For the second straight year, Arkansas lost a primetime Thanksgiving basketball game. The good news is that despite a stronger opponent, the result was much more promising.
The Hogs waged a back-and-forth war with fourth-ranked Duke in Chicago, but the dominance of Cam Boozer proved to be too much in an 80-71 Duke victory that was very close and tense until the final minute. Boozer finished with 35 points and nine rebounds, showing all the skills that made him the nation’s top recruit and probably the frontrunner for National Player of the Year.
Yes, let’s address every Hog fans’ frustration after the game: Boozer was allowed to get away with a lot with his off-hand. He had one very obvious hook-and-hold and a couple more that were borderline. He repeatedly threw the armbar/chicken-wing while driving. He was whistled for zero offensive fouls when he certainly should have been whistled for two or maybe even three. A couple of the defensive fouls he drew (including an and-one against Nick Pringle) were only drawn because he put the defenders in an impossible spot by hooking them.
To be clear, this doesn’t really diminish Boozer’s dominance, at least not much. He’s really good. The pick-and-rolls that Duke pounded the Hogs with are almost impossible to stop. He didn’t get to show his passing skills in this game because John Calipari refused to double-team him, but opponents who do double him are getting punished by his passing. He is an absolute bull when he gets downhill and he displays impressive touch around the rim. Few teams in the country have the personnel to stop him, but Arkansas is especially unequipped to deal with a player like him. It’s fair to question why Calipari didn’t pick up another defensive 4 in the transfer portal.
It’s also true that Duke could be in trouble if officials decide to start officiating his use of his off-arm properly. Outside of maybe Caleb Foster, the rest of Duke’s roster was unimpressive offensively in this game. Away from the pick-and-rolls, there was a lot of standing around waiting for Boozer to do something. If he catches a couple deserved fouls from hooks or chicken-wings, it’s not clear where Duke turns.
Boozer earned a plus-11 score for this game, meaning that he alone contributed to an 11-point victory for the Blue Devils (adjusted for quality of opponent). Pretty filthy stuff. Darius Acuff and Trevon Brazile were solid for the Hogs, combining for plus-8.3. Nick Pringle ended up with a bad grade, but that’s because he did very little in the boxscore. I thought he played tough defense, especially early.
It’s definitely time to push the panic button on Karter Knox. The Hogs have a Knox-sized hole in their lineup right now, but a guy who was supposed to be all-SEC has instead been on the all-MIA team this year. Because Arkansas has no other 4s, Knox got switched onto Boozer regularly and found himself being abused, so that didn’t help at all. But he’s contributing nothing offensively either. Turf toe can be a nagging injury, so let’s home that’s why he’s off to such a slow start. But he needs to kick things into gear quickly.
This was an evenly-matched game, but Duke really dictated the pacing and structure. The Hogs – who entered the game playing at the nation’s seventh-fastest offensive pace (14.5 seconds per possession) – were held to a lumbering 18.3 seconds per possession by a very sticky Duke defense. The Hogs won points off turnovers (shocking – they’ve been horrible at that this year) and fast break points, but they were poor in transition while Duke was solid.
That said, Arkansas’ halfcourt efficiency of 111.5 against an absolutely elite halfcourt defense is extremely promising. Halfcourt offense was an issue against Michigan State (and, to a lesser extent, against Samford and Winthrop) and it was an issue most of last year, so any improvement is good news.
You’re not going to get many calls against Duke, but the Blue Devils doubled the Hogs up in the ratio of free throw attempts to field goal attempts, which didn’t help. The Hogs shot acceptable percentages from the paint and the 3-point line, but they still attempt too many midrange jumpers (it was seven in this game, with two makes). They also lost turnovers and offensive rebounds. The only reason this game was within single digits was because Duke struggles to make free throws.
Overall, this wasn’t a discouraging performance at all. The Hogs need Knox to come along, and it would be nice to dictate the pace a little better against a high-major opponent. Duke may be Final Four good, so the Hogs can still compile an elite resume even with two early losses.
Up next
If Arkansas is going to have a truly special season, this next game against Louisville is pretty much a must-win. It’s the biggest home game of the non-conference slate, and the sixth-ranked Cardinals don’t grade quite as strong as Duke, although they are very good. That game is Wednesday, December 3rd at 6:15 pm.