SI

Arkansas's Eric Musselman Pitches Fit, Restrained by Assistants After Ejection vs. Oklahoma

The Razorbacks coach repeated a similar incident from two years ago against the same opponent.
Patrick Andres|
Arkansas's Eric Musselman Pitches Fit, Restrained by Assistants After Ejection vs. Oklahoma
Arkansas's Eric Musselman Pitches Fit, Restrained by Assistants After Ejection vs. Oklahoma

In this story:

Arkansas RazorbacksOklahoma Sooners

Arkansas has embarked on a decidedly up-and-down start to the 2023-24 season on the hardwood. The Razorbacks, after all, own both a victory over No. 7 Duke in front of a record crowd and an unsightly home loss to UNC Greensboro.

On Saturday, coach Eric Musselman's team had a chance to add another banner win to its resume against No. 19 Oklahoma in Tulsa. Things, however, went slightly awry.

Arkansas trailed the Sooners 37-25 at the half. Then, with 15:50 remaining and the Razorbacks trailing 48-33, referee Keith Kimble issued two technical fouls and ejected an argumentative Musselman.

Musselman, hardly known for being even-keeled, began shouting at Kimble and had to be restrained by his assistants. Sooners guard Rivaldo Soares was also given a technical foul in the chaotic sequence.

As ESPN2 commentators Mark Neely and King McClure astutely pointed out, Musselman was ejected under near-identical circumstances from a game against Oklahoma in Dec. 2021.

The Sooners went on to defeat Arkansas 79-70.

Published | Modified
Patrick Andres
PATRICK ANDRES

Patrick Andres is a staff writer on the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. He joined SI in December 2022, having worked for The Blade, Athlon Sports, Fear the Sword and Diamond Digest. Andres has covered everything from zero-attendance Big Ten basketball to a seven-overtime college football game. He is a graduate of Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism with a double major in history .

Home/College