Now on ESPNU. Watching Nolan talk about the 94 Kentucky vs Arkansas game we were down by double digits but he always said eventually the other team will break & we come back swinging.
Reminds me of us on the road this year in the SEC. In most of our games we’ve been down double digits & still came back & won. That speaks volumes in my opinion.
We still got pieces of 40 minutes of hell. And over the next couple years I believe it will be full on 40 minutes of absolute hell for other teams!
Any idea when it may come on again?
Feb 12th : SEC Network 7 PM
Feb 16th : ESPNU 11 AM
Thanks very much.
This is a good reminder that it’s not the games that Nolan (or Mike) talks about. The 40 minutes of hell is not about the games. It’s the practices.
The phrase was coined because the first 40 minutes of practice were hell. It conditioned the players. If they can make it through the practice, the games were easy.
I don’t think any Arkansas team (under Nolan or Mike) ever played the style well for 40 minutes. It comes and it goes, but the team should be conditioned for the end of game because of the intensity of the practice.
Right. What we did at our best, and we saw some of this Tuesday, is we’d have one or two 4-5 minute spells when it seemed like we had eight defenders on the court. Usually that spell would do the trick even against quality teams (like Arizona in the Final Four; one late surge put the Cats away).
I remember the platoon subs when the pressure would really go up and it just seemed the other team would wilt.
The game is not called the same anymore if you breathe on someone the whistle blows. If you can pressure without fouling it could work. But this team gives up too many layups and dunks aginst good quick teams. ( KY and FL) and too many wide open 3’s. When you give up uncontested shots and then you are having to shoot contested shots it is one sided. The free throw difference in those games were also one sided. There is a fine line with the pressure that causes poor defense overall.
We can’t stay in front of quality guards like we could years ago. This team is better but not like the hay day. I have always watched our hogs win or loose! WPS!!!
100% agree. It seems one thing we have lacked since Nolan’s best team’s & even can go as far to say most of his team’s is that 6’6"-6’9" swing man (Todd Day, Joe Johnson) sized player with the quickness to guard up close on the perimeter in order to guard a 6’6" or bigger strong 3 point shooter & also not be able to drive around them. It is difficult to guard against the 3 & the drive if your opponent has a height & quickness advantage against you. This year’s squad has close to the size but haven’t been able to handle average sized guards with the quickness to create & shoot, let alone someone 6’6" or bigger with that ability. Seems Florida & KY always have someone in that mold of a player. Consistent Defensive tenacity is missing from this team, which is something I didn’t think would ever happen with a CMA team. Guess it’s all the players this season who are offensive minded , still learning and maybe lacking conditioning to go full speed the whole time they are in there. Then ask for a sub once winded. Just a guess on my part, but no doubt it is missing.