ST. LOUIS — One thing was glaringly apparent while watching the Arkansas rollercoaster come to a slow and expected stop in a 96-66 loss Tuesday night at the Scottrade Center.

These Hogs are talented, but the depth issues are as concerning as presumed.

Louisville's Edgar Sosa (10) shoots as Arkansas' Mike Washington (00) defends during the first half of the Cardinals' win Tuesday over the Razorbacks in St. Louis. (Associated Press/JEFF ROBERSON)

You almost didn’t even have to glance at the stats or even flip the TV over to ESPN2 to know that Arkansas would need a near-perfect game, a few shots of adrenaline and a foul-laden Louisville team to pull off an upset as large as the St. Louis arch.

Sure the Cardinals are only ranked 22nd in the nation, but the Hogs had as much a chance of knocking off Louisville as it did beating No. 1 Kansas Tuesday night.

I heard several people saying they believed getting the ball more to Rotnei Clarke, who scored a school-record 51 points with 13 three-pointers on Friday, would cure some of the ails. Not even close. Rick Pitino was not going to let that happen. His former pupil, Arkansas coach John Pelphrey knew as much. He figured with as heavy as Pitino scouts teams, Clarke would be guarded from the moment he stepped off the airplane in St. Louis on Tuesday.

And Pelphrey was right. Louisville’s players were yelling, “Clarke!” nearly every time the Hogs passed the ball on offense.

Arkansas needs bodies more than it needs more shots from the nation’s best shooter, Rotnei Clarke. With five players out because of suspensions, plus forward Michael Sanchez sidelined due to foot problems, the winded Razorbacks made their debut late in the first half and again for the final 15 minutes against Louisville.

When Clarke had a heavy hand in drawing attention and getting up shots, it paid off for a freshened Razorbacks team in the first 5 minutes of the second half. Arkansas used some speed, Clarke’s dangerous touch and big man Michael Washington to build a 14-0 run and cut Louisville’s 17-point lead to within one possession. Clarke had his hand in eight of those points.

But that’s when the Hogs’ legs began tighten and Louisville’s depth and shooters began to re-emerge.

Really, it’s that simple. Arkansas had eight players it could count on, and two of which wouldn’t start for any team in the SEC. Over on Pitino’s sideline, there were at least nine players that could pose a problem for many teams in the country.

Why did the Hogs lose and why will they struggle as they deal with suspensions? It really is simple.

“I think Arkansas was overmatched tonight,” Pitino said. “We had more numbers, we had fresher bodies. We were able to play our style and they were not able to play their style.”

But let’s look at the stats, because it’s always good to see some hard proof of what is being described.

BENCH POINTS
Arkansas — 8
Louisville — 32

THREE-POINTERS
Arkansas — 3 (all by Rotnei Clarke)
Louisville — 15

REBOUNDS
Arkansas — 36
Louisville — 47

ASSISTS
Arkansas — 12
Louisville — 25

Still, as expected, there was high praise from Pitino to his former player and the Razorbacks.

“Once they get their numbers, they are going to be a terrific basketball team,” said Pitino, who coached Pelphrey for three seasons at Kentucky.

Yep. Arkansas needs the numbers, just as presumed.

UPDATE (9:55 a.m., Wednesday): Here’s some video from the post-game press conferences of the coaches talking depth, complete with Pitino’s expectations for Arkansas this season.

NOBLES CAUSE
How about freshman Julysses Nobles‘ debut? The point guard never left the floor Tuesday night and has piled up some eye-opening numbers in place of the indefinitely suspended Courtney Fortson.

Nobles finished with 7 assists and 3 turnovers, and also had 4 steals in the 30-point loss Tuesday. In his first two games of his Razorbacks career, Nobles has 16 assists to just 5 turnovers.

Not bad, especially since Pelphrey knew going in to Tuesday that Louisville would try to put Nobles on the ground as much as possible.

“He has done exactly what we needed him to do,” Pelphrey said. “… I thought he did very, very well. I’m excited about the way he’s playing. He’s going to give us a chance in some of these games.”

NOTABLES
Forward Marshawn Powell has recorded double-doubles in each of his first two games at Arkansas. He finished with 15 points and 11 rebounds against Louisville. … Clarke has 16 of 24 three-pointers (66.6 percent) this season … Louisville’s Reginald Delk, a Mississippi State transfer, hit 8 of 9 shots and four 3-pointers off the bench for a game-high 20 points … Pitino is now 23-6 in games against his former assistants, including 2-0 against Pelphrey. Pitino beat Pelphrey’s South Alabama team, 90-79, in 2002. Pitino joked the win total might be more even if he didn’t coax his former assistants to travel to play their mentor.

Make sure to check out WholeHogSports.com and the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette for more. You can also follow us on Twitter for breaking news updates via @bmarcello and@wholehogsports.

— Brandon Marcello