It was a bad loss Tuesday and could be a worse loss come March.
The Arkansas Razorbacks don't have the luxury of losing home games, and Tuesday's 84-78 loss to Mississippi State was their second, having already dropped the SEC home opener in Walton Arena to Florida.
The readily available reason for the loss was that the Bulldogs dropped in 12 three-pointers on 26 attempts, an impressive 46 percent. But the scouting report on the Bulldogs is that Quinndary Weatherspoon and Lamar Peters like to shoot the three and they do it well, so does that mean the Hogs' perimeter coverage was the issue after those two made 10 of the 12?
The three-point shooting was a difference-maker as the Hogs had more points in the paint, 30-26; more off turnovers, 15-6; the teams tied on second-chance points at 14; and the 'Dogs got more points on fast breaks, 6-4.
MSU did outrebound the Razorbacks 41-29, but Arkansas attempted 59 shots to 55 by the Bulldogs.
For the fourth consecutive conference game the Hogs shot fewer free throws. Against Tennessee and Florida it was just one less, but Tuesday night it was Arkansas 15 of 23 and MSU 22 of 32.
That's probably because when State wasn't shooting threes it was driving inside and attacking the basket instead of pulling up and attempting jump shots. Or crashing the offensive boards.
Arkansas didn't play with the same intensity it did in the first half against Kentucky, but it played well enough to win -- although it doesn't seem right that a reserve center, 6-9 Trey Thompson, led the team in assists with three in 10 minutes.
Mike Anderson continues to use 11 players, but more sparingly than in nonconference play, and six are newcomers. Going into conference play is another learning curve for them.
Not saying the SEC is a great basketball league, but it has more athletes and better teams than the new guys have ever seen, so Anderson is juggling his lineup a little.
Understand that to get from here to March Madness the Hogs cannot afford bad losses. There are not that many good wins left on their schedule.
State already has losses to Central Florida, Lehigh, East Tennessee State and Alabama, but it is too early to tell how damaging Tuesday's loss will be to the Hogs.
If NCAA bids were going out today, the SEC might be looking at four teams: Kentucky, Florida, South Carolina and everyone else is playing for that fourth spot.
It helps the Hogs every time that Minnesota wins, because every win the Golden Gophers get turns Arkansas' loss to them into a good one. Same with Texas, although that might be asking a lot of the Longhorns, who are mired in mediocrity this season.
Arkansas' RPI (now 39) took a hit after the loss to MSU, but not so much that a few conference wins won't solidify it.
This season is a long way from being over, and Anderson is working hard to get better every game, which is one of the reasons he continues to tinker with his lineup. Some opponents will face a different Hogs' lineup for a reason.
The Hogs actually have a chance to get it going this weekend when they play last place Missouri, followed by a trip to Texas A&M, which has lost three in a row going into Saturday's home game against LSU.
As sure as the national championship Monday was played in Tampa, Fla., not Houston, a few victories build confidence, and wins come by playing with the same fire, energy and focus for every game as that first half at Kentucky.
Sports on 01/12/2017