For the first time since the 1988-89 season at UMass, a John Calipari-coached team has gotten off to a 0-3 start in conference play.
In front of a raucous home crowd inside Bud Walton Arena, Arkansas (11-5, 0-3) fell to No. 8 Florida (15-1, 2-1) by a final score of 71-63. The final score was a far cry from the opening minutes of the contest, in which Arkansas pulled out to an 11-2 lead.
It was an afternoon full of missed opportunities for the Razorbacks, who missed 11 free throws, shot 18.8 percent from beyond the arc and, at one point, were 1-of-11 on layups. After starting off a hot 4-of-4 from the field, Arkansas only made five of its next 30 field goal attempts and shot an abysmal 28.8 percent from the field for the game.
Arkansas’ cold shooting allowed Florida to extend its lead to 11 with 13:39 remaining. The Gators offense wasn’t exactly humming, but compared to Arkansas’ offense — which was clearly down several cylinders — Todd Golden’s squad was doing enough to maintain a steady advantage.
While Arkansas punched back to make it a 53-50 game with 6:12 to play, a pair of clutch three-pointers by the Gators served as preliminary daggers. Perhaps the biggest blow to Arkansas’ slim comeback chances occurred with 3:01 to play, when Adou Thiero fouled out after a 17-point performance. A five-point run from Gator forward Alex Condon put Florida up 70-58 with 1:23 remaining, essentially sealing Florida’s second SEC win of the season.
While the Razorbacks failed to convert on many opportunities of their own, they also gave Florida plenty of second-chance opportunities. The Gators snagged 16 offensive rebounds Saturday afternoon.
Arkansas guard Johnell Davis — a transfer from Florida Atlantic who led the Owls to the Final Four a season ago — went scoreless once more, going 0-of-8 from the field and 0-of-5 from three-point range.
The struggling Razorbacks will travel to Baton Rouge on Tuesday in desperate search of their first SEC win. Meanwhile, Florida will return to Gainesville to take on Missouri.
