Rinse, Repeat: No Razorback Magic Against Ole Miss Despite New Starters

Turnovers lead to another slow start kill Razorbacks in another wire-to-wire loss on road

Author:
Daniel Shi
Publish date:
Jan 24, 2024 11:09 PM EST

In this story:

OXFORD, Miss. — Rinse and repeat. Arkansas once again shifted the starting lineup, hoping that it would spark some momentum, but to no avail, as the Razorbacks fell to 1-5 in SEC play with a 77-51 loss to the Ole Miss Rebels.

"Everybody’s getting an opportunity," Musselman said. "Point guard play, turnovers, shooters (etc.). Shooters are struggling shooting the ball. At the center spot, we had zero defensive rebounds. There’s a lot of areas. It’s not one particular player. It’s not one particular position. It’s across the board. We’re getting outplayed at every position right now.

Musselman opted to start Khalif Battle and Denijay Harris for the first time this season. Arkansas was without Tramon Mark as he dealt with a bout of migraine headaches.

The new-look starting lineup without Trevon Brazile for the first time this year did nothing to fix the issues. The Razorbacks turned the ball over 10 times in the opening 13 minutes. The Hogs had more turnovers than field goals (eight) in the first half. The Rebels started extremely hot from the floor, starting 11-for-20. Matthew Murrell scored 12 of his 18 points in the first half to lead the charge.

The Razorbacks were able to fight back with the backcourt duo of Battle and Keyon Menifield to cut the deficit to six, but Ole Miss responded with a 9-3 run to close the half to lead 38-26.

To make matters worse, Brazile was ruled out due to knee soreness. Despite all of his struggles this year, without his rim protection, Ole Miss dominated inside, outscoring the Razorbacks in the paint 38-20 and continued to stretch the lead. A three from Jaylen Murray stretched the lead to 20. Battle was also removed in the second half after being helped to the bench before returning a few minutes later. The Razorbacks finished with just 17 field goals and only two players in double figures (Battle, 11 and Pinion, 10).

"We don’t have many games left although we still have a lot left in conference play," Musselman said. "We’ve got to try to figure out a way to get better."

The Razorbacks now face No.6 Kentucky with College GameDay coming to Bud Walton Arena for the first time. Tipoff is scheduled for 5 p.m. Jan. 27. The game will be broadcast on ESPN and fuboTV .