Hassling officials is an American pasttime.
It’s especially prevalent in college basketball, a sport where any close game feels like it could come down to whether or not the ladies and gentlment in striped shirts give your favorite team some calls or not.
Creighton was on the end of more beneficial ones than Arkansas on Tuesday from the Maui Invitational. The Bluejays knocked off the Razorbacks, 90-87, in the semifinals of the tournament behind a 29-17 free-throw attempt advantage.
Arkansas’ stars showed out and gave them a chance. Anthony Black had 26 points, six rebounds and six assists. Ricky Council had 25 points. Trevon Brazile had 17.
But it was emblematic of what is becoming a concern for the whole of the season. The Razorbacks aren’t a deep basketball team.
Let’s go beyond the box and examine what, besides free throws, went wrong against Creighton.