The only positive note to come from Arkansas's abysmal 26.8% shooting day versus Missouri is that it's so rare, we may not see a performance like that again for another four years. In their first game without senior Justin Smith, the Razorbacks went 19 of 71 from the field, making just seven of 28 3-point attempts, missing 22 of 30 layup attempts and 11 free throws.
Desi Sills, averaging 14.1 coming into the game, went 1-10. Connor Vanover, averaging 9.6 and coming off a 17-point performance, went 0-11. JD Notae led with 19 points but he also had four fouls and four turnovers. Moses Moody notched his first career double-double with 18 and 10, but missed four free throws.
Eric Musselman, who was ejected with 3:51 remaining, was visibly upset in his post-game press conference.
"It's the worst home loss that I can ever remember being a part of," Musselman said. "We had two starters go 1 or 21. We didn’t score. We didn't rebound. We didn't defend. That about sums it up."
The Razorbacks needed someone to replace Smith's 11.6 and 7 boards per game, not only did they not get that, players performed well below average. The second-year head coach sounded at a loss for solutions after the game but included a call to action to his players.
"He’s got to do his rehab, and we’ve got a lot of stuff to figure out over the next five or six games. We’re going to be tinkering, changing, trying to figure it out. Because what we did today did not work.
'We’ve got a lot of work ahead of us for sure," Musselman said. "We’re not going to figure it out in 3-4 days, the areas we’ve got to improve on. Everybody wants an opportunity, everybody thinks they’re real good, so go do something, we shot 26% from the field.”
Starting in Smith's place for the first time was freshman Devo Davis. The Arkansas native put up four points and four rebounds but nothing the Hogs did Saturday impressed Musselman.
"I’ll be honest. I didn’t think anybody played very good today," Musselman said. "I didn’t think I coached good. I didn’t think the assistant coaches coached good. I didn’t like our shoot-around yesterday. There was way too many distractions. People talking. We’ve got to across the board get better. I didn’t think anyone on our team did very well.
Though the head hog's confidence was shaken after the performance, Moody says he feels the same way today as he felt about the Hogs after their win over Auburn.
"We've got to learn from our loss. Don't forget about it," Moody said. "Everybody has to step up. One person can't take on Justin's whole role. Everybody's got to take a piece, get a couple extra rebounds, protect the rim. Just everybody has to step up, which I've seen them do at different points during preseason and during the season."
To make Smith's absence even more noticable, Missouri dominated with the inside presence of Jeremiah Tilmon. Tilmon racked up a career-high 25 points and pulled down 11 of the Tigers' 51 boards (Arkansas posted 36).
"Tilmon was awesome," Musselman said. "Really, really good. I thought he looked like a pro. He stepped up, made his free throws, which he’s struggled from the line. He dominated the glass. He was a great roller to the rim. They got lobs because our weak side wasn’t pulled in."
Arkansas's game plan included limiting Tilmon and Pinson–the two combined for 48 of the Tigers' 81 points.
"Pinson played phenomenal. We laid out the game plan — do not foul Pinson. And Pinson went to the foul line 15 times. Four of them were my fault. I get that," Musselman said.
Smith's injury didn't feel like a season-changer at the time but after the loss to Missouri, it's clear Arkansas isn't as stable as they appeared just days ago, aided by their cushy non-conference schedule.
The Razorbacks take on No.7-ranked Tennessee on the road on Wednesday night at 6 p.m.
