The Arkansas Razorbacks (15-11, 4-9 SEC) hold their postseason fate in their hands, but they need to turn it on to close out the year with just five games left in the regular season.
Big-time victories have eluded the Hogs in recent weeks, as they’ve lost games to No. 4 Alabama, No. 8 Texas A&M and No. 1 Auburn by eight points or less. In Arkansas’ most recent loss to Auburn, the Hogs had a 58-57 lead with 3:06 left in the game, but they couldn’t close it out and lost 67-60.
Arkansas got no production out of its big men against Auburn, as the trio of Zvonimir Ivisic, Jonas Aidoo and Trevon Brazile finished with zero points. Perhaps the most jarring performance came from Big Z, as he missed all 10 shots he attempted. It was a surprise considering that in the previous three games combined, he scored a total of 65 points.
Arkansas associate head coach Chin Coleman said Friday that Ivisic doesn’t lack any confidence, which was evidenced by the fact that he didn’t stop shooting.
“I think that he showed that he had confidence because you miss 100% of the shots that you don’t take,” Coleman said. “So if you keep taking shots and you got to have a short memory, right? You have to have amnesia. And I think Z had amnesia. He showed that he was confident. He showed that it’s all about the next shot. That’s why he kept shooting those shots.”
Coleman’s sentiment about Ivisic continuing to take shots can’t be said for Brazile and Aidoo, however. In Brazile’s last five games, he’s attempted a total of seven shots and has scored just eight points. Aidoo has attempted just eight shots and scored eight points. Neither attempted a shot against Auburn, and an accidental tip-in by Brazile gave Auburn two points.
They’ve both shown flashes of what they’re capable of doing at points this season, but it hasn’t happened in recent games, and that’s a trend that has to change.
“We need everyone,” Coleman said. “We need Jonas to contribute, had a conversation with Trevon yesterday in film. We need him to contribute, and obviously we need Z to contribute. Our team is only as strong as the sum of our parts. That means that we need everybody. There’s not one player on our team that can go into the phone booth, put on a cape, come out and be Superman and win the game for us.
“This is a tough league, probably the best league in the history of college basketball, and for us to succeed, we need bits and pieces from everybody. So we’re trying to get TB to play at this level for us, Jonas, and Z.”
One player the Hogs will continue to rely on is forward Adou Thiero. Currently the Razorbacks’ leading scorer, he finished with a team-high 16 points against Auburn. Because of his dominant play, he’s someone opponents keep at the top of their scouting report.
Naturally, that means the shots he takes are going to be tougher because teams are keying in on him, and Coleman said the Arkansas coaching staff is actively working on ways to get him better looks at the basket.
“It’s going to be difficult, his shots are going to be tough and they’re going to double team him,” Coleman said. “They’re going to load it up, they’re going to shrink the box. And we understand that, we watch a ton of film and there’s ways. We even talked about yesterday in film about how we can do some other things to get him some easier looks, but it’s not going to be easy. It’s not going to be easy for anyone.”
Already down one of its nine rotational players with freshman guard Boogie Fland out indefinitely after having thumb surgery, the Hogs will need everyone to play well. They don’t have to play perfect, though.
“When everyone is hitting on that cylinder, when everyone is hitting on that cord, we’re going to be really tough, and that’s what we’re expecting to have here on Saturday,” Coleman said. “We need everybody to contribute in front of our home fans, our crowd. We got the Missouri Tigers, one of the hottest teams in the country right now.
“We need for all of those guys to play well…if everyone is good, no one has to be great. So that’s what we need on Saturday against Missouri.”
Arkansas and No. 15 Missouri will tip off from Bud Walton Arena at 7 p.m. CT on Saturday. The game will air on ESPN.
