John Calipari reveals why he is 'disappointed in myself' after loss to LSU

It hasn’t been a kind start to conference play for John Calipari and Arkansas. With the Razorbacks in their first season under the former Kentucky coach and national champion, they are 0-4 to begin the SEC slate.

That included a tough 78-74 loss on the road against LSU on Tuesday night in which the Razorbacks fell behind in the second half but made a valiant comeback effort. Despite coming as close as two points within the final minute of play, they couldn’t quite pull it off.

Boogie Fland led the team with 19 points, finishing as one of five Arkansas players to score in double figures. Speaking in his postgame press conference after the loss, Calipari was critical of his coaching down the stretch.

“They deserved to win the game and I’m just disappointed in myself that I’m not getting through to get these guys where we have to get over the hump,” he said. “I may have to drag them to the finish line in some of these games, and if I have to coach that way, I will. I’m trying to create space and give them opportunities.

“We had a turnover late that was just a tough pass to the post and stuff like that. But that’s all normal stuff. You want your kids to understand at the end, you gotta get fouled. You’re gonna have to make some shots. We had one guy making shots, Boogie. So we rode it with him. He almost got us back to where we could win the game.”

John Calipari took over at Arkansas this season following a 15-year stint at Kentucky. He had a highly respected resume with four Final Fours and a national title in that span, but had been trending downward in recent seasons.

Although Kentucky had made the NCAA Tournament each of the past three seasons under Calipari, it advance no further than the second round. In fact, the Wildcats had been bounced twice in the first round by a No. 15 and No. 14 seed, respectively.

The growing frustration from fans at UK is part of the reason Calipari decided to make the change and get a fresh start at Arkansas. Now, however, it appears the same issues may have followed him to Fayetteville.

There’s still a long season ahead and plenty of opportunity for the Razorbacks to turn things around. But right now they are trending in the wrong direction and need to get it figured out quickly.

Their next chance to snap the four-game losing skid comes on the road against Missouri at 5 p.m. CT on Saturday.