"I was ready to strangle myself" - John Calipari jokes about Arkansas' 3-point struggles in first half against Troy

Arkansas' first-year coach John Calipari joked that he was ready to "strangle" himself after the poor 3-point shooting display by the No. 18 Razorbacks in the first half of their 65-49 win against the Troy Trojans on Wednesday.

The Razorbacks shot 2-of-11 from deep in the first half and trailed by a point before mounting a strong second-half comeback to avoid an upset.

Calipari noted that shooting was a key factor in the game, particularly for the Razorbacks. He also humorously pointed out that his big men, not the guards or wings, were hitting the long-range shots.

Arkansas finished 10-of-23 (43.5%) from beyond the arc. Zvonimir Ivisic was the standout, making 6-of-7 attempts, while the rest of the team went 4-of-16.

When asked about his team's 3-point shooting, John Calipari said:

"Who are the guys that made the most? You four-man and your five-man. That’s who made them, Adou [Thiero] and [Zvonimir Ivisic]. Then, we sprinkled in one or two others. But one had six and one had two or three, I don’t have a stat sheet in front of me. So, now you have eight and that’s from your four and five.

"Normally, you’d have eight and that comes from your guards, your wings. Thank goodness, right? We were moving the ball, we had it, boop, wide open miss,” Calipari added. “Everything inside out, the guy has it, miss. Another one here missed. I was ready to strangle myself, like, c’mon.”

In the first two games against Lipscomb and Baylor, the Razorbacks converted just 23.1% of their threes (9-for-39). They rank 12th in the SEC in 3-point shooting and 246th nationally.

The Razorbacks face Pacific (Monday), Little Rock (Nov. 22) and Maryland-Eastern Shore (Nov. 25) in their next three games at the Bud Walton Arena.

Arkansas is finding new identity under John Calipari

After spending 15 seasons with Kentucky and guiding it to four Final Four berths and a tournament championship in 2012, John Calipari started a fresh chapter with fellow SEC contender Arkansas.

Coach Cal took over the role after Eric Musselman left to become the coach at USC. Musselman posted a 111-59 record over five seasons in Arkansas, guiding the program to postseason success not seen since the 1990s. Under his leadership, Arkansas reached the Elite Eight in 2021 and 2022 and made it to the Sweet 16 in 2023.

The Razorbacks are No. 18 in the latest AP Poll, dropping two places from their preseason rank. They will be looking to find their way into March Madness with Calipari at the helm.