FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Arkansas coach John Calipari wants the fan base not to read too much into Arkansas’ 85-69 win over No. 1 seed Kansas. The Jayhawks were without three key players. — Signing Hunter Dickinson and Rylan Griffen and Shakeel Moore,

Calipari wanted fans to miss something as the Hogs’ season opener against Lipscomb is just over a week away.

“We’ve been together for a short time,” Calipari said. “I’m happy because I wanted people to leave and say, ‘That was fun to watch.'”

One of the Razorbacks’ biggest problems under former coach Eric Musselman has been the lack of three-point shooting efficiency throughout his entire tenure. The Razorbacks should expect a significant increase in three-point percentage. The two coaches’ rankings over the last 5 years are as follows (NCAA D1 rankings):

Under Musselman, there was nowhere to go but up. Calipari’s worst season at Kentucky during Musselman’s tenure at Arkansas is nearly identical to the Hogs’ best season under Musselman.

2023-24 looks like an anomaly. Kentucky had three players shoot over 44%; Among them was Reed Sheppard, who was selected third overall by the Houston Rockets and led the nation in three-point percentage (52.1%). Rob Dillingham and Antonio Reeves were the other two NBA draft picks.

The Razorbacks’ roster doesn’t have quite the same pitching history. Johnell Davis is the best pitcher with the highest volume and performance history. He shot a career-high 41.4% from behind the arc last year with the Florida Atlantic Owls, well above his career mark of 36.6% and moving Calipari into first place. beg davis to shoot the ball.

Arkansas is hoping to see big leaps from other players on the roster, as center Zvonimir Ivisic had just 16 three-point attempts in 15 games in his college career. Ivisic was 2-for-5 from behind the arc for the Kansas offense. Guard DJ Wagner also looks to improve his season mark of 29.2% (28-for-96) from last year.

“I guess my 7-2 guys shouldn’t shoot threes,” Calipari said sarcastically after the scrimmage. “I don’t know.”

Calipari also doesn’t want to see the team become overly reliant on these three players. As a team, the Hogs went just 6-for-24 (25%) on offense, but still won by double digits thanks to 28 free throw attempts compared to Kansas’ 10.

While Razorback fans should expect a significant increase in three-pointers, they are also a team that can survive without it.

The Hogs will play their second scrimmage against TCU in Fort Worth, Texas, on Friday at 7 p.m. The match will not be broadcast or broadcast.

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