Arkansas played well for the middle 20 minutes of the game. Their slow starts have become the norm, but we have a tendency to start slow as well, so I can’t dog them too much about that. But if you’re an Arkansas fan, blowing an 18-point lead with 9 minutes left has to be concerning. It sure as hell would be to me if UK did that.
Players can sense their coach’s emotions and energy, whether positive or negative. And it trickles down to them. Cal chokes in pressure situations, time and again. It’s why Bill Self famously said they just “ran out of time”. When games get tight, so does Cal, and so do his players. They were fortunate to pull that out. But a W is a W. Entertaining game.
