John Calipari calls out Razorbacks’ lack of heart, questions lineup choices after stinging 71-63 defeat

John Calipari commended his Arkansas roster for holding the No. 8 Florida to 39.1% shooting and 28.6% from the 3-point line in the post-game conference following the 71-63 defeat on Friday. However, the coach questioned the players' lack of effort in the last stretch of the contest.

The coach noted that the Razorbacks were still in contention despite recurring struggles, pointing toward the Hogs' enthusiasm and emotional intensity. John Calipari also emphasized a certain sequence where a Florida player's dunk energized the arena and questioned why his players were failing to show the same passion.

"We miss a bunch of free throws, miss a bunch of layups and we still have a chance and then we start missing free throws," Calipari said (via On3). "So, I gotta look and say, 'Are we playing the right people? Are we playing the right way?' We’re getting shots, we’re getting layups, we got to the free throw line, we did all the stuff we’re trying to do."

"And then the other thing is, there was emotion shown in that game, in one play, what was it? He dunks it, goes to the crowd, goes crazy. Why isn’t that us? Why aren’t you absolutely excited about playing?"

Arkansas garnered 15 more trips to the charity stripes than Florida, who had 20. 13 of the Razorbacks' free throws came in the last eight minutes of the contest. However, the Razorbacks converted only eight of those attempts.

Adou Thiero missed two free throws to make it a single-possession deficit with 6:29 on the clock (48-53), which could have also potentially allowed the Razorbacks to shift the momentum their way.

John Calipari wants his players to come together

Highlighting the mindset of a player, John Calipari said that oftentimes athletes get stuck when they are not performing well. In an effort to get players out of the rut and to bring the team together, he urged his players to focus on the nitty-gritty of the game.

"I think part of it is, if someone doesn’t play well, they can’t get out of their own way," John Calipari said. "But you don’t have to play great, you don’t even have to play good.

"Just defend, dive on the floor, talk, be a great teammate, chest bump, get everybody going and you’ll bounce out of that. We haven’t learned that yet. I got to do a better job."

The Razorbacks (11-5, 3-0 SEC) will now hit the road to face the LSU Tigers on Tuesday and the Missouri Tigers on Saturday. Like Arkansas, both the opponents currently make for the bottom bunch in the SEC rankings.