Hogs Just Trying to Pile Up ‘Super Bowl’ Wins Rest of Way

Every game for Razorbacks left on schedule is big, falling into "must-win" category

Author:
Andy Hodges
Publish date:
Jan 23, 2023 6:23 PM EST

In this story:

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — With LSU coming to town Tuesday night, Arkansas knows just how big it is.

Just don't expect either team to play like they did the first time.

"The game in Baton Rouge has nothing to do with how the next game unfolds from a style standpoint," Eric Musselman said after breaking a four-game losing streak against Ole Miss on Saturday. "Rosters are different, rotations are slightly different. So you've got to go into each game with adjustments."

Even the players know how big the rest of the schedule is after starting SEC play losing four of five games.

"Every game from now on is our Super Bowl," Razorbacks forward Jordan Walsh said later. "We went in treating (Ole Miss) like that. You know how fun it is to win a Super Bowl and watch people celebrate after the game. We’re all happy for sure."

Musselman may be getting close to settling in on rotations Walsh probably helped his case Saturday, playing 40 minutes against the Rebels and only getting whistled for just one foul. He fouled out in the previous outing at Missouri.

It's not unusual for Musselman's teams to start coming together at this point in the season. It's been the case the previous two seasons that ended up in the Elite Eight.

"Every game from now on is our Super Bowl," Walsh said.

And, yes, there are signs up.

"There were a lot of Super Bowl signs up in the locker room," Musselman said. "We have to have the mentality (of) one game at a time, we have to have the mentality. There’s another Super Bowl on Tuesday, just so you know. We have to play with a desperation mode.

In the loss at Missouri, the Hogs played better than their win at home over the Tigers earlier in the year. You could see the signs of improving and adapting after losing Trevon Brazile for the season and Nick Smith Jr. for whenever.

"We played really good at Missouri," Musselman said after Ole Miss. "They played good. They play really well at home. Didn’t get some breaks, lost the game, but the effort was phenomenal, and the effort tonight was really good.

"What you want your team to do is grow, and you want your young guys to continue to get better."

The Hogs and Tigers will tip-off at 6 p.m. Tuesday night at Bud Walton Arena in a game you can see on ESPN2 and fuboTV.