Arkansas gave No. 14 Texas Tech a better fight than many - including myself - anticipated Saturday, but the Razorbacks still fell short of what would have been a confidence-building win in Lubbock.
With good reason, Red Raiders guard Jarrett Culver was the one Texas Tech player Arkansas had to limit to have a chance late and, for the most part, the Razorbacks did that. Culver finished with 15 points on 5 of 12 shooting (4 of 5 from 3-point range). It was his lowest scoring output in four games.
But guards Davide Moretti and Matt Mooney picked up the scoring slack, combining for 33 points on 4 of 8 from distance in Texas Tech's 67-64 win. They were the only three Red Raiders players to score more than seven points.
Daniel Gafford led the Razorbacks with 14 points on a perfect 6 of 6 from the floor. Texas Tech didn't have much of an answer for him when he touched the basketball, and I would have liked to have seen Arkansas feed Gafford coming out of its timeout with 26 seconds to go. Instead, Texas Tech played the ball screen action well and forced a move late in the shot clock. With time winding down, Jalen Harris passed to Keyshawn Embery-Simpson, who had the ball tipped away by Culver, and Embery-Simpson was whistled for a kick ball.
The Red Raiders took possession and iced the game at the line.
The Razorbacks certainly had their opportunities late. Down two with just more than 30 seconds left, Mason Jones was called for a shooting foul on Culver with one second remaining on the shot clock. It was an extremely tough whistle, but replay showed that Jones' contest got Culver on the elbow. If there is no foul called there then perhaps Gafford is fed the ball on the Razorbacks' ensuing possession, needing just a bucket to tie.
Texas Tech was also the beneficiary of a no-call in which Mooney, inbounding the ball under the Arkansas basket, moved along the baseline after Reggie Chaney kicked the ball out of bounds. Officials missed the obvious traveling call, and Mooney, on the other end, drove to the rim and was fouled, made two free throws and extended Tech's lead to 62-52.
Plain and simple, Arkansas should have been awarded the ball with a chance to further cut into its deficit. One official, in clear view of the play and standing next to Anderson and screaming assistant coaches and support staff, swallowed his whistle. The no-call certainly did not lose the Razorbacks the game, but it was definitely a case of unbelievably bad luck on the road when you need breaks to hang in the game late.
In the first half, Anderson couldn't have asked for a lot more from his team, especially defensively. Texas Tech turned the ball over on 44 percent of its first-half possessions, and those 15 turnovers resulted in 17 Arkansas points. So, that combined with Harris' deep 3-pointer in the final seconds of the first half, the Razorbacks were in a groove and leading at the half for the first time since their league opener at Texas A&M - 33-30.
Culver and Mooney each had four turnovers before halftime, forward Norense Odiase had three and guard Kyler Edwards turned it over twice. Arkansas' pressure defense - and some lapses by Tech - allowed the Razorbacks to nullify the Red Raiders' hot shooting (11 of 20 FG, 5 of 10 3FG). And for Arkansas fans, it had to be enlightening to see that kind of effort on the defensive end. That aggressive, active play appeared to have carried over from Wednesday when shoddy ballhandling by Missouri sparked the Razorbacks' first win in nearly three weeks.
It doesn't take a basketball savant to know Texas Tech coach Chris Beard preached - for the lack of a better term - ball security at halftime, and his team responded. The Red Raiders turned it over just six times after the break, and they opened the second half on a roll, knocking down their first five shots, including a pair of 3s, to take the lead for good.
After three straight misses from the floor immediately following the 5 of 5 streak, Culver and Moretti knocked down three more 3s to cushion Tech's lead. Arkansas, like we've seen so many times already in conference play, then had to play catch-up, and time ran out on its late rally.
Outside of Gafford, Harris and Jones were the only Razorbacks in double figures with 11. It took Harris 12 shots to get there and Jones finished 3 of 8. Harris, for a large part of the game, played well. About the only gripe anyone would have about his performance would be his two-shot possession against Tech's zone with Arkansas down 64-58 with 3:30 to go. Those were not the shots the Razorbacks needed or wanted at that juncture of the game.
Then, after a terrific block by Gafford on Culver that resulted in a shot clock violation, Jones caught the ball with 14 on the shot clock, dribbled for eight seconds and launched an ill-advised 3 several feet beyond the arc. Have to be more aggressive in that situation. But, that possession ultimately didn't kill Arkansas altogether because Tariq Owens fouled Gafford on the rebound and Gafford split two free throws.
Then there was Isaiah Joe. The freshman, fresh off his second seven 3-pointer game on Wednesday, was a complete non-factor in the game. Joe missed a number of very quality looks from 3-point range and failed to make a single triple in a game for the second time in five games. He finished 0 of 5 from distance and scored five points. And, in a freshman moment, his one made field goal was actually a long 2 (foot on the line). Beautifully, he shot faked a defender into the fans sitting courtside, but in re-setting his feet had a toe on the line.
One of the positives from the game, though, was Adrio Bailey's play. He played a key role in the first half, knocking down 3 of 4 shots for seven points. He was much more aggressive at the rim early on and played with confidence, which teammates and coaches have been waiting on for more than a month. He finished with eight points, tying the most points he's scored in a game since Dec. 5.
Arkansas wasn't expected to win this game, and many didn't foresee the Razorbacks even putting up much of a fight, but they did and that should be recognized. Offensively, they were resilient for much of the night, and gave themselves a chance to win defensively, forcing 20-plus turnovers for the second consecutive game.
But this team still has some things to iron out in late-game scenarios and must get greater consistency from its core players and shot-makers. We'll see if the Razorbacks can bounce back at home Tuesday against Georgia, who was a bucket shy of hanging 100 in a win over Texas on Saturday.