Furman Looking to Spoil Arkansas' Momentum After Duke Win

Eric Musselman Hoping to Avoid UNC-Greensboro repeat facing top team in that league

Author:
Daniel Shi
Publish date:
Dec 2, 2023 5:36 PM EST

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FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — The Arkansas Razorbacks' season was going so well. The Razorbacks were undefeated with an exhibition win over Purdue as a cherry on top. Southern League team UNC-Greensboro came into Bud Walton and halted all the good vibes, handing the Hogs their first loss and led to a 1-2 showing in the Battle 4 Atlantis in the Bahamas.

Now a fellow Southern League team is ready to come into Bud Walton and do the same thing. The Razorbacks are coming off an 80-75 win over Duke, and coach Eric Musselman is ready to make sure that the team does not play down to their competition.

Furman is no slouch either, coming off a 2023 NCAA Tournament appearance in which they upset No. 4 seed Virginia before losing to eventual national runner-ups San Diego State. Its roster also includes guard Marcus Foster, who currently ranks 11th in all of NCAA D-1 in points per game with 22.1.

Razorbacks coach Eric Musselman on floor against Duke

"Furman is a team that’s projected to win their league in the same league as UNCG," Musselman said. "As we’ve talked about over and over, we try to schedule teams we think can win their league to better position ourselves if we win games. If we don’t win games, it doesn’t help at all."

Arkansas will once again be called upon to take the court most likely without leading scorer Tramon Mark, Musselman offered an encouraging update. hinting that a return is near, but Furman might just be too soon.

"The concern right now is not the back," Musselman said. "The concern continues to be the hip and the groin. He did a lot more today than what I thought he would have done ... I would say that we feel very confident that he would play in the game after Monday based on the progress. Monday is still up in the air, I would say."

The Razorbacks' matchup against Furman tips off 7 p.m. Dec. 4 inside Bud Walton Arena. The game will be streamed on SEC Network+.