Some late-night/early-morning thoughts, notes and quotes after Arkansas’ 97-94 loss to Morgan State:
• Arkansas’ loss not only ended its 45-game nonconference win streak in Bud Walton Arena, it continues an ominous start for the Southeastern Conference. Let’s see, Alabama lost to Cornell, Auburn lost to Missouri State and Central Florida, Georgia lost to Wofford and Alabama-Birmingham, and Mississippi State lost to Rider. Now Arkansas. Coach John Pelphrey said it’s pretty clear his team better be focused every night from here on out or else more of these types of losses are possible. He said Arkansas isn’t so much better than anyone else that it can just cruise to a win.
• Arkansas’ rebounding was bad Tuesday night. There’s no doubt it caused the loss. Morgan State controlled Arkansas on the offensive glass, gaining opportunity after opportunity. The Bears had possessions where they got two or three cracks at the bucket. They finished with 15 offensive rebounds and outscored Arkansas 20-5 on second-chance points. “They did a good job in their prior games of rebounding the basketball,” Pelphrey said. “We talked about that. We needed to win the rebounding battle and we didn’t. And we didn’t win the game.”
• Free throws and fouls disrupted the flow for both teams. Arkansas and Morgan State combined to commit 54 fouls (Morgan State had 31, Arkansas 23) and 86 free-throw attempts (Arkansas had 45, Morgan State 41). There was whistle after whistle after whistle. Arkansas guard Rotnei Clarke was asked about it after the game. “It was tough,” Clarke said. “There was a lot of calls made, but that’s really no excuse for us not to be running offense or something like that.” Arkansas was fortunate, two Morgan State big men fouled out. But it didn’t help in the end.
• The Hogs simply lost Marshawn Powell in the second half. The forward has been Arkansas’ most consistent scorer in the low post and got off to a great start in the first half. The freshman scored a team-high 16 points on 7 of 9 shooting. But for whatever reason, Powell rarely touched the ball in the second half and finished with 17 points on 7 of 12 shooting. “We had some post opportunities to get him the ball,” Pelphrey said. “We didn’t get them to him. We had trouble passing the ball there, couldn’t have had a tougher time getting it in there to him.”
• Remember, Julysses Nobles is a freshman. The point guard has been pretty impressive in an unexpected starting role so far, protecting the basketball and avoiding costly mistakes. But Nobles did make one big gaff late in the game, turning the ball over with 47 seconds left and Arkansas trailing by three. Morgan State converted the turnover into a layup and opened a five-point lead. “He’s been tremendous that kid has,” Pelphrey said. “Just a bad play.” It is worth noting Nobles tallied 17 points, 6 assists, 3 steals and 3 turnovers. So it wasn’t a bad night for the freshman.
• Stef Welsh is back and he just may be able to help the Razorbacks (if he continues to follow team rules). The senior returned from his indefinite suspension, which lasted three games, and chipped in five points off the bench. He also did pretty well on the defensive end, locking down Morgan State’s guards on a couple of occasions. “He’s as good as anybody we’ve got in terms of perimeter defense,” Pelphrey said. “He’s capable of doing that and that’s one thing that if you look at, the guys that aren’t playing (Fortson and Britt), those are probably three of the better perimeter defenders.”
• Pelphrey has had another holiday ruined by a loss. Two years ago, it was the Appalachian State game before the Christmas break. Pelphrey tried to stay positive about it after the game, though. “Basketball can be bad for the holidays, but we’ve got a lot we can be thankful for. We’re at the University of Arkansas. We’ve got a good group of guys here that work hard. They believe in doing things the right way. I’m looking forward as a coach of finding a way here to get back in there and working hard and making those guys better so we have a chance to win next time out.”
