Hogs Fighting for Survival Against Florida Saturday
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — It's getting late early. Arkansas now sits at 9-6 and outside the top 100 in the Net Evaluation Tool (NET) rankings. I'll spare you the complicated formula, it's not good. Coach Eric Musselman said it best after his team got crushed against Auburn.
"We gotta get a lot better to even survive in this league," Musselman said. "We’ve got to get a lot better. We’ve got to be a lot more competitive."
They did, sort of. Moral victories aside, the Hogs' are 0-2 in SEC play and so are their next opponent, the Florida Gators. Florida is coming off an 87-85 loss to No. 6 Kentucky and a 103-85 drubbing against a 14-1 Ole Miss team.
The Razorbacks finally found some offensive rhythm, scoring 42 points in the second half against Georgia, but a stiff challenge from second-year coach Todd Golden's Florida team.
A Gators team that is statistically better in just about every category imaginable: points, rebounds, assists, steals, points off turnovers. The Hogs will have to contend with a pair of 15+ point scorers, a backcourt duo of Walter Clayton Jr. and Zyon Pullin. Both are guards with a litany of experience. Pullin is a graduate transfer from UC Riverside while Clayton Jr. is in his third year in the program.
"They’re big," Musselman said. "They rebound, they have great guard play, they’re well-connected, they play extremely hard, they play very very fast. You know, they’re one of the top tier teams in the SEC, there’s no question."
After starting the season handling big post players well with the likes of Armando Bacot, Kyle Filpowski and Maxime Raynaud well in non-conference play, Arkansas has struggled to contain players in the paint so far in SEC play. They will have to deal with 6-foot 10 Tyrese Samuel, who averages 8.3 rebounds a game along with 13.3 points. Arkansas was outrebounded by one against a smaller Georgia team and by 14 against Auburn.
"They’re not just an NCAA Tournament team," Musselman said. They’re a team that can win games in the tournament for sure."
The game tips off in Gainesville 3 p.m. Jan. 13. The game will be streamed on ESPN and FuboTV.
HOGS FEED:
HOGS PLUCK DEFENSIVE BACK FROM SEC FOE OUT OF TRANSFER PORTAL
FANS GETTING ANTSY FOR MUSSELMAN'S YEARLY TURNAROUND
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