Nobody Should Expect Razorbacks to Dominate November

Eric Musselman's teams seldom wait until March to be playing best games of year

Author:
Andy Hodges
Updated:
Nov 23, 2023 3:52 PM EST
Original:
Nov 23, 2023

In this story:

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — A lot of people appear disappointed Arkansas is not just coming out of the gate a well-oiled machine to start this basketball season. Just relax. Wait a few months because we should have learned by now how this process works.

"We're still a discombobulated team looking for our identity on offense," Arkansas coach Eric Musselman said after a 77-74 double overtime win over Stanford in opening round of the Battle 4 Atlantis in the Bahamas. "I thought our effort on the offensive boards was not great, it was phenomenal. We had some guys crashing. We felt like they were going to play zone and that zone defense is really vulnerable to offensive rebounding. That was one of the things that we discussed."

You had to read that pretty closely because some people have quit reading it too early. The Razorbacks got 21 much-needed points off second-chance points in a game it looked like they were out of at times. We should have learned. In tournaments, it's rare to not see big swings in momentum.

When it counted, they came back at the end of regulation and could have won it in regulation, and the first overtime that Stanford managed to tie at the end on a miracle 3-pointer that bounced off the backboard and in after the buzzer sounded.

The Hogs simply haven't figured out putting all these new players into a rhythm on offense and have made you wonder at times how they got a scholarship. Individually, they have skills, but meshing it all together in combinations is what Musselman figures out in November and December.

The conference games don't start until January, which is when the games that really matter start. The Hogs have to win enough games to get in the NCAA Tournament, but barring a walkout, that will happen. Musselman is building toward March.

Today's game against Memphis probably won't look pretty from start to finish, either. We'll just have to put up with some nights like Layden Blocker going 2-for-5 from the field, but that wasn't even why he stood out. His defensive effort was there, noted by teammates later, and provided a much-needed boost. He never quit hustling on the floor.

The game with Memphis is one fans will be in front of the TV to see at 4 p.m., provided they wake up from over-eating turkey and pies and the inevitable afternoon nap. Fans will read too much into the game.

It's another early learning experience. Trevon Brazile's shots will start falling. He was 3-of-12 shooting, but had a couple of free throws to end up with 14 points. That wasn't what should have been noticed. He grabbed 26 rebounds, which is all about effort.

"When the shots aren't falling, you've got to do other things to stay in the game," said Brazile, who had eight offensive boards. "Like Coach said, he'll go to somebody else if I'm not producing. I just tried to stay on the glass and rebounds were coming to me."

It's a good guess Musselman will be going back to him. The Hogs and Memphis will play Thursday at 4 p.m. You can watch on ESPN and fuboTV. You can also listen on ESPN Arkansas 99.5 in Fayetteville, 95.3 in the River Valley, 96.3 in Hot Springs and 104.3 in Harrison-Mountain Home. You can also hear the game online at HitThatLine.com (and they also have an app you can get for mobile phones).