Arkansas forward Justin Smith is of the belief that Oklahoma State’s front line spooked the Razorbacks in the opening minutes of Saturday’s 81-77 loss to the Cowboys.
By the first media timeout of the game at the 15:45 mark, Oklahoma State had already rejected three Arkansas shots at the rim. Smith and freshman guards Moses Moody and Davonte Davis were each turned away.
It was the beginning of yet another frustrating day for Razorbacks coach Eric Musselman as he watched his group miss attempts at and around the rim. According to StatBroadcast, Arkansas made 16 layups in the loss. It missed 21.
“We have to do a much, much better job of finishing at the rim,” Musselman said. “It’s been a problem for us all season, all the way back to nonconference. We’ll continue to stress to go to the rim with physicality and work on finishing around the rim.
“Right now, we’re missing way too many layups and we’re getting too many shots blocked. Again, that’s been a theme for quite some time for us.”
Smith made 6 of 10 layups, according to the stat system. Jalen Tate was 1 of 4; JD Notae was 1 of 5; Davis was 4 of 9; and Desi Sills and Connor Vanover were each 1 of 2.
As a team, the Razorbacks attempted a season-high 55 2-point shots and matched a season low with 15 3-point tries.
Smith said Arkansas did not know the Cowboys were a decent shot-blocking team. Oklahoma State had not recorded a block in two games this season, but its seven blocks against the Razorbacks matched a season high.
“With a team that's good at blocking shots, you kind of have to bait them into going for those shot fakes and try to get them in the air and draw fouls,” Smith said. “But we weren't even able to draw fouls, so that makes it difficult when trying to finish over long, athletic guys. It's difficult. We have to go into their body and initiate some contact.
“I don't really know. They were a good shot blocking team, and I think that's the main reason we struggled.”
Missing close shots was just one of the differences in the game, Musselman noted. The Razorbacks’ second-year coach also pointed to poor stretches of defensive rebounding and key turnovers.
Oklahoma State finished with 12 offensive rebounds in its 11th win of the season and forward Kalib Boone grabbed a career-high six.
Matthew-Alexander Moncrieffe added three more, and Rondel Walker’s one offensive board — in the game’s final minute — led to Cade Cunningham’s go-ahead jumper with 21 seconds to play.
According to KenPom data, the Cowboys rebounded 37.5% of their misses, the second-highest mark for an Arkansas opponent this season (LSU, 38.9%). Oklahoma State totaled 13 second-chance points.
Half of Boone’s eight buckets in the game came immediately following an offensive rebound. That happened three times in the first half and twice in a two-minute span as he went into halftime with 10 points. He had a game-high eight rebounds.
“I thought Boone was a guy that really hurt us,” Musselman said. “That was the one guy in particular I thought rose to the occasion for them. He got six offensive rebounds. You just can’t have that with one guy.”
Moody led the Razorbacks with four defensive rebounds in his 32 minutes, and Smith, Vanover and Jaylin Williams each had three. Williams, though, played only seven first-half minutes and missed the second half due to a “bad, bad bruise” on his knee, according to Musselman.
As great as Smith’s impact is and has been on the offensive glass, Arkansas needs more from him on the other end considering the makeup of the team. His four turnovers were also a season high and a blemish on his 18-point, four-assist day.
Turnovers hurt the Razorbacks’ chances at a fourth consecutive win. Three times in the final five minutes Arkansas had an empty possession thanks to a miscue. With the game tied 69-69, Tate committed a turnover that led to a Cowboys layup.
Forty seconds later with the Razorbacks down 73-71, Notae was whistled for traveling at the top of the key. He was unsure if he should feed the ball to the middle of the Oklahoma State 2-3 zone or make a play for himself. Then, down 77-75, a Vanover pass was picked off making a pass to the perimeter.
The Razorbacks recorded their fifth-highest turnover rate of the season, per KenPom, at 19.8%. Smith and Tate each had 4, Vanover 3 and Notae 2. Saturday marked the fifth game this season in which Tate totaled more turnovers than assists, and third time since Jan. 13.
He has finished with more assists than turnovers only once in the last six games. And for the first time all season, he did not grab a rebound on either end. He played 25 minutes.
“I just didn’t think Jalen Tate had it at all,” Musselman said. “And so we wanted to … Devo was getting into the teeth of the defense. As far as our coaching staff was concerned, (playing Davis late) was definitely the right move with the way Tate was playing.”
Oklahoma State was a winnable game for the Razorbacks despite the familiar struggles and Cunningham finishing with 21 points, 7 rebounds and 5 assists off the bench. Arkansas led by as many as five points three times in the second half but was unable to extend its lead and apply true game pressure on the Cowboys.
The Razorbacks now have a chance to regroup and continue its SEC win streak with a pair of favorable home matchups next week against Mississippi State and Texas A&M. It is no secret the Razorbacks need to win the next two games
“We really wanted this game, but a quick turnaround is good for us because we can just get it out of our mind and focus on another team and focus on another game,” Smith said. “Playing at home, we get our home crowd and familiar surroundings. We're going to take a look at this game and get better from it.
“But having a game so quickly allows us to kind of turn the page really quickly."