By Robbie Neiswanger
Arkansas News Bureau • rneiswanger@arkansasnews.com
LEXINGTON, Ky. — Arkansas coach John Pelphrey doesn’t know what he’ll do with Saturday’s game film.
His choices are endless. He could burn it, shred it or simply throw it in the trash. He could hide it, hoping it never sees the light of day. He could watch it — like it was a horror movie — or use it as a teaching tool.
“We’ll have to wait and see,” Pelphrey said.
No matter what Pelphrey decides to do with the video evidence of Arkansas’ 101-70 loss at second-ranked Kentucky, one thing is certain: The Kentucky alum will have a very difficult time forgetting the ugly details of his second trip to Rupp Arena as Arkansas’ coach.
Kentucky’s talented roster overwhelmed and embarrassed the Razorbacks in front of 24,356 in Rupp Arena on Saturday. The Wildcats — who will be No. 1 in the nation when polls are released this week — rolled to their 19th straight game to open their first year under coach John Calipari and remain the country’s only unbeaten team.
Not only that, they handed Arkansas (8-11, 1-3 in Southeastern Conference) its worst loss of the season and the program’s worst league defeat since joining the SEC.
Previously, Mississippi State held the mark with a 30-point win over the Hogs in 2003.
“Arkansas is a good team,” Calipari said. “They hit a buzz saw (Saturday). We would’ve done this to 360 teams, whoever we played, the way we played (Saturday).
“They hit a buzz saw. They just hit us on a bad day.”
But Arkansas — which now has lost 10 straight to Kentucky — didn’t help itself with a poor performance Saturday.
Kentucky set the tone from the opening tip, scoring 10 straight points to stun the Razorbacks. The Wildcats, who are loaded with talent at every position, dominated at the guard positions and intimidated with their size inside.
“We talked a lot about coming out and handling the emotion of the game,” Pelphrey said. “We wanted to survive. … We got punched pretty quick. It was 10-0 in about the first two minutes and 10 seconds.”
Arkansas opened by making just 2 of 14 shots and finished 9-for-39 (23.1 percent) in the first half. The Wildcats intensity on defense played a large hand in the struggles. At one point late in the half, Arkansas had an equal number of field goals as shots blocked (seven).
Kentucky, meanwhile, cruised, getting points from a variety of players. The Wildcats, who shot 57.1 percent in the half, buried the Hogs with a late spurt in the first half to push their lead from 23 to 30 points at the break.
“If it went to 23 to 16, all of a sudden they think they’ve got a chance,” Calipari said. “It went from 23 to 30 now they know they have no chance.”
Said Pelphrey: “Being down 30 at the break is not ideal. It wasn’t part of the gameplan. Didn’t really have something prepared for that.”
The Wildcats didn’t let up after the break, either, sprinting to 12 quick points. Kentucky led by as many as 46 points before the Razorbacks made a late push.
Twelve players scored for Kentucky, which was led by guard Darius Miller’s 18 points. DeMarcus Cousins added 16 points and 14 rebounds and John Wall scored 16.
“They played us on our best night,” Wall said. “They weren’t making shots and we were clicking on offense.”
Arkansas point guard Courtney Fortson led the Razorbacks with a season-high 21 points, while leading scorer Rotnei Clarke struggled en route to 13 points.
Fortson had 11 points in the first half and helped Arkansas chip away late even though the game was clearly decided.
“Our attitude is never to give up,” said Fortson, who went 5-for-17 from the field and 10-for-12 from the free-throw line. “So I tried to play hard, tried to encourage may teammates to play hard and get through it.”
Although Arkansas was embarrassed, Pelphrey said he did pull one positive out of the disastrous day. He liked the way the Razorbacks battled after falling into a big hole.
But clearly, Kentucky, left the biggest impression Saturday.
“We’ve played a pretty challenging schedule,” Pelphrey said. “We’ve seen some of the better teams in the country. This is by far as good as somebody has played against us and I think it’s probably by far the best team we’ve played in terms of physical talent.”
