By Robbie Neiswanger
Arkansas News Bureau • rneiswanger@arkansasnews.com
FAYETTEVILLE — When Arkansas went into the locker room trailing Georgia by 15 points on Wednesday, coach John Pelphrey had a message for his team.
Don’t worry about it. It’s just not your night. You probably won’t be able to get the job done, but at least go out there and keep the score close.
It was the type of attention-grabbing message the Razorbacks weren’t really expecting. And the reverse psychology had an obvious affect on Arkansas in the second half of its 72-68 win against the Bulldogs.
“At halftime a couple of guys started getting a little bit angry,” guard Rotnei Clarke said. “Coach Pelphrey does a really good job. It’s crazy, he does an unbelievable job of motivating us. Whether it’s reverse psychology or he says certain things that gets us going. I think that’s what he did at halftime that got us on that run in the second half.”
The Razorbacks came out of the locker room and crawled back into the game thanks to a 24-8 run to start the half. Arkansas took the lead, then battled back and forth down the stretch with the Bulldogs before sealing the win in the final minute.
Pelphrey described his speech during the postgame radio show on Wednesday night, but didn’t go into much detail again Thursday. Instead, Pelphrey said he was just trying to find a way to get his team to bounce back from its ugly start against the Bulldogs.
“It was at a critical point there being down 15 on the road, especially to a team that has been playing as well as Georgia has,” Pelphrey said. “So, yeah, you’re willing to kind of reach around everyone to find some button to hit. But I thought the guys responded well. They seemed like they were eager to get back out there and try to play better.”
It proved to be the third straight game in which the Razorbacks have rallied from a halftime deficit to win. The 15-point deficit was also the largest Arkansas has overcome during Pelphrey’s tenure.
So Clarke said Pelphrey deserved some credit for his message to the Razorbacks at halftime.
“He didn’t tell us a ton of negative things,” Clarke said. “But he was saying enough to build us up and get us going for the second half.”
Clarke’s Streak Ends
Clarke was limited to two points on 1 of 5 shooting in the Georgia win. He also went 0-for-2 from behind the 3-point line, which ended the sophomore’s 30-game streak with a 3-pointer.
Clarke had knocked down at least one long-range shot in every game dating back to Arkansas’ 74-72 loss to Tennessee on Feb. 3, 2009. But Clarke, whose two-point performance at Georgia was also a season low, said he didn’t mind the offensive struggles.
“It’s just a streak,” Clarke said. “It’s just games. It doesn’t really matter to me. The only thing that matters to me is that we won.”
Pelphrey did credit Clarke for his work in other areas against the Bulldogs. Particularly on defense, where Clarke helped limit Georgia guard Ricky McPhee to eight points on 2 of 6 shooting.
“That’s probably not something that anybody has ever said about him in terms of talking after a game about how good defensively he was,” Pelphrey said. “He was really good defensively in the second half.”
Game? What Game?
Pelphrey was asked Thursday what he remembered about Arkansas’ 73-51 home loss to Auburn last year. It was the Razorbacks’ worst loss in Bud Walton Arena.
But Pelphrey didn’t seem to recall much.
“We lost,” Pelphrey said when asked about it.
Pelphrey was pressed more about the game. In particular, he was asked if the 22-point loss would be a source of revenge for the Razorbacks as they prepared for Auburn this week.
“I don’t think so,” Pelphrey said. “I don’t ever remember talking to our guys about it being the worst loss in Arkansas history at home. I don’t remember saying it. Maybe I did. Maybe I didn’t. But that hadn’t come to my mind until you said it.”
Leading the West
Arkansas’ three-game win streak has surprisingly pushed the Razorbacks to the top of the SEC West standings. The Razorbacks, who are 3-1 in division games so far, are tied with Mississippi State.
Pelphrey said it’s not the right time to be looking at “big-picture stuff” now. He only wants his team to think about Saturday’s game against Auburn and improving Arkansas’ win streak to four games.
“I think the thing we’re focused on is trying to come back here at home and play well,” Pelphrey said.
