Calipari’s young Hogs had one assist at half, but keeping tape

John Calipari won’t be lighting a match the game tape after this one.

The Arkansas coach has been known to burn game film when his team gets embarrassed. He wasn’t doing that Sunday, even after No. 9 Virginia beat his No. 12 Razorbacks 91-72 at Capital One Arena in Washington.

“No, this is my team, and we’ve got to learn from it, and we’ve got to do some film work,” Calipari said.

He saves the tape burning for a different kind of loss, like getting blown out by 40 in league play deep into the season.

“I haven’t done it that much, but I’ve done it about three or four times in my career,” he said.

So this one heads to the film room, and it doesn’t sound like anybody’s bringing popcorn.

One assist and a lot of dribbling

The number that’ll make those film sessions drag is the assist total. Arkansas had exactly one at halftime.

“If I remember right, we had one assist at halftime,” Calipari said. “I’ll be honest. I’ve never coached a game where that’s the case.”

Virginia finished with 18 assists, while the Hogs ended with 10.

Calipari put the first half on himself. He said he should’ve set the rules before tip.

“I made a mistake not demanding that we’re just going to pass the ball,” he said.

At the break, he took the choice away from his players. Every set in the second half made the ball move from one side of the floor to the other.

Calipari’s halftime rule was simple

“If you don’t want to pass, guess what? I’ll make you pass,” Calipari said. “If you don’t run what we’re saying to run, you’re coming out. Simple.”

It helped some, but it couldn’t wipe out a 46-27 halftime deficit.

Calipari said his guys held the ball too long and kept driving into Virginia’s size with nothing open at the rim.

“Well, the ball was sticking in hands,” he said.

His staff had spent three weeks working on lane touches, spacing and hard cuts. Once the game started, he said, the players drifted away from what they’d practiced.

He’d still take this lesson now rather than later.

“I’d rather learn it the second game of the year than learn it December something,” he said.

The real problem with being this young

With a roster this green, a mistake doesn’t stay one mistake. It follows a player down the floor.

Calipari said his guys were late on defensive rotations because they were still thinking about plays that had already gone wrong.

“These guys may have been thinking about the layup they missed,” he said. “Now they can’t stay locked in, and that’s young guys.”

He’s handled that before. What’s different this year is how many of them he has.

“I’ve seen it before with young guys, I just have eight of them, and that’s what makes it kind of like unique,” Calipari said.

That’s the Calipari young team problem, because one missed layup can turn into a late close-out on the other end and a Virginia three.

He also called Sunday “a punch in the mouth” for players who thought this season would come easy.

Virginia earned this one

Calipari didn’t want fans overreacting to the final score.

“We’re not awful. We’re just really young and inexperienced. But they’re really good,” he said.

He called the Cavaliers “a top 10 team, maybe even better.”

Virginia controlled the glass with 19 offensive rebounds, and that turned into a 28-14 edge in second-chance points.

Cooper Bowser was in the middle of that fight under the basket. He pointed to “the relentless crash to the glass that they had.”

According to Bowser, Virginia’s full-court pressure also kept Arkansas from running the way it wanted to.

“Their press really slowed us down,” he said.

He gave the Cavs their due. “They outcompeted us today and they beat us today. So credit to them,” Bowser said.

Mallory’s burst broke it open

Arkansas hung around for most of the first half and was down just seven with a little over six minutes to go before the break. From there, Virginia outscored the Razorbacks by 12 and walked into the locker room up 19.

Chance Mallory was a big reason why.

“He’s a bucket maker,” Calipari said. “He can shoot a three even with his size, he can go in and pivot.”

What makes Mallory hard to guard, Calipari said, is how fast he can get past a defender who’s a step slow.

“He’ll play with a burst of speed and energy,” he said.

Freshman forward Miikka Muurinen sat for a long stretch of that half after two early fouls. Calipari didn’t want to risk a third one, because then a player spends the rest of the game playing scared.

“He’s playing not to foul, and now you kind of lost him,” Calipari said.

Smith and Thompson showed what’s coming

Jordan Smith Jr. was the bright spot on the stat sheet. The freshman guard scored a game-best 19 for the Hogs and made 8 of his 17 shots, and his four steals topped the team too.

Bowser sees that effort in practice every day.

“His motor is relentless,” Bowser said, calling Smith “an elite competitor.”

Bowser wished they’d won this one for the two of them since the trip was a homecoming for both.

Davion Thompson gave Arkansas a lift early when nothing else was falling. He knocked down two floaters and scored a basket inside in the first half.

“He plays way beyond his years,” Bowser said.

Calipari said Thompson “deserves to play.”

Where Arkansas goes from here

Muurinen scored 12. Jeremiah Wilkinson chipped in 11, and so did Billy Richmond, who also grabbed seven boards and swatted three shots.

Abdou Toure got to 10, giving Arkansas five scorers in double digits. That depth is what Calipari is counting on.

He’s got nine or 10 players who can help, he said, and each of them will have nights when the game falls his way.

The fixes he wants are basic ones: more ball movement, better free-throw shooting and fewer turnovers.

Bowser, meanwhile, has been fighting cramps and hopes to get it sorted out. “But just cramps, I’m fine,” he said.

For all the frustration, the coach still believes in the group he’s got.

“I like this team. I like my team,” Calipari said.

The Hogs might want to get comfortable in those film room chairs.