Hogs' Coach Eric Musselman Has Been Here Before

Knowing how to prepare a team at tournament time is kinda what he does best.

Author:
Andy Hodges
Publish date:
Mar 17, 2023 7:33 PM EDT

In this story:

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — This is kinda the times when Arkansas coach Eric Musselman shines brightest.

He had NCAA Tournament success at Nevada, which got Razorbacks athletics director Hunter Yurachek's attention after firing Mike Anderson.

That decision has looked pretty good.

Now is another big challenge for Musselman with a team that doesn't even resemble the team that went to Europe last summer.

Starting the tournament with a 73-63 win over an Illinois team that really wasn't very good was exactly what they should have done. Kansas is next. Yeah, the defending national champions that had an easy first-round win over a No. 16 seed.

This may be the earliest Musselman's had to come up with a plan against a team that good this early in the tournament, especially with the Hogs.

He tends to do pretty well with a. short turnaround, which may be because this year he's changed lineups on a frequent basis. There's no telling who will be the first five on the floor to begin the game.

Thursday's opening game, though, showed he's got some experienced guys that can step up and some really talented freshmen that may not have been able to rise to the occasion of the spotlight in the tournament. None of that's unusual.

Davonte Davis is back in tournament form and Ricky Council IV seemed to regain his shooting touch against Illinois. That had disappeared for a lot of the SEC schedule and the tournament.

But none of that may be the biggest factor.

With their head coach out following some medical issues, the Jayhawks have been fine, but now every game is more challenging. The whole goal in March is win and advance, especially in the final 32.

The Hogs are there again.

With Musselman, somehow you think they have a shot ... even against the defending national champions.