Razorbacks Can Blow Up Stories Just Like Brackets Against Duke

Don't expect a lot of love from broadcasters or anybody else when the Hogs face the Blue Devils in the Elite Eight

Author:
Andy Hodges
Updated:
Mar 26, 2022 7:27 PM EDT
Original:
Mar 26, 2022

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Arkansas won't be getting a lot of love from any broadcast tonight outside the state.

The story of tonight's game with Duke is already written. Everybody just waiting to see how the Blue Devils win and what the final score will be.

"Well, we know how this game is going to come out and the biggest question is which storyline happens in the Final Four next week," one talking head mumbled on the Worldwide Misleader on Saturday morning.

Eric Musselman-Gonzaga — Kelleye L. Cox / USA TODAY Sports

They are hoping against hope to get the Blue Devils against either North Carolina or St. Peter's for the championship. It's part of the lickfest surrounding Duke coach Mike Zrzyzewski that's gone on for a couple of months now.

Don't get any of this wrong. Krzyzewski has been around so long some media old-timers remember when he was hired. The hope was he wouldn't be around long because it was a pain trying to spell that last name.

He's earned his reputation with wins, particularly in the tournament. There won't be any Duke-hating here and Christian Laettner is still one of my favorite players.

But Duke is 1-2 against Arkansas all time. The Hogs didn't have a shot in any of those, either.

Even the national championship game in 1994. During that run I happened to be around a horde of folks in Indiana and Kentucky. They'll admit there they didn't invent the game, but they did perfect it ... just ask 'em.

Not one single person gave the Hogs even a remote chance, thinking Duke would have a fairly easy path to a title. That was profitable.

The Hogs find themselves in position to blow up stories the same way brackets have been blown sky-high this year.

None of the current players know much about the Hogs' history with the Blue Devils.

"I was nowhere near born then," Jaylin Williams said Friday afternoon.

Au'Diese Toney-Gonzaga — Kelley L. Cox / USA TODAY Sports

They know what it means to the fans. Everybody around the Razorbacks know they haven't gotten any national respect all season long.

That happens with teams that play ugly, which means they play a wild-eyed defense from beginning to end.

Everybody knows the stakes, which is a trip to the Final Four where the Hogs haven't been since 1995.

Eric Musselman knows all that, too, and he's not really looking that far ahead.

"Kind of like every game, to be honest with you," he said Friday.

He just wants the Hogs to play loose like they did against Gonzaga. Nobody expected them to get to the Sweet 16, so after winning twice last week put them way beyond what even most Hog fans dreamed in January could happen in March.

"You can look beyond what if. You can look the other way," Musselman said. "What if we lose and then we're done for the year? I don't think you can ... you've just got to focus on the team you're playing, strengths, weaknesses.

"That's all we really needed to think about right now."

It worked against Gonzaga. Some folks already were writing the story of Krzyzewski facing the 'Zags to go to the Final Four where he might meet North Carolina.

That would be the fairy tale ending a lot of people want.

But it would be just like the Hogs to blow that up, too.