Arkansas coach John Calipari was blunt about the lesson he hopes his team learned during a 91-72 loss to Virginia in the Capital Showcase on Sunday in Washington, D.C.
“We’re young, and this was a punch in the mouth to (believing) like, ‘Oh, this is going to be easy,'” Calipari said. “No, this is going to be really hard.”
The No. 19 Razorbacks (1-1), who fell seven spots in the AP Top 25 poll this week, will return to the floor Wednesday night when they face Robert Morris (0-2), of the Horizon League, in Fayetteville, Ark.
Arkansas, which brought in the consensus No. 1 recruiting class in the nation, had reason for early optimism after rolling through the previous two weeks — blowing out Arkansas-Pine Bluff 106-61 in the regular-season opener Nov. 3 after topping preseason No. 14 Gonzaga and neighboring Memphis in exhibition games.
“We weren’t ready for that kind of team,” Calipari said of facing then-No. 9 Virginia. “When you are growing and you have all these freshmen, this is what it takes sometimes to get them to understand.”
Robert Morris enters Wednesday’s game after losing the first two contests in its season-opening, three-game trip. The Colonials are coming off a 79-56 loss at UIC on Friday.
“We have a lot of work to do, but we have some guys who are dedicated to make a run at this thing,” said Robert Morris coach Andrew Toole, whose team has won 28 Horizon League games over the past two seasons.
For Arkansas, freshman Jordan Smith Jr. led five double-figure scorers with 19 points against Virginia and added four steals in the game that marked his return to his hometown.
Miikka Muurinen had 12 points, and Billy Richmond III and Jeremiah Wilkinson scored 11 each, but the Arkansas offense bogged down at times when ball movement lagged, especially when the Cavaliers used a 19-7 run to close the first half with a 46-27 lead. They led by as many as 27.
“The ball was sticking,” said Calipari, whose team had one assist in the first half, “and when the ball moved, that guy was trying to score. We’re not going to just play one-on-one, which is what we did in the first half.
“(After) halftime, we ran everything where the ball had to move from side to side. If you don’t want to pass, guess what? I’ll make you pass. If you don’t run what we’re saying to run, you’re coming out.”
Arkansas shot 45.8% from the field and was outrebounded 40-36. The Razorbacks already have missed 19 free throws in two games.
“We have to figure out what this team’s going to be,” Calipari said.
Robert Morris returns two part-time starters from team that went 22-11 and finished second in the Horizon last season. The Colonials were blown out in their opener, an 86-49 loss at Nevada on Nov. 2.
“I’ve never been afraid of roster turnover,” Toole said. “I will say the challenge is figuring out what guys can handle from a learning perspective and how quickly they can process information.”
KJ Garris Jr. is averaging 13.5 points per game, the Colonials’ only double-digit scorer. Ace Valentine had eight points, five rebounds and five assists — and eight turnovers — against UIC.