The Arkansas Razorbacks (15-10, 4-8 SEC) had plenty of chances to take over in their 69-61 loss to the No. 8 Texas A&M Aggies (20-5, 9-3 SEC) on Saturday at Reed Arena, but turnovers cost them the game.
As a team, the Razorbacks committed 17 turnovers, the most since Southeastern Conference play started. The Aggies capitalized on those mistakes and made the Hogs pay, too, with 22 points off turnovers.
"Give credit to A&M, they played and pressured and did stuff to make us turn it over," Arkansas head coach John Calipari said postgame. "We had one rule going into this game. If you drive baseline, shoot the ball. Shoot it. What we’d do? Turn it over."
Two Razorbacks — Billy Richmond III and Johnell Davis — accounted for almost half of those turnovers with four a piece. Adou Thiero and D.J. Wagner had three each as well. Only two players, Jonas Aidoo and Trevon Brazile, didn't turn the ball over at all, but they also played the two-lowest minutes on the team.
Arkansas started the game hot and on an 8-0 run in the first several minutes of the game, but two turnovers within 40 seconds of each other allowed the Aggies to get right back in the game with a 9-0 run.
Despite 10 first-half turnovers, Arkansas wasn't out of the game and only trailed the Aggies by five points, 33-28, at the half. The Hogs pushed hard in the second half and tied things up at 50 with 9:24 minutes left, but a turnover by Davis allowed Aggies guard Wade Taylor to hit a three that started a Texas A&M 9-0 run, one the Hogs couldn't recover from.
Calipari said he had a heart-to-heart conversation with his team after the game to talk about turnovers being the difference against the Aggies.
"I wasn't cussing, I wasn't yelling, I was matter of factly. 'Look, do you understand this was the game, so it's not okay, this was it and you had your chance,'" Calipari said. "The crowd was quiet. No, you don't understand. I said to my team, 'I don't hear anything.' We were in great shape. And then turnover, out of bounds play. Boom. Miss an offensive rebound. Immediately kick it out. We turn it over. They make a three and all of a sudden, you're looking at seven to eight (point deficit).
"What just happened? We've done that a couple times. Not many, but we've done it a couple times. They're good. Kind of glad how we played. But I'm disappointed in the turnovers, the missed shots, the opportunities."
The turnover bug Arkansas dealt with put a damper on a strong offensive day for freshman forward Karter Knox, who finished with a team-high 17 points on 7-of-9 shooting that included three makes from deep. He also hauled in five rebounds, a block and a steal and only one turnover.
Despite the loss, Arkansas' NCAA Tournament hopes aren't out of reach. The NCAA released its top 16 teams with the Big Dance looming, and the Aggies are slated as a 2-seed. The Hogs have played the SEC's top teams close, but Calipari said he knows his team needs to get an upset.
"We had a chance at both (Alabama and Texas A&M), but we didn't," Calipari said. "And for us to bust through, we're going to have to beat somebody. We can say what we want, like I wanted to make sure they weren't happy. ‘We're going to be okay.’ No, if we won that game, we're in the tournament. If we won that game, we're in the tournament. So it's not okay to say we'll be all right. Now you're going to have to go get somebody else."
Up next, the Razorbacks will hit the road for another chance at a top team in the SEC, as they'll face the No. 1 Auburn Tigers on Wednesday. Tipoff is set for 8 p.m. and the game will air on ESPN.
