Now Would be Good Time to Start Musselman's Late Run for Hogs

Everybody waiting for Razorbacks to figure things out, but now people starting to wonder

Author:
Andy Hodges
Publish date:
Jan 12, 2024 3:01 PM EST

In this story:

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Exactly when we all got projections on this Arkansas team can wait a couple of months. For now the biggest question for fans and maybe even Eric Musselman is when this basketball mess gets sorted out.

After taking the night off with Auburn in town for the SEC opener, at least nobody appeared to be quitting on the road against Georgia on Wednesday night. The Bulldogs aren't a particularly good team, but lack of consistency still is a point of concern.

"We played hard," Eric Musselman said after the loss. "We come out of timeouts and have at least three times wide open looks and miss them.Then they come down and their shooters are making shots and ours are not."

For whatever reason this team can't get the ball in the hole, even when they're wide open. I'll leave that to the basketball nerds to explain exactly what's causing all of that. The only thing we know is the shots aren't falling and they can't stop the other team. It's leading to the other team having more points at the end of the game.

Razorbacks Davonte Davis during the game with Old Dominion

Last year, the Razorbacks really didn't get things sorted out until Jan. 18 when they had a 1-5 start to the conference season. At least they had an excuse with all of the Nick Smith drama going on. This team doesn't have that excuse or apparently much explanation for lack of defense.

"We're obviously not the defensive team we've been over the last four years," Musselman said. "We're not guarding the ball like we have. We're certainly not guarding the three-point shot. So, if your overall team defense is not up to what it's been in the past then your offense should be better. I mean, 3-of-21. We had a bunch of defenders in the past that could go 3-for-21."

Right now there doesn't appear to be a lot of hope going into Saturday's game at Florida. That game tips off at 3 p.m. on ESPN and fuboTV.

Guard Keyon Menifield got everybody excited with his play just before the first of the year. He's sorta disappeared in the two conference games. A lot of folks are scratching their heads about that. Getting into the weight room could make a big difference because he's getting shoved around a lot.

"He’s struggled in both SEC games," Musselman said. "These guards are strong. They have good size. But has definitely struggled in conference play."

As always, Musselman is telling us just how good the Gators are this year and they have showed improvement. Hog fans are wondering when this team is going to start getting better now that the trend is starting downward and could be on the verge of a spiral.

"They’re big, they rebound, they have great guard play," Musselman said. "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. They have an opportunity. They’re not just an NCAA Tournament team, they’re a team that can win games in the tournament for sure."

Razorbacks' Eric Musselman on sidelines against Auburn — Arkansas Razorbacks coach Eric Musselman yells on the sidelines during a blowout loss to Auburn on Jan. 6, 2023, at Bud Walton Arena in Fayetteville, Ark.
Nelson Chenault / USA TODAY Sports

All of that is fine and well. For a fan base running low on patience, though, after a football season that went into the trash followed by a few weeks of coaching questions. That's led to a recruiting season with more questions for Sam Pittman and another year of everybody looking for answers.

Now Musselman has to come up with some for this basketball team. He probably needs to get some sort of answer soon or start building for next season.