02/28/26 11:44:00
Printable Page
02/28 23:42 CST John Calipari matches the worst loss of his career and wishes
it 'would have gone faster'
John Calipari matches the worst loss of his career and wishes it 'would have
gone faster'
By MARK LONG
AP Sports Writer
GAINESVILLE, Fla. (AP) --- Arkansas coach John Calipari needed D.J. Wagner's
3-pointer in the final minute to avoid the most-lopsided loss of his career.
Still, the 34-point drubbing at No. 7 Florida on Saturday night matched the
worst margin of defeat in Calipari's 34 years.
"Wait a minute. My first year at UMass I had to have some of these," Calipari
quipped after a 111-77 loss to the defending national champion Gators.
Nope. Some 30-pointers, but nothing quite like this or Kentucky's loss to Duke
in November 2018. Calipari was coaching the Wildcats at the time.
"Look, I've done this so long, stuff happens," said Calipari, in his second
season at Arkansas after 15 years at Kentucky, nine at Memphis and eight at
UMass. "I told them, ?We had a great February. We got two games left. Let's get
out of here and go.' I said it wasn't my team. This is not the team I've been
coaching.
"But I did tell some guys, ?You got to do some soul searching and be honest
with yourself. Why did you play the way you played?' Not a whole lot else you
can do."
It was mostly a debacle all game, with Florida building a double-digit lead
early, stretching it 30 midway through the second half and then celebrating at
least a share of the Southeastern Conference title.
About the biggest drama was Calipari and Florida coach Todd Golden screaming at
each other early in the second half and drawing double-technicals. Calipari's
assistants had to pull him away from midcourt. Golden, meanwhile, turned and
started to rile up the home crowd.
Both coaches said they couldn't even recall what started the exchange.
"Who knows? We're both competitors," Calipari said. "He's done a great job. I
can tell you: He outcoached me today."
No. 20 Arkansas (21-8, 11-5 SEC) lost for just the second time in February.
Seven Florida players scored in double figures while the Gators outrebounded
the Razorbacks 51-31 and controlled the paint throughout.
"It was going to come back to our will versus their will," said Calipari, who
had won his previous six trip to Gainesville. "And if you stop playing, they
keep moving their feet and put you in bad positions. And they did that to us a
bunch. We had some opportunities to rebound. They just beat us to a ball. ...
They outrebound us by 20. Come on. You're not going to win that game. You're
not.
"I wish it would have gone faster."
Billy Richmond III led the Razorbacks with 22 points, including 14 in the first
15 minutes. Darius Acuff Jr., who leads the SEC in scoring and assists,
finished with 17 points and six assists.
But forwards Travon Brazile, Nick Pringle and Malique Ewin spent much of the
night in foul trouble while trying to defend Florida's formidable frontcourt of
Thomas Haugh, Alex Condon and Rueben Chinyelu.
"They're not afraid to throw you around," Calipari said of Florida. "That's how
they play. If you're avoiding their contact, you can't play in this game. And
we had a bunch of guys try to go sideways and then come back and back and back.
You can't play that way."
___
Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up
here and here (AP News mobile app). AP college basketball:
https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and
https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball
|
