasRazorbacks.com: Game Stats (PDF), Post-game Quotes, Razorbacks fall to Auburn (Video)
- ESPN.com: Auburn 73, Arkansas 51
- Chris Bahn: Arkansas Continues Slide, Falls To Auburn at Walton Arena
Razorback Central
- Ryan Malashock: From Bad To Worse
- Robbie Neiswanger: Monk Out With Eligibility Issues, Barber Bests Arkansas’ Thin Frontcourt
- Harry King: Razorbacks Shoot Poorly…Again
WholeHogSports.com
- Bob Holt: Headed south in SEC
- Tom Murphy: In the lane
- Chris Cocoles: Auburn goes inside for key points
- Wally Hall: Arkansas has to rediscover half-court offense
- Nate Allen: Waning at Walton
- Brandon Marcello: Team leader apologizes to fans for losing streak
Other Sites and Blogs
- The Birmingham News: Auburn beats Arkansas in rare Fayetteville win
Updated 1/25/09 9:30 a.m.
Losing to this team at home by 22 is inexscusable. That's not to say that Auburn isn't a good team, but their far from being really good, especially on our floor.
We're making the same 'ol mistakes, over and over, leading to our inconsistant play.
No other way to look at it, and as much as I hate to say it, but coaching has to take the hit on this one.
If I were grading this one, I'd say the coaching gets a D. (dogged at home)
Since I live out here in the Carolinas, I have only seen the Hogs play 3 times on TV and the last two were the Florida and Auburn woodshed jobs.
So I can't speak with the breadth of experience of some of you in-staters, but let me offer a couple of observations:
- Our offense seems to consist of two methods: 1) Everybody stand around and wait for Courtney to do something or 2) Jack up a three. We have ZERO ball movement…I have never seen anything like it.
- Has anyone ever, EVER set a screen or pick for Rotnei Clark?? I sure haven't seen one. A shooter like him is going to need a little help from his teammates to create good shots.
- Is it just me, or does every other team look waaay faster than us in SEC play? And I mean on both sides of the ball. People are blowing by us when we play D and our offense with the exception of Fortson looks like we are standing in molasses.
It is very frustrating to watch right now. A mediocre team like Auburn has no business blowing us out by 22 on our floor.
Not sure if coaching is the issue here – this team has lost confidence, plain and simple; you can't coach confidence, it has to be developed by performance on the floor. We are missing the swagger we had against OK and TX, and it shows in our defense and offense. This is typical of a young team; freshmen and sophmores are subject to drastic swings in performance. Getting beat soundly a few times, outplayed once or twice, these things are difficult to play through when you're young. Juniors and Seniors have the experience to forget the last game and go forward. Our guys are having a tough time playing through the defeats…it's evident in their play. When Florida and Auburn hit a couple big shots, you could see their shoulders slump – more experienced players dig in and overcome.
The point here is that this is a rebuilding season, as we have one of the youngest teams in the country. The lessons these kids learn in the losses will drive them to improve over the years. It's not fun now, but I predict the kids finish strong this season and will have a great next couple years. Let's not get down on the kids – we should continue to support them and fill the stands and call the hogs, cause they are gonna give us some excitement in the years to come.
At this point, it isn't effort. At times they try too hard to help double someone up only to leave their man open. When you are young you are a head case. For two weeks in their minds they could beat anybody. For the last two weeks in their minds I don't think they thought they could beat anybody.