Hogs Go Winless in Game Before 1 p.m.

Tired.

That's the word that came up often throughout the Razorbacks' 78-74 loss in Knoxville against No. 13 Tennessee. 

In the end, it was a word that had more to do with the outcome than the lingering ankle injury of starting guard Au-Diese Toney.

TIRED AT THE FREE THROW LINE

During the first half, Arkansas struggled to make free throws as the shots by multiple players barely reached the front of the rim. Even J.D. Notae, who had spent the previous five minutes on the bench resting, had so little lift in his legs that he narrowly avoided air-balling consecutive free throws.

Weak legs also appear to have affected Notae when he got out on a breakaway, but didn't appear to have the energy to get up for a dunk. Instead, in a moment of apparent indecisiveness, he decided late to go for the lay-up instead, which ended up rolling off the rim.

It's possible that Arkansas doesn't have a solid routine for early games. The Razorbacks lost all four games played before 1 p.m. this season, which means time slotting for tournament games might be even more important than seeding.

Becoming a champion heavily relies on discipline. Adjusting a sleep cycle might have to become part of the Hogs' discipline regiment over the next few weeks to avoid the kind of fatigue displayed against the Volunteers.

TIRED OF MUSSELMAN

One only has to scan through the wide variety of photos we have posted of Arkansas head coach Eric Musselman throughout the season to realize that his default mode is either angrily taking bites out of every ref around him or presenting a face that clearly reads extreme confusion with a splash of four-letter word in the eyes.

Throughout the season refs have tolerated Musselman's antics, which is why what appeared to be one of his least animated discussions with the back shoulder of a nearby referee caught fans off guard. With it being the last game of the season and a favorable home crowd in the mix, the ref decided to set the tone and T up Musselman.

What followed was a 3-point swing at a time when the world was falling apart all around his team. It was also the difference between leading with about a minute left as opposed to trying to finish the comeback.

MENTALLY TIRED

There were very few moments when Arkansas displayed the sharp crispness that has put it above the rest of the league. Some of this had to do with players who don't normally play getting in, thus throwing off the chemistry. 

However, that was only a small percentage of the issue. Arkansas had multiple shot clock violations, clearly indicating mental focus issues.

At one point, Trey Wade had a wide open jumper on an inbounds with a couple of seconds left on the shot clock and passed it up to dribble in for a dunk that got waived off.  

The play-by-play kept by the stats crew at games list every time a turnover happened and usually why. Five possessions were lost because of bad passes, four were deemed lost balls, and four more labeled simply offensive. 

The rest were a combination of blocked shots and rules violations, all of which are often tied to physical and mental fatigue.

Perhaps the most costly of these mental mistakes doesn't even appear on the stat sheet. 

Notae, whose veteran mind should have forced him to slow things down when Stanley Umude came away with a crucial rebound with 30 seconds remaining with a chance to take the lead, tried to throw a full-length pass over four Tennessee defenders. 

Arkansas could have held for the last shot and either go for the tie or win with Tennessee in foul trouble. Instead, Notae's pass sailed six feet out of bounds, setting the Volunteers up to close the game instead of overcoming the Razorbacks' first lead of the game.

THE BRIGHT SIDE

There are numerous positives to be taken from this game. The most obvious is this is a loss that doesn't do much in the way of harm. 

Losing to a highly ranked team on the road in a non-elimination game that won't alter the quality of opponent you play in the SEC tournament means minor impact on the overall picture. 

Prognosticators seem set on keeping Arkansas a 5-seed in the NCAA tournament and they won't fall below that, especially with Alabama losing Saturday. The only way the Hogs were going to get onto the 4-seed line was with a run to the SEC championship, and that doesn't seem to have changed either.

Another positive to pull from this is the winning mentality of the team. For over two months, this team has believed it can win in the end no matter the situation and has proven it time and again. That didn't change on Saturday.

Tennessee led by as many as 24 and still should have lost this game. Teams that watch film on the Hogs are going to realize they are under constant threat of a loss no matter the score, which adds tremendous stress in an already stressful tournament environment. 

On the flip side, the Hogs are less likely to succumb to pressure as they mentally know they're going to find a way to win. 

The last positive is Arkansas almost pulled this off without Au'Diese Toney. It takes little to picture a 10-point win should the red-hot guard have been in the game.

His presence defensively and recent aggressiveness on offense, makes him one of the better production over replacement players in the league. Considering Toney was listed as limited minutes instead of completely out, it seems safe to expect him to return soon.