Razorbacks' Eric Musselman May Like Not Being in Spotlight This Time

Nobody is talking about Saturday's game and that has not created any drama for Hogs

Author:
Andy Hodges
Updated:
Feb 23, 2023 6:45 PM EST
Original:
Feb 23, 2023

In this story:

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Since nobody else wants to mention it, it's a good time to bring up Arkansas does have a game Saturday.

The Razorbacks will be going to Tuscaloosa, where all of the swirling drama is about basketball and none of it has to do with the game.

Hogs coach Eric Musselman probably doesn't mind there hasn't been a lot of drama the past couple of days about Nick Smith Jr.'s return.

Just to get this out of the way, I don't know everything about No. 2 Alabama deciding to play one of the top players in the country or whether Brandon Miller knew he was getting himself into a bad situation in January or not.

There is a lot of noise on both sides of the argument and that's something the Crimson Tide folks have to figure out. The only thing I know is a 23-year-old mother is dead and another Alabama player is in jail for it.

Whether Miller was even aware of how big of a situation he got himself into or not is a question for others to sort out and a report Thursday is at least raising some questions there. It's not surprising in the least any athlete owns a gun or that a teammate took one his friend's guns to him. I've seen that for decades.

You don't leave a teammate hanging and there aren't a lot of questions involved. They'll hopefully learn it later in life without anybody dying.

But every Razorback fan seems to want Miller somehow to not be able to play in this game. After he burned South Carolina for 41 points on the road Wednesday night shows exactly why that would go to the Hogs' advantage.

Musselman and the Razorbacks have probably been planning after a 97-65 win over Georgia on Tuesday night.

This could work to the Hogs' advantage the game is in Tuscaloosa because nobody knows what the reaction will be to Miller by his own fans. Don't get me on that because I don't understand the fans' perspective anyway.

About all I know for sure is Musselman generally has cranked up some surprising performances with a focused group and time to prepare. They will be for a road trip because he has the team together.

With everybody starting to get in sync, it's a good bet Tide coach Nate Oats knows this is a very different team than the one they beat handily in Fayetteville back on Jan. 11.

"We defended them pretty well for most of the game and they got hot down the stretch," Musselman said Tuesday night. "They’re an explosive offensive team, so we’re going to have to defend."

Patience may be a necessity on defense.

"The ball has got to have eyes and find open people," Musselman said. "You can’t force things against their defense."

Alabama is in the tournament regardless what happens regardless what happens the rest of the way. They are simply jockeying for a top seed.

The Hogs really need a couple more wins on a 19-9 record (9-7 in SEC games) for a better seed.

Oh, and they need a signature win against a highly-ranked team this season.

Despite all the drama swirling around the Crimson Tide these days, the Hogs aren't in that mix.

The change in focus of discussion so that it doesn't involve answering tons of questions about Smith should give Musselman plenty of time to focus strictly on getting ready for Alabama.

That's usually dangerous for opponents.