By Robbie Neiswanger
Arkansas News Bureau • rneiswanger@arkansasnews.com
ATLANTA — When the final seconds ticked off the clock Thursday night, and Tennessee’s 74-68 win was complete, Arkansas coach John Pelphrey walked through the postgame handshake line.
He greeted Tennessee coach Bruce Pearl. He shook hands with the rest of the Volunteers. And then, with assistant coach Brett Nelson close behind, Pelphrey walked off the court and into the team’s locker room.
Arkansas nearly completed a remarkable comeback against the Volunteers, one that would’ve extended its stay in Atlanta. But in the end, Pelphrey and the Razorbacks suffered another first round-loss and intensified the question on everyone’s mind: was it also the end of Pelphrey’s run at Arkansas?
“We’ll talk about our team (Thursday night) and we’ll talk about the SEC Tournament,” Pelphrey said about his future. “There will be a time for that reflection here at some point in time. I look forward to it.”
Pelphrey, instead, spoke about how proud he was of his team for its performance even though the result proved to be Arkansas’ third straight loss.
The Razorbacks (18-13) struggled most of the game, allowing easy layups and dunks to a Tennessee (19-13) team still fighting to secure its spot in the NCAA Tournament. Meanwhile, Arkansas had early trouble getting the ball in the post and found itself settling for long-range shots on too many possessions.
But after falling behind 58-42 with 7:06 remaining, the Razorbacks made an improbable charge. Guard Rotnei Clarke, who scored a team-high 18 points, made a layup that triggered a 16-0 run. He also made a pair of free throws to tie the game at 68-68 with 2:08 remaining.
“We felt like we shouldn’t have been in that position in the first place, but that’s how it was,” Clarke said. “We didn’t quit. We fought. The coaches believed in us and we said we’re going to get back into the game.”
Arkansas had chances to take the lead down in the final two minutes, but couldn’t score on the next three possessions. Tennessee, meanwhile, did just enough behind freshman Tobias Harris’ 20 points to hold on and advance to today’s second-round game against SEC champion Florida.
“They didn’t panic. They didn’t feel like the game was over,” Tennessee coach Bruce Pearl said of Arkansas’ run. “And I would give them great, great credit for coming back on us.”
But it still resulted in an early exit — the third straight in the SEC Tournament — for Arkansas.
A fact Clarke and center Delvon Johnson described as “disappointing.”
And it kicks off a period certainly loaded with curiosity regarding Pelphrey’s future.
Arkansas, which is 69-59 in four seasons under Pelphrey, will miss the NCAA Tournament for the third straight season. It comes in a year the turnout in Bud Walton Arena was at an all-time low with an average paid attendance of 12,022. And fan frustration, as evidenced by an advertisement that appeared in last Thursday’s Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, has grown the past couple of months.
Forward Marshawn Powell appeared to add to Pelphrey’s trouble when he offered a “no comment” after being asked about rumors regarding a strained relationship with his coach last month. But Powell said that moment was blown out of proportion Thursday and then was asked if he thought Pelphrey should return.
“It’s going to be tough for us to make a coaching change,” said Powell, who added he planned to return to Arkansas next season. “If they keep him and we get our recruits coming in next year, we’re going to be pretty tough to deal with in the SEC. So, I mean, why not?”
Powell said Pelphrey’s job status has been “a little bit” of a distraction late in the season, but it made Arkansas play harder. The Hogs won four of five games to move into position to grab a first-round bye for the SEC Tournament before dropping two straight to end the regular season.
Guard Mardracus Wade was asked if he had considered Arkansas making a coaching change and said “it’s hard to think about” because “he worked so hard just to deal with so many personalities on this team.”
“Either way it goes, if we get a new coach, we’re still going to have to work, we’re still going to have to win games,” Wade said. “We’re still going to have to play together as a team and believe in his system if coach is here or not here. We’ve still got believe.”
Arkansas athletic director Jeff Long, who publicly supported Pelphrey after the loss to Georgia in the first round of last season’s SEC Tournament, declined comment Thursday night.
Long did say the Razorbacks have submitted a bid to play in the National Invitation Tournament, though.
The possibility seems unlikely, but players said they’d look forward to the opportunity to keep playing.
So would Pelphrey, who shook off the mounting criticism in press conferences the past month, insisting the program is moving in the right direction. There’s no doubt his future is in question as Arkansas heads home early from Atlanta once again, but Pelphrey said it wasn’t his immediate concern after Thursday’s loss.
“There will be a point in time where we’ll really do that,” Pelphrey said when asked for his evaluation of the season. “Tonight, obviously, I’m concerned about our basketball team and those young men in that locker room that fought their hearts out in the second half and had a chance to win that game.”
