Musick's offense hits key notes in exhibition rout for Razorbacks

Fans finally get to see what Arkansas coach has been preaching in the offseason

Arkansas Razorbacks coach Kelsi Musick on the sidelines in an exhibition game against Arkansas-Fort Smith. / Nilsen Roman-allHOGS Images

From the moment Arkansas hired Kelsi Musick to be the next basketball coach, she preached her tempo of her offense and the dribble-drive style.

Not much can be taken from an exhibition against Arkansas-Fort Smith, a Division II school that does have a Division I school on their regular season schedule. Even against an outmatched opponent, fans got a taste of the Musick special in a 100-42 rout of the Lions.

The shot clock hitting a single digits was almost non-existent. According to unofficial stats, Arkansas took a shot on average just over nine seconds into the shot clock.

It's no surprise that Musick took no time implementing her style with the Razorbacks. Musick's 2024-25 team at Oral Roberts finished eighth in D1 in pace, averaging 77.8 possesions every 40 minutes.

Arkansas hit most of its key metrics. Musick wants to be known for scoring points, and gave her team a goal of 85 points, which the team cleared with 3:50 left in the game. Six different players hit double figures.

"I loved our intensity," Musick said. "I played my girls played extremely hard for 40 minutes, and that's what I expected. The energy, the effort, the passion, the intensity, those were expectations that I had, and they definitely fulfilled."

For players playing under Musick for the first time seeing the unique style of offense come to life against someone other than a male practice team was a long time coming. Arkansas fans also got a chance to see it for the first time.

"I love her offense," guard Bonnie Deas said. "It allows every player on the team to be able to play their game and play to their strength. Playing the fast offense and the way coach Musick does it really works well for our team."

Not too shabby, T! pic.twitter.com/8pzEaHkO53

— Razorback Women's Basketball (@RazorbackWBB) October 31, 2025

The performance wasn't perfect. Arkansas shot just 64% from the free throw line (27-for-42), including just 9-for-18 in the first half. The Razorbacks spent a few minutes getting free throws up at halftime before the start of the second half

Arkansas forced 33 UAFS turnovers and scored 36 points off of them. The Hogs were just seven away from an all-time school exhibition record set against Division II Cameron in 2005. Musick's team also committed 19 turnovers, seven more than the target that Musick set for her team.

"We want to play at that high speed," Musick said. "But we also want to have control. There were a couple times where we got a steel and we turned it right back over, and that can't happen. We got to capitalize."

The Hogs will now ramp up and play their first Division I opponent 6:30 p.m. Tuesday against Louisiana Tech. The game will be streamed on SEC+.

"It's going to happen fast," Musick said. "We got to make sure that we're prepared, so we'll hit the film tomorrow. We'll be practicing immediately tomorrow and preparing. That's what I told them, once you get into season, you got to grind and prepare, grind and prepare. That's what it's all about."

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